Casey’s General Shares Hit All-Time High on Strong Earnings

The company increased its quarterly dividend by 14 percent, marking the 26th consecutive annual increase.

A sign on a Casey's General Store building. Shutterstock

Shares of Casey’s General Stores Inc. jumped more than 15 percent in early trading on June 10 after the fast-growing rural convenience store operator reported double-digit profit and sales growth the day before, easily beating Wall Street expectations.

Boosted by low gas prices and strong in-store traffic, Casey’s reported net income was $98.3 million, or $2.63 per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended on April 30. That reflects a 13 percent increase from $87 million, or $2.34 per share, in the same period last year. Total revenue for the quarter rose to $3.99 billion, up 10.8 percent from $3.6 billion a year earlier.

Those results exceeded Wall Street estimates of $1.94 per share on revenue of $3.95 billion, according to the consensus of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

During the company’s conference call on June 10, Casey’s CEO Darren Rebelez informed analysts that the company’s three-year strategic plan is yielding impressive financial outcomes.

“In June of 2023, we laid out a plan that had three pillars: Accelerate the food business, grow the number of units, and enhance operational efficiency. We are now through two years of the plan, and the entire organization is working hard to execute on our commitment,” Rebelez said.

During the quarter, Casey’s total inside sales—which refer to sales made inside the store, excluding fuel or gas sales—increased by 12.4 percent, while same-store sales grew by 1.7 percent. The growth was driven by strong performance in bakery items, hot and cold foods in the prepared food and dispensed beverage category, and non-alcoholic beverages in the grocery and general merchandise category.

Total fuel gallons sold in the fourth quarter increased significantly by 7.8 percent from a year earlier, while same-store gallons sold rose by 0.1 percent. Fuel gross profit was up by 21.4 percent, mainly driven by retail fuel sales of $162 million at under $3 per gallon.

“In this lower retail fuel cost environment, we believe that our inside offering coupled with consistently competitive fuel prices is helping our (stores) both at the pump and inside,” Casey’s chief financial officer, Steve Bramlage, told analysts during the conference call.

For the full fiscal year, the Iowa-based convenience store chain reported net income of $ 546.5 million, or $14.64 per share, on revenue of $15.94 billion, up 7.3 percent from $14.86 billion in fiscal 2024.

The year was marked by the company’s acquisition of Fikes Wholesale in November 2024, which added nearly 200 additional owner-operated CEFCO convenience stores and expanded the company’s footprint to 17 states. The $1.1 billion deal, the largest in Casey’s history, included 148 stores in Texas and an additional 50 locations in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. For the year, Casey’s built or acquired 270 stores, the most in the company’s history.

“Fiscal 2025 is a testament to our two-pronged approach of both building and acquiring stores, which ensures predictable growth while still capitalizing on great opportunities like Fike’s when they arise,” said Rebelez. “The strength and durability ... are a strategic advantage of Casey’s business model and we’re confident that we can succeed in a variety of economic climates.”

Looking ahead, Casey’s expects earnings in 2026 to increase by 10 to 12 percent, with same-store sales projected to grow by 2–5 percent. However, same-store fuel gallons sold are expected to vary from a decrease of 1 percent to an increase of 1 percent.

In addition, in the final year of its strategic plan, the company, now boasting more than 2,900 stores, aims to open at least 80 new locations in fiscal 2026 through a mix of acquisitions and new store construction, Rebelez stated. This move is expected to add around 500 stores to the company’s portfolio by the end of the fiscal year.

In response to questions about the company’s customer growth in the current economic environment, Rebelez stated that the convenience store chain is experiencing solid support from higher-income consumers earning more than $100,000 per year. Among lower-income customers, Casey is also observing increased traffic from younger Generation Z and millennials who are not “stretched to make ends meet.”

“So, the purchasing habits for those folks are very different than what you have for some other, maybe more mature people in that (low)-income cohort. So, it’s up to us to make sure we have the relevant assortment in the stores to meet the needs of both, and I think we’re doing that pretty effectively right now,” said Rebelez, noting that Casey’s has 9 million customers signed up for the company’s membership program.

In response to the company’s strong financial performance, Casey’s board of directors recently increased its quarterly dividend by 14 percent, to $0.57 per share, marking the 26th consecutive annual increase. Rebelez said the company has approximately $295 million remaining under its share-buyback program.

As of 11:50 a.m. ET, Casey’s shares were up 12.05 percent to $492.20. The stock jumped more than 15 percent in early morning trading, surpassing its all-time high closing price of $467.20, set on May 6. Over the past year, the stock has risen by more than 50 percent, outperforming the S&P 500’s 12.3 percent gain.