Dive Brief:
- Casey’s General Stores saw a 14.2% boost in inside sales during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, according to the company’s latest earnings report. Same-store inside sales were up 4.3% year over year.
- That comps growth fueled a 20% year-over-year increase in both Casey’s EBITDA and its net income, said Darren Rebelez, the retailer’s chairman, president and CEO, in the first-quarter earnings call.
- The company also reported a 5.6% year-over-year improvement in the same-store prepared food and dispensed beverage programs. Overall sales in that category grew 13.2% year over year to $458 million, added Steve Bramlage, Casey’s CFO, in the call.
Dive Insight:
Casey’s, which proudly touts its place as one of the top-five pizza chains in the U.S. by store count, leaned on its food program to power this strong quarter. The company brought back the popular BBQ brisket LTO and saw an uptick in whole pie sales. Whole pizzas are the highest-margin subcategory in prepared food, said Rebelez, so the company is looking to continue that momentum.
Rebelez also highlighted that interest in prepared food stretches across all income levels, but is especially high among those in the lower income bracket. He said the price and quality of the offering is “really resonating” with lower-income shoppers.
Casey’s is also still working on its wings program, which it announced at the beginning of this year.
“We've identified a few opportunities with some flavor profiles, with some builds,” said Rebelez. “We're still tweaking some equipment needs, but we like what we're seeing.”
Beverages also played a big part on the grocery side, with nonalcoholic beverage sales up over 8%, Rebelex noted.
In the forecourt, Casey’s same-store fuel gallons sold grew by 1.7%, with a margin of 41 cents per gallon. Since OPIS saw an overall 3% decline in mid-continent fuel sales, that suggests Casey’s is taking market share from competitors to fuel its growth, said Rebelez.
