Casey's General Stores Beats Q1 Estimates but Shares Drop Amid Slowing Same-Store Sales

CASY beat on both lines in its fiscal first quarter, posting adjusted earnings of $7.37 per share against a $6.68 consensus and revenue of $5.68 billion versus about $5.57 billion expected . Diluted earnings per share rose 27.7% year over year, and net income came in at $274 million.

The driver was fuel. Fuel margin expanded to 47.8 cents per gallon from 41.0 cents a year earlier, more than offsetting a dip in same-store gallons sold. That is the kind of beat the market discounts quickly, because fuel margin is the least controllable line in the model and the hardest to extrapolate.

The stock fell anyway, sliding about 7% during the session and 9.7% in after-hours trade to roughly $662, as investors focused on the inside business. Inside same-store sales grew 3.2%, down from 4.3% in the comparable quarter last year, which is the number that speaks to underlying store traffic rather than commodity spread. Management reiterated fiscal 2027 EBITDA growth of 8% to 10% and at least 120 new stores, and much of that appeared to be priced in already.

On capital returns, Casey's declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable November 13 to holders of record November 1, for a yield of roughly 0.4% . The dividend is a signal of confidence rather than a source of return at that yield. What matters next is whether inside same-store sales stabilize, because a fuel-led beat with a decelerating inside comp is exactly the mix that leaves guidance looking vulnerable.

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