Metro Inc.

Q3 sales were $6.97 billion, up 1.4% year over year. Gross profit was $1.3 billion, or 18.8% of sales, versus 19.8% last year. EBITDA was $555.7 million, down 15.3%, and adjusted EBITDA was $581.4 million, down 11.3%, or 8.3% of sales versus 9.5% last year. Adjusted net earnings were $262.6 million, down 20.9%, and adjusted EPS was $1.24 versus $1.52, down 18.4%. Food same-store sales were down 1.5%, while pharmacy same-store sales were up 4.8%. Management said the quarter included an estimated $90 million impact from the strike, equal to about $0.32 per share, and also $42.6 million of after-tax charges, or $0.20 per share, tied to network optimization initiatives. For full-year context, the company expects the strike to continue significantly impacting Q4, with food same-store sales after four weeks at minus 1.5%.

Eric La Flèche said the quarter was “certainly challenging” because the Quebec labor conflict disrupted operations, diverted management attention, and hurt both sales and margins. He emphasized that the contingency plan is improving and stores are generally well stocked, but he stressed it does not match the effectiveness of Metro’s normal network. Strategically, he highlighted ongoing strength in pharmacy, online growth, discount-banner expansion, and retail investment, while repeating that Metro will continue seeking a negotiated settlement without compromising long-term competitiveness.

Nicolas Amyot quantified the quarter’s strike-related damage at about $90 million in lost profit and incremental direct costs, including roughly $3 million of direct costs mainly for security and other contingency expenses. He reported gross profit of $1.3 billion (18.8% margin), operating expenses of $725.1 million, adjusted EBITDA of $581.4 million, and adjusted EPS of $1.24. He also outlined restructuring and impairment charges of $25.7 million and $32.1 million, said the network initiatives should generate $15 million of recurring annual after-tax earnings by the end of fiscal 2028, and reiterated that capital needs fit within the $500 million to $550 million annual CapEx envelope. Separately, he said the Première Moisson bakery manufacturing sale should bring $90 million in proceeds on closing in Q4, to be deployed according to capital allocation priorities.

Analysts focused heavily on the strike, asking whether Ontario was holding up, whether management was back in formal talks with the union, and how much of the cost drag was still ongoing. Management said Ontario was performing well overall and that the strike’s biggest impact remained in Quebec, while formal negotiations had paused for a few weeks but Metro remained willing to resume discussions in a realistic framework. On the quarter’s softness, management said the impact was primarily lost sales and margin rather than just temporary scramble costs, and that the cost drag should remain in the same ballpark in Q4 unless the strike is resolved. Questions also covered GLP-1s, where management said generic semaglutide is creating price deflation but unit volume is rising and the category should still contribute low-teens dollar growth.