Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO)

Have 17,000 locations globally and they just bought a company that gives them a presence in Germany and Belgium.  7-11 is 5x larger, but there's a lot of room for ATD to grow, because 60% of convenience stores globally are run by Mom and Pops. They were disciplined in 2020-1 and are now buying companies strategically. Half their business comes from non-gas, so they're adding car washes and fast food restaurants. The dividend has grown 23% annually over the last 10 years.

Wonderful company. He took advantage of recent weakness to add. Global. Good at capital allocation. Generates tons of cash, with lots of options for what to do with it. Last quarter was choppy by company's standards. Very attractive valuation.

Unique, because this business is hard, and not many can generate the margins they do. As they've gotten bigger, can consolidate sourcing and this further helps margin profile. This is their unique advantage over competitors.

Great Canadian company that is core position in portfolio. Excellent management team with strong capital allocation skills. Expecting many years of growth. Valuation has come back to fair levels. Would recommend buying shares in company. 

Excellent business with strong support levels. Technical analysis showing very strong signals. Up trend very strong - great time for investors to buy. Consumer staple business is very defensive - good for any position in credit cycle. 

Still likes it. Recent pullback on weak quarter reporting. Weakness represents good entry point. Headwinds are macro driven and endemic to the sector, lower income consumers are struggling. Macro headwinds will abate.

Great operators of convenience stores globally that offer high margins on products. They continually buy peers in a fragmented business. After watching this for 20 years, he finally bought it. It rarely pulls back but recently did, perhaps due to inflation. High returns and owners own a lot of shares.

Two months ago, he held it, but has since sold. Headwinds such as food pricing power are longer term, not just a short-term blip. If something isn't working in a bull market, consider moving on. For a company that's a perennial winner, by the time it misses, it's pulled reserves out of every pocket it has to make numbers, but still misses.

The current pullback is an opportunity. Their US business remains sound where there will be a build out of store and merchandise. The pullback is very short term. A headwind would be a slowing economy in North America or Europe. But if rate cuts happen this year, we'll be fine; the consumer will be fine. But if cuts don't come, the consumer will not be fine.

Owns shares in company in portfolio. Highly ranked from technical perspective. Higher trends good for investors. 

Fuel margins less than expected, temporary. More concerning was same-store sales were weak across all geographies. Might just speak to general weakness in consumer spending, and those convenience store items are priced at a premium. Hard to call a trend after 1 quarter.

Grows through acquisition, which is harder now that they're so big. She prefers other growth opportunities.

A good steady Eddy. He's owned this in the past. He had concerns on their dependence on gas. They are a play on convenience stores. Good for the long term. Consistent.

Brilliant Canadian company. Excellent job growing, which will continue. Great acquisitions and expansion. Lots of room to grow. Experimenting with incorporating the new EV world, especially in Europe. Run up, but still a Buy.

Close to record highs. High quality. Long-term hold. Global leader. Geographically well diversified, over 14K stores in 24 countries. One of largest companies in Canada by revenue. Buys and integrates assets like a well-oiled machine, still lots of money on balance sheet for more. High profitability. Yield is 0.8%.

6th largest holding in portfolio. Excellent company with good long term prospects. High growth rate. 2nd largest convenience store operator in the world. Very strong at execution and operation. Founders still active in the business. Still room for further acquisition in sector. Excellent history of return on capital (~20% average for twenty years). 20% compounding over 20-30 years is incredible achievement. 

There hasn't been a major catalyst, but it's a defensive business and is considered a safety trade. But its valuation is rich around 23x now vs. historical around 15-16x, too high. Shares have been on a tear, so it's taking a breather and will stay that way for a while.