By Kit Norton

Shares of Casey's General Stores advanced late Tuesday after it reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings driven by fuel gross profit growing 29%.

Casey's stock rose 2.5% after-hours after ending regular trading up 1.3% to $761.18. Shares are down 1.4% this month but have advanced 37% this year. Casey's joined the S&P 500 in April.

Casey's was a Barron's stock pick on Dec. 3, 2025. Since then, the stock has gained 37%. However, shares are 17% below their record closing high of $888.36 from May 13.

The stock has also jumped 50% since Darren Rebelez was named as one of Barron's Best CEOs last June.

The company posted earnings of $4.37 a share for the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30, compared with $2.63 a share a year ago and well above Wall Street's $3.31 a share expectation. Revenue grew 14% to $4.57 billion, beating the analyst consensus call for $4.33 billion, according to FactSet.

The company's same-store sales in the latest quarter increased 5.5%, above Wall Street's 4.9% expectation. This performance was driven by the company's pizza offerings. Meanwhile, Casey's said its profit growth was primarily due to higher inside and fuel gross profit that was partially offset by higher operating expenses.

The company receives the bulk of its revenue from gasoline sales and that was no different in the latest quarter. Fuel same-store gallons increased 1.5% with a fuel margin of 46.9 cents a gallon. Total fuel gross profit increased 29% to $397.4 million. Wall Street expected $331 million in fuel gross profit with fuel margins of 39.41 cents a gallon.

Gasoline prices at the pump have surged this year, as oil prices have skyrocketed due to the U.S. war with Iran. The most recent average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump in the U.S. is $4.16, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The average price for a gallon of gasoline has increased about 46% this year from $2.84 a gallon.

Since the start of the Iran war in late February, the average price of a gallon of gasoline has increased 39%.

"Our fuel team did a great job balancing gallons sold with fuel margin, as fiscal 2026 fuel gross profit increased 21% from the prior year," Rebelez said in the earnings release.

Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal 2027 same-store sales to increase 2% to 5% with an inside margin above 42%. Casey's also forecasts same-store fuel gallons sold to be down 1% to up 1%. The company also sees earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization increasing 8% to 10%.

Wall Street expects fiscal 2027 same-store sales increasing 3.9%.

The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 14% to 65 cents a share, payable on Aug. 14 to shareholders of record on Aug. 1.

Casey's began as a general store in Boone, Iowa, in 1968, and has grown to become the third-largest convenience store operator in the U.S., with more than 2,900 stores. The company is also one of the largest pizza chains in the country. At its stores, Casey's offers fuel, food and snacks, as well as EV charging, gift cards and credit cards.

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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June 09, 2026 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT)

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