Casey's General Stores Inc (NASDAQ:CASY) shares fell around 15% on Wednesday after the convenience-store operator's inside same-store sales growth of 3.2% fell short of expectations, overshadowing a quarter that beat on revenue, earnings and EBITDA.
The company, the third-largest convenience-store retailer in the United States, reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $5.68 billion, ahead of estimates of $5.57 billion.
Earnings per share came in at $7.37, above the $6.75 expected and up 27.7% year over year.
EBITDA reached $485.1 million, topping estimates of $478 million and rising 17.1% from a year earlier.
Casey's affirmed its full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, including EBITDA growth of 8% to 10%, inside same-store sales growth of 2% to 5%, an inside margin above 42%, same-store fuel gallons sold ranging from down 1% to up 1%, and total operating expenses rising 5% to 7%. The company also reiterated plans to spend approximately $800 million on the purchase of property and equipment.
By segment, net revenue was $492.6 million from prepared food and dispensed beverage, $1.28 billion from grocery and general merchandise, $3.72 billion from fuel, and $176.0 million from other sources.
Inside margin was 42.2%, up 30 basis points year over year. Fuel margin came in at 47.8 cents per gallon, while same-store fuel gallons sold declined 0.3%.
Analysts at Jefferies said it was a strong quarter for Casey's, noting that comp growth and margin expansion were solid even as prepared food comps matched expectations and grocery and other categories came in roughly a point below consensus.
The firm said elevated expectations heading into the print, combined with the stock's strong year-to-date performance, left little room for anything short of a standout result.
Jefferies added that higher fuel prices may be limiting consumer budgets, a trend it said it is also observing among Casey's peers.
