Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO)

Still generates significant amount of income from retail operations. Still ongoing interest in acquiring other US stores. Street analysts rate it a Buy. Strong brand, still has opportunities on a global scale and in digital transformation. Disciplined cost controls. Consistent dividend growth. Scores 8/10 on fundamentals.

Difficult space to be in. Very good business, big global player. But the market doesn't seem to care about these large, slow-moving companies. Investors want momentum and the more interesting spaces. Wait and see how things play out on the acquisition front.

Still making acquisitions in US and other geographies, though not at the scope of the elephant-hunting with 7-Eleven. Might be another chapter to the 7-Eleven story.

Not a management team you want to bet against in finding a way to grow. Trades ~17x PE, right in the middle of its historical average. Needs to get back to its long-term growth outlook -- based on same-store sales growth, acquisitions, and cost control. Not a screaming buy today, but you can keep holding for the long term.

He's a huge fan, owning it almost his entire career. Very attractive valuation. The potential Seven & i acquisition really spooked the market, and a selloff ensued. Not a lot of excitement around the name right now. Could be a bit of economic weakness coming, with an attack on discretionary income.

Generates massive cashflows, which gives them so many options -- buy back shares, increase dividend, make acquisitions. Excellent at allocating capital. All this likely to reasonably boost EPS. Good growth (though not AI-type growth) at roughly 17x PE. Reasonable price for high-quality compounder.

Beaten down on concerns about potential spending. Now seeing a slow recovery. Struggled to beat expectations over the last year. Over the next 12 months, he'd bet that this name would beat expectations rather than a Loblaw. Gas prices are settling, but margins are still OK, so that should benefit the convenience store segment. Decent valuation.

We would be comfortable buying ATD at 18X earnings today, considering its solid long-term history and good outlook for continued growth.
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The proposed acquisition may have been a bit aggressive. May have felt a big acquisition was needed to move the needle. Very well run. May not be a lot of big purchases left in the space unless you overpay or take on a lot of debt. Without acquisitions and integration, may not be that much room for earnings growth.

Growth was waning, needed to do a deal for next opportunity. He sold. Trading a bit above 200-week MA. Tremendous run from 2021-2024, so 18 months of chop is natural. Good operators, wouldn't want to be against them. Not a terrible entry point.

It's a massive positive they won't do the 7-11 deal--too big without issuing equity. Are top-notch buyers, though. The overhang now is economic uncertainty from a weaker consumer. Is a strong company and compounder.

It is dealing with a medium consumer and sluggish environment. he wants to see them continue acquisitions. It is buying back shares.

Japanese are not easy to negotiate with, and it's not to say that they won't come back and try again. Not a management deficiency that the deal wasn't completed. ATD is great at integrating. If they were able to get the deal done, he'd likely be back in the stock. No catalyst in the near term for him to buy; another deal would be a catalyst. In the meantime, doing a great job operating the business.

He's just a bit cautious in general about the consumer as a group relative to the rest of the market. He owns DOL and Loblaw, but that's it.

Hasn't performed well recently, investors not sure what to make of persistent attempts to buy Seven & I. Investor worries about amount of debt that would be needed to complete the purchase. Pretty high quality. Good time to look at it, as valuation has contracted. He's looking at it.