Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 net earnings were $863 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, including a one-time net gain of about $260 million from a legal matter. Adjusted net earnings were $667 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, up 58.7% year over year. For fiscal 2026, reported net earnings were $3.1 billion, up $563 million or 21.8% versus fiscal 2025; diluted EPS was $3.37 versus $2.71. Adjusted net earnings were $2.9 billion, up 12.1%, and adjusted diluted EPS was $3.10, up 14.4%. Adjusted EBITDA increased $350 million, or 28.9%, in the quarter and $643 million, or 10.8%, for the year. Merchandise and service revenue rose $242 million, or 5.8%, in the quarter and $1.0 billion, or 5.5%, for the year; merchandise and service gross profit rose $103 million, or 7.1%, in the quarter and about $412 million, or 6.4%, for the year. U.S. merchandise margin improved 50 bps to 34.4%, Canada gross margin fell 60 bps to 33.5%, and Europe/other regions gross margin rose 100 bps to 39.6% in the quarter. Fuel gross profit rose $748 million, or 11.7%, for fiscal 2026, and FY2026 fuel margins were $0.4749/gallon in the U.S., USD 0.1173/liter in Europe/other regions, and CAD 0.1559/liter in Canada. Operating expenses were controlled, with normalized SG&A up 2.6% in Q4 and 3.1% for FY2026, both below or within the company’s growth algorithm. As of April 26, 2026, ROE was 20.2%, ROCE was 13.7%, leverage was 1.99x, cash exceeded $3 billion, and revolver capacity was $3.5 billion. Management said the board declared a quarterly dividend of CAD 0.215 per share. Forward-looking commentary pointed to a constructive start to FY2027, Q1 trends similar to Q4, continued focus on more than 10% organic EPS growth, ongoing CapEx and supply-chain investment, and TotalEnergies synergies above EUR 60 million on track for EUR 120 million by fiscal 2027 and EUR 170 million by fiscal 2029.

Alex Miller framed fiscal 2026 as an exceptional year and said the Core+ More strategy is already working through stronger traffic, margin expansion, and a more productive network. He highlighted broad-based growth across fuel, nicotine, thirst, food, EV charging, and digital, and said the company is winning customers while widening the gap versus the broader convenience channel. His tone was confident and upbeat, but tied to execution rather than M&A, emphasizing that the company is not relying on acquisitions to hit its growth algorithm.

Filipe Da Silva focused on earnings quality, expense discipline, and capital strength. He cited Q4 reported net earnings of $863 million, adjusted EPS of $0.73, FY2026 adjusted EPS of $3.10, and adjusted EBITDA growth of 28.9% in the quarter and 10.8% for the year, while noting normalized operating expenses grew 2.6% in Q4 and 3.1% for the year. He also highlighted liquidity of over $3 billion in cash plus $3.5 billion of revolver availability, leverage of 1.99x, the CAD 0.215 dividend, $22.6 million of buybacks in the quarter, about $1.6 billion returned through repurchases for the year, and TotalEnergies synergies above EUR 60 million with stated targets of EUR 120 million and EUR 170 million.

Analysts pressed on why U.S. fuel margins outperformed market indicators, and management attributed it to a decade of investment in supply-chain optionality, terminals, trading capabilities, and disciplined risk management; they said similar benefits were evident in Europe as well. Questions also focused on capital allocation and M&A, where management reiterated that organic investment comes first, leverage should stay in the 2x-2.5x range, excess capital can fund repurchases, and M&A remains active but disciplined. Other questions covered merchandise margin and supply-chain rollout, with management saying new U.S. distribution centers are improving availability and should create positive P&L effects over the next couple of years, and that loyalty/digital tools are improving traffic and basket, though they declined to quantify the exact lift.