Key Takeaways
- Casey’s General Stores posted surprising growth in fuel sales, aided by customers who came to the convenience store operator for its prepared foods like pizza and sandwiches.
- The company’s quarterly profit and revenue comfortably exceeded analysts’ estimates.
- Shares of the Iowa-based chain surged over 6% Wednesday afternoon and are up more than 36% over the past year.
Casey’s General Stores (CASY) posted surprising growth in its fuel sales, aided by customers who came to the convenience store operator for its prepared foods like pizza and sandwiches.
Casey’s on Tuesday reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33 on revenue of $3.90 billion, both comfortably surpassing analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
The Iowa-based chain said prepared food and dispensed beverage same-store sales increased 4.7% year-over-year, while same-store fuel gallons rose 1.8% when analysts were looking for a slight decline.
“CASY’s prepared food offering is a traffic driver in itself,” Melius Research analysts said Wednesday. “Customers will go to CASY for pizza or sandwiches and fill their tanks out of convenience, which partially explains the surprise +1.8% fuel gallon comps when volumes in CASY geographies were down (mid-single digits).”
Casey’s shares surged over 6% Wednesday afternoon to $403. They are up more than 36% over the past year.
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