Cresco Labs Cites Pennsylvania Dispensary Acquisitions as Q2 Revenue Climbs 5.9%

The multistate operator says Pennsylvania dispensary acquisitions and Ohio adult-use sales lifted second-quarter revenue, even as profitability slipped on higher costs.

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Cresco Labs has expanded its retail footprint in Pennsylvania through dispensary acquisitions, according to details reflected in the company's second-quarter 2026 disclosures, though the filing summary reviewed for this story does not specify how many stores were involved or from which seller they were acquired.

Earnings Tie Deal to Revenue Growth

Cresco Labs' revenue rose 5.9% to $173.34 million in the second quarter of 2026, and the company pointed to Pennsylvania dispensary acquisitions, gains in Ohio's adult-use retail rollout, and wholesale growth in Massachusetts and Ohio as the main drivers, according to a news brief published by Bitget that summarized the company's SEC filing.

The same filing, submitted to the SEC's EDGAR system on August 6, 2026, showed gross profit increased 4.4% to $86.95 million, though gross margin slipped to 50.2% from 50.9% a year earlier as the sales mix shifted, according to the Bitget summary.

Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed 27.2% to $73.59 million, which the filing attributed to higher payroll tied to acquisitions along with increased professional and legal fees, the report said. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $39.54 million from $40.88 million, while interest expense rose to $15.11 million, pushing total other expense to $16.96 million.

Offsetting Pressures

The Bitget summary also noted that reduced operations in California, along with price compression and heavier competition in Illinois, weighed on overall results — meaning the Pennsylvania and Ohio gains were partly offset by softness in two of Cresco's other core markets.

Pennsylvania's Crowded Medical Market

State licensing records show Pennsylvania had 181 open retail dispensary licenses as of early September, underscoring how competitive the state's medical-only market has become even without adult-use sales. The state's records do not list open cultivation, manufacturing or testing-lab facility counts separately, and no dedicated year-to-date revenue figure was available in the dataset reviewed. No official license record specifically matching Cresco Labs' Pennsylvania acquisition was found in the database checked for this story, so the exact number of stores involved and the identity of the seller could not be independently confirmed beyond the general reference to 'dispensary acquisitions' in the company's earnings summary.

Cannabis Newz's related coverage shows dispensary activity has been brisk across the state in recent months. Jushi Holdings opened a relocated Beyond Hello store in Belle Vernon, Green Thumb Industries opened a RISE dispensary in Hanover, and Vireo Growth completed its own acquisition of a Pennsylvania dispensary license — all within the past two months, according to Cannabis Business Times and The Manila Times. Taken together with Cresco's acquisitions, the moves suggest continued consolidation and buildout among multistate operators in Pennsylvania's medical market, though the pace and scale vary by company and cannot be directly compared without more specific figures for the Cresco transaction.

Regulatory Backdrop Remains Unsettled

Pennsylvania lawmakers rejected a marijuana oversight proposal in June, and a bill aimed at awarding medical marijuana licenses to small and diverse businesses was still pending as of mid-July, according to fox43.com and Marijuana Moment. Separately, Pennsylvania's attorney general urged Congress in early August to preserve a federal ban on certain hemp-derived intoxicating products, per the Pennsylvania Capital-Star — a reminder that the state's cannabis policy landscape, including any path to adult-use sales, remains unresolved.

What to Watch

Whether the Pennsylvania acquisitions continue to offset weakness in California and Illinois will likely depend on how quickly Cresco integrates the added stores and whether Ohio's adult-use market keeps expanding. Given that adjusted EBITDA and margins both declined even as revenue grew, it remains to be seen whether the added retail scale in Pennsylvania translates into improved profitability in subsequent quarters. Further detail on the scope of the Pennsylvania transaction, including store count and counterparty, would help clarify its actual contribution to the reported revenue growth.