Casey’s General Stores’ inside same-store sales increased 3.2% compared with the prior year, and 7.7% on a two-year stack basis, with a gross profit margin of 42.2%, Darren Rebelez, chairman, president and CEO, said during the company’s first-quarter 2027 earnings call Wednesday.
Total inside gross profit increased 6.3% to $749.8 million compared with the prior year in the quarter that ended July 31, the company said.
Prepared food and dispensed beverages “led the way,” said Rebelez, who called Casey’s first-quarter performance “outstanding.”
Same-store sales were up 4.8%, or 10.7% on a two-year stack basis, with a gross profit margin of 59.3%, he said
Rebelez highlighted the “great performance” in whole pizza pies.
Same-store grocery and general merchandise sales were up 2.7%, or 6.5% on a two-year stack basis, with a gross profit margin of 35.6%, he said.
“Energy drinks and nicotine alternatives continue to outperform the category with double-digit growth,” Rebelez said, adding that the alcohol category, specifically beer, was a headwind during the quarter.
In a press release, Rebelez said that Casey’s is off to a great start on its three-year strategic plan, highlighted by a nearly 28% increase in diluted EPS.
“Guests are responding well to our compelling value proposition on our high-quality prepared food, especially in whole pies,” he said. “On the fuel side, our team’s robust capabilities helped us navigate a volatile environment and produced strong results. The operations team delivered an exceptional guest experience during our busiest quarter of the year. We accomplished all of this while running ahead of schedule on our integration of the Fikes acquisition.”
Casey’s has 2,921 locations.
- Casey’s General Stores is No. 3 is on CSP’s 2026 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Rebelez said that customers are “flocking to the Casey’s Rewards platform,” adding that they are now over 11 million members.
“We believe our abundant and value-oriented food offering is not only a differentiator driving inside traffic, but is also driving traffic to the pump,” he said.
For 2027’s first three months, Casey’s reported net income of $273.7 million, up 27.1% from the same period last year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $485.1 million, up 17.1% from the same period a year ago.
Fuel same-store gallons sold were down 0.3% compared with the prior year, and up 1.4% on a two-year stack basis, with a fuel margin of 47.8 cents per gallon. Total fuel gross profit increased 19.6% to $446.9 million compared with the prior year.
Total inside sales for the quarter were up 5.6% compared with the prior year. Prepared food and dispensed beverage same-store sales was driven primarily by positive traffic, led by whole pizzas, while grocery and general merchandise same-store sales had excellent performance in non-alcoholic beverages, the company said. Inside margin was up about 30 basis points compared with the same quarter a year ago, benefitting primarily from favorable mix shift and cost of goods management.
For the quarter, total fuel gallons sold increased 2.5% compared with the prior year due to a store count increase, slightly offset by a modest decrease in same-store gallons sold. The company’s total fuel gross profit was up 19.6% versus the prior year, due to an increase in gallons sold as well as fuel margin.
Operating expenses increased 8% during the first quarter, the company said. Operating 64 more stores than prior year accounted for about 2% of the increase. Same-store credit card fees added about 1.5% of the increase. Same-store employee expense contributed to about 1% of the increase, primarily due to increases in labor rates, while same-store labor hours were nearly flat. Insurance was responsible for about 1% of the increase.
Casey’s fiscal 2027 outlook previously disclosed remains unchanged, the company said. The company expects inside same-store sales in fiscal 2027 to increase 2% to 5% with an inside margin above 42%. The company expects fiscal 2027 same-store fuel gallons sold to be negative 1% to positive 1%, and total operating expenses are expected to increase about 5% to 7%. The company expects EBITDA to increase 8% to 10%, which would imply 35% on a two-year stack basis at the midpoint of the range.
The company expects to open at least 120 stores in fiscal 2027 through a mix of mergers and acquisitions and new store construction.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.