Casey’s reports strong quarter; to open ‘at least’ 80 stores
Casey’s General Stores ended its fiscal year on a strong note with fourth-quarter earnings that smashed expectations as its growth no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The convenience store chain also saw record expansion during the year, building or acquiring 270 stores, the most in its history. The total includes includes its acquisition of Fikes Wholesale and its 198 CEFCO convenience stores.
"Fiscal 2025 is a testament to our two-pronged approach of both building and acquiring stores, which ensures predictable rateable growth while still capitalizing on great opportunities like Fikes when they come along," said Casey's president and CEO Darren Rebelez during the company's earnings call.
Casey’s expects to open at least 80 stores in fiscal 2026, through a mix of acquisitions and new store construction, bringing the three-year strategic plan period total to approximately 500 stores. (As of April 30, the company operated a total of 2,904 stores.)
Casey's posted net income of $98.3 million, or $2.63 a share, for the quarter ended April 30, up from $87 million, or $2.34 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.94 a share.
Revenue rose 11% to $3.99 billion, ahead of estimates for $3.93 billion. Inside same-store sales rose 1.7%, driven by strong performance in bakery and hot and cold food in the prepared food and dispensed beverage category as well as non-alcoholic beverages in the grocery and general merchandise category.
“Casey's delivered another record fiscal year as our team continued to execute on our three-year strategic plan, reaching $546.5 million of net income and $1.2 billion in EBITDA," Rebelez, stated in the earnings release. “Inside same-store sales outperformed the industry, up 2.6%, or 7.1% on a two-year stack basis, led by strong performance in hot sandwiches and bakery as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The operations team performed exceptionally well during the year, driving strong performance, integrating the most new units in Casey's history, while reducing same-store labor hours for the twelfth consecutive quarter.”
Looking ahead to fiscal 2026, Casey's expects inside same-store sales to rise between 2% and 5%.It anticipates EBITDA to grow by between 10% and 12%.
Separately, Casey’s said it would raise its quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.57 per share, which is the 26th consecutive year of increasing the dividend.
