Alimentation Couche-Tard (B)ATD.B.TOTOP PICKSep 11, 2017Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Dec 07, 2021. Market Open.
EPS of 68c matched estimates; sales of $20.90B missed estimates of $21.21B. EBITDA of $1.64B beat estimates by 3%. Supply-chain optimization could let Couche-Tard maintain fuel profitability across its key markets for the rest of the fiscal year. US fuel margins declined sequentially (down 3.9%), but increased 2.5% compared with last year, an inflection point for the metric. If the company can keep this cadence of growth for 4Q, it's likely that US fuel margins may remain around mid-40 cents per gallon for the year. Canada might remain in the low-teen cents and high-single digits in Europe. Better control management allowed US inside-the-store margins to expand. As for M&A, recent acquisitions seem to remain on track, with the company reiterating its ambition for a friendly merger with Seven Eleven now that the possibility of a management buyout is gone. The stock is up, but this is likely more due to ongoing discussions with Seven Eleven rather than the quarter. But we are comfortable with the results.
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Very strong business - founder led & owned. Exception creator of wealth the past ~20 years. Has owned shares since 2014. Very good consolidator of convenience stores. High quality capital allocation skills. Recent 7-Eleven M&A is interesting, but depends on the final price that is settled on. Would recommend holding and/or buying.
He likes the rising volume of products being pushed through their stores. As it starts to get to a critical mass, there could be integration opportunities and continue to shave costs off. There could also be tuck in acquisitions. Dividends went up more than 3 times in the last 3 years. The convenience business is a place where we all go visit when we buy our gasoline. This has exposure to the US and to Europe. A well-run business, and should continue to do well. (Analysts’ price target is $72.50.)