Casey’s earnings skyrocket; to open ‘at least’ 120 stores
Casey’s General Stores Inc. ended a record year with fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations.
The country's third-largest convenience store retailer continued to expand its store network during the past year, adding 80 stores. Executives on Casey’s earnings call said the company plans to open “at least” 120 stores in its current year through a balanced mix of new store construction and acquisitions. (The company added fewer stores in its most recent fiscal year because it was concentrating on integrating the 200-store CEFCO Convenience Stores, which it acquired in November 2024, into its operations.)
“The guidance for store growth for this year is much more getting back on track from a historic standpoint and really more consistent with our growth algorithm,” Casey’s president and CEO Darren Rebelez said on the call.
As it expands, Casey’s has been entering new markets, Texas and Florida in particular. And as it expanded its footprint further into Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, it has started to run into some different competitors but continues to perform well, Rebelez said on the call
“We feel very confident in our ability to compete in whatever geography we're operating in,” he told analysts
Fourth Quarter
Casey’s net income surged 65.5% to $162.7 million, or $4.37 a share, for the quarter ended April 30, up from $98.3 million, or $2.63 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings of $3.31 a share.
Revenue rose to $4.57 billion from $3.99 billion, topping analysts expectations of $4.33 billion. Total inside sales were up 7.4%, or 7.0% on a two-year stack basis, led by strong performance in whole pizzas as well as appetizers and sides in the prepared food and beverage category.
Inside same-store sales rose 5.5%. Fuel same-store gallons were up 1.5%.
Full Year
For the full year (fiscal 2026), Casey's reported earnings per share of $19.16, up 30.9% over the prior year. Net income was $714.4 million, up 30.7%, and EBITDA was nearly $1.5 billion, up 23.6%, from the prior year. Total revenue was $17.56 billion, up from $15.94 billion.
“Casey's delivered another record fiscal year as our team closed out the three-year strategic plan on an extremely high note, reaching $714 million of net income and nearly $1.5 billion in EBITDA," Rebelez said in the earnings statement. "The operations team performed exceptionally well over the course of the year as we reported substantial EBITDA growth while same-store labor hours were slightly favorable for the year.”
For its current fiscal year, which ends in April 2027, the company expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to increase 8% to 10%. It projects inside same-store sales will increase 2% to 5%.
As of April 30, Iowa-based Casey’s operated 2,944 stores.
