3 Big Numbers is a weekly column that looks at a few key details from around the c-store industry.
Alimentation Couche-Tard posted another strong quarter this week. Total fiscal-first-quarter revenue was up over 25% year over year and U.S. same-store merchandise revenues grew by 1.7% in the same period.
Growth was driven by continued momentum in food, energy drinks and other nicotine products, said President and CEO Alex Miller in the company’s fiscal Q1 2027 earnings release.
In this week’s “3 Big Numbers,” we look closer at how these three categories fared for Couche-Tard in fiscal Q1.
10%
The amount by which Couche-Tard’s energy drink sales improved year over year
Energy drinks are top of mind across the c-store industry.
“It is a massive category today,” said Miller. “It's twice the size of carbonated soft drinks.”
Couche-Tard reported a more than 10% sales increase in the U.S. during the quarter. That‘s faster growth than the industry at large, which saw high-single-digit increases, Miller noted.
He called out newer brands like Alani Nu and Celsius — both of which are growing much faster than the category at large, according to Goldman Sachs data — as well as an expanding customer base of women as among reasons for the growth.
Miller also said that the company continues to evaluate adding more shelf space for functional beverages, which includes energy drinks, and using its digital platforms to highlight new products.
13.2%
Foodservice’s share of Couche-Tard’s merchandise sales in Q1
Couche-Tard sees foodservice as its “single biggest growth opportunity,” said Miller.
He said that foodservice currently makes up 13.2% of merchandise sales and highlighted some ways the company is working to improve that figure. That includes a focus on its value meals, which saw a nearly 20% increase in volume year over year; the Flamin’ Hot Boneless Wings launch, which was Couche-Tard’s first hot food collaboration with PepsiCo; and customers trading up to higher-value hot foods.
The company also saw food gains in Europe, where it benefitted from customers buying “larger and more satisfying meal options,” led by burgers, Miller said.
With the retailer in the midst of trying to buy Polish retailer Żabka, we may hear more about food gains in Europe in the coming quarters. And with the 13,000-store Żabka’s innovation and foodservice being two of the driving forces behind Couche-Tard’s acquisition, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those learnings later applied to North America.
400
The number of basis points by which Couche-Tard’s cigarette sales outpaced the industry
Nicotine was the third of the categories Couche-Tard highlighted in its call.
While Miller particularly called out the growing other nicotine category, which includes nicotine pouches, he also said the company has been performing well in cigarettes, as same-store sales increased for the third consecutive quarter.
“While growth moderated from the strong performance we saw in Q4, we still outperformed industry volume trends by roughly 400 basis points,” Miller said of the company’s cigarette sales.
Cigarette use has been on a long decline in the U.S., falling below 10% of adults in 2024 according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Between that and the economic conditions that are causing shoppers to pull back on their spending, Couche-Tard’s growth in the category is worth highlighting.
