Arko Corp. (ARKO) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Arko Corp 3rd quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. The question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should acquire operator assistance, please press 0 on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Ashleigh McDermott, Vice President of Financial Reporting. Please go ahead.

各位來賓，歡迎參加 Arko 公司 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。目前，所有參與者均處於唯讀模式。正式報告結束後將進行問答環節。若需要人工協助，請按電話鍵盤上的 0。再次提醒，本次會議正在錄影。現在我榮幸地向大家介紹財務報告副總裁 Ashleigh McDermott。請繼續。

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to ARCO's 3rd quarter 2025 earnings conference call and webcast. On today's call are Arie Kotler, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jordan Mann, interim Chief Financial Officer and senior Vice President of corporate strategy, Capital Markets and Investor relations.

謝謝。下午好，歡迎參加ARCO 2025年第三季財報電話會議和網路直播。參加今天電話會議的有：董事長、總裁兼執行長 Arie Kotler，臨時財務長兼企業策略、資本市場和投資者關係高級副總裁 Jordan Mann。

Our earnings press release and quarterly report on Form 10Q for the 3rd quarter of 2025 as filed Arko the SEC are available on ARCO's website at www.arcocorp.com.

我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 2025 年第三季財報新聞稿和 10Q 表格季度報告可在 ARCO 的網站 www.arcocorp.com 上查閱。

During our call today, unless otherwise stated, management will compare results to the same period in 2024. Before we begin, please note that all 3rd quarter 2025 financial information is unaudited.

在今天的電話會議中，除非另有說明，管理層將把業績與 2024 年同期進行比較。在開始之前，請注意，2025 年第三季的所有財務資訊均未經審計。

During this call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在本次電話會議中，管理階層可能會根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的規定發表前瞻性聲明。

Please review the forward-looking and cautionary statement section at the end of our third quarter 2025 earnings release for various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made during our call today.

請查閱我們 2025 年第三季財報末的前瞻性聲明和警示性聲明部分，以了解可能導致實際結果與我們今天電話會議中所作的前瞻性聲明有重大差異的各種因素。

Many forward-looking statements made during this call reflect our current views with respect to future events, and Arco is under no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements made on this call, whether as the result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. On this call, management will share operating results on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. Descriptions of those non-GAAP financial measures that we use, such as adjusted EBITA and reconciliations of these measures to our results as reported in accordance with GAAP are detailed in our earnings release or in our quarterly report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. Additionally, management will share profit measures for our individual business segments along with fuel contribution, which is calculated as fuel revenue less fuel costs and exclude intercompany charges by our subsidiary GPMP.

本次電話會議中作出的許多前瞻性陳述反映了我們目前對未來事件的看法，除法律要求外，Arco 沒有義務更新或修改本次電話會議中作出的前瞻性陳述，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。在本次電話會議上，管理階層將以GAAP及非GAAP兩種方式分享經營績效。我們使用的非GAAP財務指標（例如調整後的EBITA）的說明以及這些指標與我們按照GAAP報告的業績的調節表，詳見我們的盈利報告或截至2025年9月30日的季度10-Q表格季度報告。此外，管理層將分享我們各個業務部門的利潤指標以及燃料貢獻，燃料貢獻的計算方法是燃料收入減去燃料成本，並且不包括我們子公司 GPMP 的內部交易費用。

And now I would like to turn the call over to Arie.

現在我想把電話交給阿里。

Thank you, Ashleigh, and thank you all for joining.

謝謝Ashleigh，也謝謝大家的參與。

Our team delivered a strong quarter of execution, staying disciplined and focusing on what we can control.

我們的團隊在本季表現出色，保持了嚴謹的作風，專注於我們能夠控制的事情。

Stepping back, we're operating in an environment where consumers are still feeling stressed as reflected in consumer sentiment data throughout this year.

從整體來看，我們目前所處的環境依然存在著消費者壓力，這一點從今年的消費者情緒數據中就能看出。

This has resulted in more deliberate shopping behavior, greater price sensitivity, and increased reliance on loyalty-driven offers.

這導致消費者購物行為更加謹慎，對價格更加敏感，並且更加依賴會員忠誠度獎勵。

These dynamics are consistent with what we're hearing across the industry, and they're shaping our approach, promotions, and value across our business.

這些動態與我們從整個行業中聽到的情況一致，並且正在影響我們整個業務的方法、推廣和價值。

It's important to recognize that consumer behavior is not uniform across a footprint.

需要注意的是，消費者的行為在不同地區並不相同。

We're seeing healthier trends in the northeast, southeast, and Mid-Atlantic, while in the Midwest and other select markets remain under pressure, reflecting broader regional differences in household budgets and fuel demand.

我們看到東北部、東南部和大西洋中部地區的趨勢更加健康，而中西部和其他一些特定市場仍然面臨壓力，這反映出家庭預算和燃料需求方面更廣泛的區域差異。

Industry feedback suggests these patterns are consistent across the channel, particularly in rural markets where store traffic remains under pressure.

產業回饋表明，這些模式在整個通路中是一致的，尤其是在客流量持續承壓的農村市場。

Despite these headwinds, we are executing on our controllable to ensure our long-term opportunities remain intact. Our same store sales, excluding cigarettes for the quarter was nearly flat, representing the best comp performance we've seen in the last 18 months.

儘管面臨這些不利因素，我們正在採取可控措施，以確保我們的長期發展機會不受影響。本季度，除香菸外，我們的同店銷售額幾乎持平，這是我們近 18 個月以來取得的最佳同店銷售業績。

We continue to believe Arco's transformation plan will make our business stronger, more efficient, and better aligned with consumer trends.

我們仍然相信，Arco的轉型計劃將使我們的業務更強大、更有高效，並更好地與消費者趨勢保持一致。

Now I will provide an update on the core elements of our transformation plan beginning with deal erization.

現在我將介紹我們轉型計畫的核心要素，首先是經銷商化。

Deal erization continues to be one of the most meaningful drivers of our plan.

經銷商化仍然是我們計劃中最重要的驅動因素之一。

Since the middle of 2024, we've converted approximately 350 stores as of September 30th, 2025 with an aggregate of approximately 185 additional sites committed for future conversion which are currently under a letter of intent or contract or have been converted since the end of the quarter.

自 2024 年年中以來，截至 2025 年 9 月 30 日，我們已經改造了大約 350 家門店，另有大約 185 個門店已承諾在未來進行改造，這些門市目前已簽署意向書或合同，或已在本季度末完成改造。

The early performance from locations that transitioned 6 or more months ago continues to meet our expectations and validates the benefits of this approach both in reduced overhead and improved operating efficiency.

6 個月或更久以前完成轉型的地區的早期業績繼續符合我們的預期，並驗證了這種方法在降低管理費用和提高營運效率方面的優勢。

Behind this initial stores dealerized or under a letter of intent or contract, we see an additional opportunity to round out our dealerization strategy in 2026 with a meaningful number of conversions to come.

除了這些已透過經銷商或意向書或合約初步確定的門市外，我們看到了在 2026 年透過大量門市轉換來完善我們的經銷商策略的另一個機會。

As we have stated before, once fully scaled, we expect this program to deliver a cumulative annualized operating income benefit of more than $20 million before G&A.

正如我們之前所說，一旦全面實施，我們預計該計劃在扣除一般及行政費用前，將帶來超過 2000 萬美元的累計年度營業收入收益。

As our deal erization efforts continue, we have identified more than $10 million in expected annual structural G&A savings with the opportunity for additional upside.

隨著我們交易化工作的繼續推進，我們已確定每年可節省超過 1000 萬美元的結構性一般及行政費用，並且還有進一步增加的空間。

As we continue to execute the deal erization program, we expect the benefits will increase and be further reflected in our financial performance and free cash flow generation moving forward, particularly given the savings for maintenance car packs. Deal erizations remain central to how we plan to drive more consistent return and long-term value creation for shareholders.

隨著我們繼續執行經銷商化計劃，我們預計收益將會增加，並進一步反映在我們未來的財務業績和自由現金流產生中，特別是考慮到維護車輛包的節省。交易仍然是我們計劃如何為股東帶來更穩定的回報和長期價值創造的核心。

Fueling America's future campaign and fast rewards loyalty platform continue to play a central role in deeping customer relationship and driving engagement in our retail stores. These programs not only help us stay relevant with consumers who are seeking more value in every trip, they drive incrementally and provide a valuable lever which we believe can improve same store sales performance over time.

「Fueling America’s future campaign」和「fast rewards loyalty platform」繼續在加深客戶關係和提升零售店的客戶參與度方面發揮核心作用。這些項目不僅幫助我們與那些希望每次購物都能獲得更多價值的消費者保持聯繫，而且還能逐步推動銷售，並提供一個有價值的槓桿，我們相信這可以隨著時間的推移提高同店銷售業績。

Average daily loyalty enrollment for our fast rewards program grew 37% in the quarter and 43% from the beginning of the promotion compared to the average daily loyalty enrollment prior to the campaign.

與活動開始前的平均每日會員註冊量相比，本季度我們快速獎勵計劃的平均每日會員註冊量增長了 37%，與活動開始前的平均每日會員註冊量相比增長了 43%。

During the quarter we saw continued fast reward members grow, adding nearly 35,000 new enrollees to reach approximately 2.4 million total enrolled members at quarter end. Our enrolled customers spend approximately $110 per month, or 53% more compared to non-members, and pump to store conversion is at 55% of visit year-to-date for enrolled members. This engagement matrix reinforced the value of the program and highlight the behavioral differences that make fast rewards a key contributor to in-store performance.

本季度，快速獎勵會員數量持續成長，新增近 35,000 名註冊會員，到季末，註冊會員總數達到約 240 萬人。我們的註冊會員每月消費約 110 美元，比非會員多 53%，而且註冊會員今年迄今的加油站到店消費轉換率達到了 55%。此參與矩陣強化了該計劃的價值，並突顯了行為差異，這些差異使得快速獎勵成為提升店內業績的關鍵因素。

As consumers remain increasingly value conscious, our loyalty program meets their demands for everyday savings and convenience while reinforcing Arco's relevance at the pump and in store.

隨著消費者越來越注重性價比，我們的會員計畫滿足了他們對日常省錢和便利的需求，同時鞏固了 Arco 在加油站和商店的相關性。

During America's future, we remain an ongoing part of our value strategy into 2026.

在展望美國未來之際，我們將持續將我們視為價值策略的一部分，直到 2026 年。

While we've seen continued growth in loyalty engagement, we also recognize that total program penetration is still developing, creating a runway for future growth.

雖然我們看到忠誠度參與度持續成長，但我們也意​​識到該計劃的整體滲透率仍在發展中，為未來的成長創造了空間。

To build on this momentum, we plan to launch a new version of our app by the end of the 1st quarter of 2026. This platform will introduce enhanced technology and new benefits, including improved reporting, personalization, gamification, and geo fencing capabilities, just to name a few that we expect will deepen customer engagement and drive incremental traffic.

為了鞏固這一勢頭，我們計劃在 2026 年第一季末推出新版本的應用程式。該平台將引入增強的技術和新的優勢，包括改進的報告、個人化、遊戲化和地理圍欄功能等等，我們預計這些功能將加深客戶參與度並帶來更多流量。

Our investment in other tobacco products and refreshed back bar layout also continued to drive positive results. Our OTP basket grew by approximately 16% compared to the same quarter last year.

我們對其他菸草產品的投資以及重新設計的吧台佈局也繼續帶來積極的成果。與去年同期相比，我們的 OTP 訂單量增加了約 16%。

OTP same store sales were up 6.6% as compared to the same quarter of last year, along with a margin rate increase of more than 300 basis points. Our redesigned back bars deliver better product visibility, and more modern presentation, and stronger promotions.

OTP 同店銷售額較去年同期成長 6.6%，毛利率成長超過 300 個基點。我們重新設計的貨架背景板提供了更好的產品展示效果、更現代化的陳列方式和更強的促銷效果。

This initiative is a key highlight in our merchandizing strategy.

這項舉措是我們商品銷售策略中的一大亮點。

It's driving incremental traffic, higher margins, and improved category mix while allowing us to compete more effectively in a value conscious environment.

它帶來了增量流量、更高的利潤率和更優的品類組合，同時使我們能夠在註重價值的環境中更有效地參與競爭。

During the quarter we made steady progress on our store remodel program. Our first remodel location reopened earlier this year. One additional location opened in early August 2025, and a third location is planned for the 4th quarter of 2025, with several more that are moving through permitting and construction phases and are planned to open in the first half of 2026.

本季度，我們的門市改造計畫取得了穩定進展。我們第一家翻新後的門市已於今年稍早重新開業。2025 年 8 月初，又開設了一家分店；第三家分店計劃於 2025 年第四季開業；還有幾家分店正在辦理許可證和進行建設，計劃於 2026 年上半年開業。

While only 2 of our new format stores are complete and operating, we are pleased with the results thus far.

雖然我們目前只有 2 家新業態門市建成並投入經營，但我們對迄今為止的成果感到滿意。

The growth we are experiencing by category in these stores has been as planned and has continued to improve.

這些門市各品類的成長均符合預期，且持續改善。

These new format stores are built around a food forward model that emphasize all grab and go breakfast, lunch, and snacking, bakery, pizza, and an expanded dispense, hot, cold and frozen beverages assortment, all supported by improved layouts and a better overall customer experience.

這些新形式的商店以食品為主導，強調提供即買即走的早餐、午餐和零食、烘焙食品、披薩以及種類豐富的冷熱冷凍飲料，所有這些都通過改進的佈局和更好的整體客戶體驗來支持。

Turning to our new to industry stores, we continue to expand our presence through select and targeted opportunities.

展望我們面向行業新開設的門市，我們將繼續透過精心挑選和有針對性的機會來擴大我們的業務範圍。

We opened a Dunkin' store and two new to Industries stores so far this year.

今年到目前為止，我們開設了一家 Dunkin' 門市和兩家新的 Industries 門市。

And have begun working on 3 more NTI stores, of which 2 are targeted to open in the 4th quarter of 2025.

並且已經開始著手建造另外 3 家 NTI 門市，其中 2 家計劃於 2025 年第四季開業。

Our latest NTI location in Kingston, North Carolina exceeded our plan for the quarter with food and beverage contributing 23% of merchandise sales, which is multiples higher than the food and beverage contribution of our same store network.

我們在北卡羅來納州金斯頓的最新 NTI 門市超出了本季度的計劃，食品和飲料的銷售額佔商品銷售額的 23%，比我們同店網絡的食品和飲料銷售額高出數倍。

These investments are focused on eye traffic, eye visibility sites where we can introduce the full Arko offering from fresh food to fuel and loyalty driven promotions supported by a modern scalable design.

這些投資主要集中在能夠吸引眼球流量和提升眼球可見度的網站上，我們可以推出 Arko 的全套產品和服務，從新鮮食品到燃料，以及由現代可擴展設計支持的忠誠度驅動型促銷活動。

Turning to fuel performance, our results reflected broader industry demand trends this quarter.

從燃油性能來看，我們的結果反映了本季更廣泛的行業需求趨勢。

Our discipline pricing strategy and network optimization drove strong per gallon margin performance, allowing us to deliver solid fuel contribution even as gallons modestly declined. The quarter ended with the same gallon trend better than Q2, with September performance improving from August. Our approach remains consistent.

我們嚴格的定價策略和網路優化推動了每加侖燃油利潤率的強勁成長，即使燃油銷量略有下降，我們也能提供穩定的燃油效益。本季末的加侖銷售趨勢與第二季度相同，且優於第二季度，其中9月份的業績比8月份有所改善。我們的方法始終如一。

Prioritize profitability over volume and leverage our skill to capture opportunity when market conditions allow.

優先考慮盈利能力而非銷量，並在市場條件允許時利用我們的技能抓住機會。

As the deal erization rollout continues.

隨著交易化推廣的繼續進行。

We're also seeing the benefits of our more diversified and stable fuel contribution base across our retail, oral and fleet fueling channels.

我們也看到了我們在零售、零售和車隊加油通路中更多元化和穩定的燃料貢獻基礎所帶來的好處。

Our fueling businesses remain strong contributors and key growth engines for Arcoization driven size conversion.

我們的燃料業務仍然是推動規模化轉型的重要貢獻者和關鍵成長引擎。

Have expanded our oral footprint, driving mid to high single-digit growth in oral fuel contribution.

我們擴大了口服產品的市場份額，推動口服燃料產品貢獻了中高個位數的成長。

The fuel distribution industry is highly fragmented, providing ample opportunity for acquisition given our size and scale.

燃料分銷行業高度分散，鑑於我們的規模和體積，這為收購提供了充足的機會。

Inflate fueling, disciplined customer management, and pricing supported stable margins and consistent volumes even amid softer industry fuel demand.

即使在行業燃料需求疲軟的情況下，透過提高燃油價格、嚴格的客戶管理和定價策略，也實現了穩定的利潤率和持續的銷售。

Looking ahead, we're advancing a number of new clog locations for 2026, reflecting the attractive recurring cash flow profile of this business and its growing role in ARO's long-term strategy.

展望未來，我們正在推動 2026 年多個新的堵塞地點的建設，這反映了該業務具有吸引力的經常性現金流狀況及其在 ARO 長期戰略中日益重要的作用。

We continue to see compelling value in our common stock and repurchase approximately 935,000 shares in the third quarter.

我們仍然認為我們的普通股具有令人信服的價值，並在第三季回購了約 935,000 股。

We have the flexibility to continue investing in our highest return opportunities dealerization, remodels, and strategic role in oils and fleet fueling while maintaining a balanced approach to shareholder returns.

我們有能力繼續投資於回報最高的投資機會，例如經銷商化、改造以及在石油和車隊加油領域的策略作用，同時保持對股東回報的平衡。

Our priorities are clear, straining the balance sheet, execute on our transformation plan, and drive sustainable long-term value creation.

我們的優先事項很明確：改善資產負債表，執行轉型計劃，並推動可持續的長期價值創造。

I will now turn the call over to Jordan to review financial results for the 3rd quarter and discuss our outlook for the 4th quarter and full year 2025.

現在我將把電話交給 Jordan，讓他回顧第三季度的財務業績，並討論我們對第四季度和 2025 年全年的展望。

Thank you, Arie. Good afternoon, everyone. Before I begin, I'd like to know that this is my first earnings call as interim CFO.

謝謝你，阿里。大家下午好。在開始之前，我想說明一下，這是我作為臨時財務長的第一次財報電話會議。

I'm grateful for the opportunity to step into this role and continue working closely with Ari and our leadership team.

我很榮幸有機會擔任這個職位，並繼續與阿里和我們的領導團隊密切合作。

Now turning to 3rd quarter 2025 results.

現在來看2025年第三季的業績。

Adjusted EBITDA was 75.2 million for the quarter, slightly above the midpoint of our guidance. This compares to 78.8 million in the year ago period, with the decrease caused primarily by softer retail performance.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,520 萬美元，略高於我們預期的中位數。相較之下，去年同期為 7,880 萬，下降的主因是零售業表現疲軟。

At the segment level, our retail segment contributed operating income of approximately 77.5 million compared to 85.1 million in the year ago period.

從業務部門來看，我們的零售業務部門貢獻了約 7,750 萬的營業收入，而去年同期為 8,510 萬。

Same storm merchandise sales, excluding cigarettes were down 0.9% versus the year ago period, while total Sastorm merchandise sales were down 2.2%. Both showed sequential improvement from the second quarter.

同店商品銷售額（不含香菸）較去年同期下降 0.9%，而 Sastorm 商品總銷售額較去年同期下降 2.2%。兩者均較第二季有所改善。

Same store merchandise margin rate was up approximately 60 basis points versus the prior year.

同店商品毛利率較上年同期成長約 60 個基點。

The Same store of fuel contribution was down approximately 1.3 million for the quarter, with a 4.7% decline in gallons, partially offset by an increase of 1.$0.05 per gallon of fuel margin.

本季同店燃油貢獻量下降約 130 萬加侖，下降 4.7%，但燃油利潤每加侖增加 0.05 美元，部分抵消了這一降幅。

The same store fuel margin was 43.$0.08 per gallon for the quarter.

該季度同一家商店的燃油利潤率為每加侖 43.0.08 美元。

Gam store operating expenses were up approximately 1.8% for the quarter.

本季 Gam 商店的營運費用成長了約 1.8%。

Turning to our wholesale segment, operating income was 24.1 million for the quarter versus $20.3 million in a year ago period.

再來看我們的批發業務，本季營業收入為 2,410 萬美元，去年同期為 2,030 萬美元。

The fuel margin was 9.$0.06 per gallon in line with the year ago period.

燃油利潤率為每加侖 9.06 美元，與去年同期持平。

Gallons were up approximately 7.5% to the year ago period, driven by approximately 24.5 million incremental gallons from retail sites converted to dealers since the middle of 2024.

加侖數比去年同期成長了約 7.5%，這主要得益於自 2024 年年中以來零售點轉為經銷商後新增的約 2,450 萬加侖銷量。

Excluding channel optimization, gallons were down approximately 2.7% at comparable wholesale sites.

不考慮通路優化，可比批發站點的加侖數下降了約 2.7%。

We continue to be pleased with the impact of our channel optimization program, which has driven approximately 6.5 million in incremental operating income before G&A for the first nine months of 2025.

我們對通路優化計畫的影響感到滿意，該計畫在 2025 年前九個月帶來了約 650 萬美元的額外營業收入（不計一般及行政費用）。

For a fleet fueling segment, operating income was 12.2 million for the quarter versus 12.6 million for the year ago period, with total gallons down 1.6% as compared to the prior year period.

就車隊加油業務而言，本季營業收入為 1,220 萬，而去年同期為 1,260 萬，總加侖數與去年同期相比下降了 1.6%。

Fuel margin for the quarter was 45.$0.08 per gallon, up from 43.$0.05 per gallon in the in the prior year period.

本季燃油利潤率為每加侖 45.08 美元，高於去年同期的每加侖 43.05 美元。

Total company general and administrative expenses for the quarter was $40 million versus $38.6 million for the year ago period.

本季公司一般及行政費用總額為 4,000 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,860 萬美元。

The year over year increase in G&A was driven by a $1.7 million dollar increase in share-based compensation expense.

一般及行政費用較去年同期增加，主要是因為股權激勵支出增加了 170 萬美元。

As we continue the dealerization of our company operated stores, we expect to see the favorable impact on our G&A moving forward.

隨著我們繼續推進公司自營門市的經銷商化，我們預計這將對我們的一般及行政費用產生正面影響。

Net interest and other financial expenses for the quarter were 20.1 million compared to $23.6 million in the year ago period.

本季淨利息及其他財務支出為 2,010 萬美元，而去年同期為 2,360 萬美元。

With the decrease primarily related to lower average interest rates in the 3rd quarter of 2025 and a decrease in fair value adjustments primarily related to our warrants.

下降的主要原因是 2025 年第三季平均利率下降，以及與我們的認股權證相關的公允價值調整減少。

Net income for the quarter was 13.5 million compared to the net income of $9.7 million for the year ago period. Please reference our press release for a detailed reconciliation of net income to adjust the EBITDA.

本季淨利為 1,350 萬美元，而去年同期淨利為 970 萬美元。有關調整 EBITDA 的淨收入詳細調整表，請參閱我們的新聞稿。

Turning to the balance sheet, excluding lease-related financing liabilities, we ended the third quarter with $911.6 million in long-term debt.

從資產負債表來看，不包括與租賃相關的融資負債，我們第三季末的長期債務為 9.116 億美元。

We maintain substantial liquidity of approximately $890 million including approximately $307 million in cash on hand at quarter end.

截至季末，我們擁有約 8.9 億美元的充足流動資金，其中包括約 3.07 億美元的現金。

Along with remaining availability on our lines of credit.

以及我們剩餘的可用信貸額度。

Total capital expenditures for the quarter were $24.9 million.

本季資本支出總額為 2,490 萬美元。

Looking at our guidance for our fourth quarter, we expected just at EBITDA to be in the range of $50 million to $60 million.

根據我們對第四季的預期，我們預計 EBITDA 將在 5,000 萬美元至 6,000 萬美元之間。

This guidance is based on the following key segment assumptions. First, for a retail segment.

本指南基於以下關鍵細分市場假設。首先，針對零售領域。

We expect our Q4 2025 average retail store count to be approximately 1,150 sites.

我們預計 2025 年第四季平均零售門市數量約為 1150 家。

On a per store average basis, we expect merchandise sales to be up low low to mid single-digits, reflecting the higher productivity of our retained stores versus the year ago period, partially offset by same store merchandise sales performance, which is positioned down low to mid single-digits.

以單店平均計算，我們預期商品銷售額將實現個位數低至中等的成長，這反映出我們保留的門市的生產力比去年同期有所提高，但部分被同店商品銷售業績所抵消，後者預計將出現個位數低至中等的下降。

Again, on a per store average basis, we expect gallons to be at mid single-digits, reflecting the higher productivity of retained stores versus the year ago period, partially offset by same store gallon performance, which is positioned down mid single-digits.

同樣，以每家門市的平均銷量計算，我們預計銷量將達到個位數中段，這反映出與去年同期相比，保留門市的生產力有所提高，但部分被同店銷量下降個位數中段所抵消。

We are modeling total retail fuel margin in the range of 42.5 to 44.$0.05 per gallon.

我們對零售燃油總利潤的建模範圍為每加侖 42.5 至 44.05 美元。

For our wholesale segment, we expect mid-teens operating income growth driven by our ongoing channel optimization work.

對於我們的批發業務，我們預計在持續的通路優化工作的推動下，營業收入將實現兩位數中段的成長。

For our fleet fueling segment, we expect operating income growth to be down mid to high single-digits, driven by gallons roughly in line with the prior year on a lower cents per gallon compared to the elevated environment last year.

對於我們的車隊加油業務，我們預計營業收入成長將下降個位數中高段，原因是加油量與上年大致持平，而每加侖的價格則低於去年的高點價格。

Turning to the full year, we are updating our adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of 233 million to 243 million.

展望全年，我們將調整後的 EBITDA 預期更新為 2.33 億至 2.43 億。

This updated range reflects our performance year-to-date.

此次更新後的產品系列反映了我們今年迄今為止的業績。

With that, I'll hand it back to Ari for closing remarks, Arie.

那麼，現在我把麥克風交還給阿里，請他做總結發言。

Thanks, Jordan.

謝謝你，喬丹。

I'm proud of the way our team continues to execute to a challenging environment.

我為我們的團隊在充滿挑戰的環境中持續出色地完成任務而感到自豪。

We maintain disciplined, manage our controllable, and stay focused on the long-term transformation of our business.

我們保持自律，管理好可控因素，並專注於業務的長期轉型。

As we look ahead, our priorities are clear.

展望未來，我們的工作重點很明確。

Complete our deallarization program.

完成我們的去中心化計劃。

Continue driving loyalty led engagement and execute the next phase of our growth strategy.

繼續推動以忠誠度為導向的用戶互動，並執行我們成長策略的下一階段。

We're entering the final quarter of the year with focus, momentum, and confidence in the action we're taking to position AO for 2026 and beyond.

我們帶著專注、動力和信心進入今年的最後一個季度，我們將採取行動，為 AO 在 2026 年及以後的發展做好準備。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開通提問線。

Thank you. Well, now we conduct a question-and-answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press 2 to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up the handset before pressing the star keys. One moment please while I pull for questions.

謝謝。好了，現在我們來進行問答。如果您有任何疑問，請按下電話鍵盤上的 1。確認音表示您的線路已進入排隊佇列。您可以按 2 將您的問題從佇列中移除。對於使用揚聲器裝置的參與者，可能需要在按下星號鍵之前拿起聽筒。請稍等片刻，我正在整理問題。

Thank you. Our first question is from Bobby Griffin with Raymond James.

謝謝。我們的第一個問題來自 Raymond James 公司的 Bobby Griffin。

Good afternoon, buddy. Thanks for taking the questions and Jordan, congrats on the appointment.

下午好，哥們兒。感謝各位回答問題，喬丹，祝賀你獲得任命。

Thank you, Bobby.

謝謝你，鮑比。

I guess first I wanted to talk a little bit about the store remodels. You gave out an interesting stat there about, I believe, the merchandise side of things and the food service popping up as a percentage of sales. What is the opportunity or what's the pathway to kind of accelerate this? When you look at 7 stores on your store base, it's pretty tiny. So how can we accelerate this and kind of what's the time frame along that, given that you're seeing some good results from the early.

我想先簡單談談店舖的翻新改造。你剛才給了一個很有趣的數據，我認為是關於商品銷售方面以及餐飲服務在銷售額中所佔比例的。加速這進程的機會或途徑是什麼？當你查看你的門市數量時，你會發現你的門市規模相當小。那麼，鑑於早期已經取得了一些不錯的成果，我們如何才能加快這一進程，以及這個過程的時間框架是怎樣的？

Pilots. Sure, good afternoon, Bobby.

飛行員。當然，下午好，鮑比。

Well, we started with 7 stores, and as I mentioned earlier, we are already working at the moment, increasing the amount of stores in the region that, we're working on the 7 stores at the moment. We are seeing encouraging results, no question about it. We mentioned the food service, so the NTI that we opened in Kingston out of the gate just exceeded, the 20% food and beverage mix target that you know that was our target, as long as those stores performed, for the 1st 12 months, but for some reason this store really exceeded the performance. Because of that, we are working on additional stores that will come along immediately as we complete the 1st 7 stores. We're already working on identifying those stores, and I'm assuming that that's going to be probably another 2025 stores that will come on board immediately after the seven.

我們最初開了7家門店，正如我之前提到的，我們目前正在努力增加該地區的門市數量，我們現在正在努力改進這7家門市。我們看到了令人鼓舞的結果，這一點毋庸置疑。我們提到了餐飲服務，所以我們在金斯頓開設的這家 NTI 門市一開業就超過了 20% 的餐飲組合目標，你知道，這是我們的目標，只要這些門市在前 12 個月表現良好，就能實現這個目標，但不知何故，這家門市的業績真的超出了預期。因此，我們正在籌備更多的門市，這些門市將在前7家門市完成後立即開業。我們已經在著手確定這些門市，我估計在七家店之後，可能還會有另外 2025 家門市加入。

But the name of the game, of course, is going to be Food Service, and coal categories. This is really, what we are going to concentrate going into 2026.

當然，這場博弈的關鍵在於餐飲服務和煤炭品類。這正是我們2026年要重點關注的領域。

Okay, and I want to maybe switch gears and hit on the dealerization aspect a little bit. I believe you disclosed 185 more under letters of intent, and then you think there's an opportunity to continue some of this work in 2026. I mean, without putting a number out there of how many potential stores, I'm just curious, when you look at the book of retail stores that are not up for deal erization that you will keep when you're ultimately. Done with this work, what is the difference in those stores' performance on a comp basis because investors do have concerns here about the same store sales of the retail network, and I know there's a lot of things moving around. So if you could share anything on gallons or merchandise or even CPG of what the potential portfolio looks like versus kind of what the results we're seeing now, that'd be helpful.

好的，我想換個話題，稍微談談經銷商化的問題。我相信您根據意向書披露了另外 185 項工作，然後您認為有機會在 2026 年繼續進行其中一些工作。我的意思是，雖然我不打算給出潛在門市數量的數字，但我很好奇，當你查看那些最終你會保留的、不打算進行交易的零售門店名單時，你會怎麼想？完成這項工作後，這些門市的業績與同店銷售有何不同？因為投資人確實對零售網路的同店銷售額感到擔憂，而且我知道有很多事情正在改變。所以，如果您能分享一些關於加侖數、商品或消費品方面的潛在產品組合與我們現在看到的結果之間的對比信息，那就太好了。

Yeah, I cannot, comment in particular on the stores, but what I can say is that, we are targeting on stores that, we actually can have economy of scale, in the script I mentioned earlier that there are some differences between, region in the country. You know they are like the, if you're looking at different regions in the country, we feel that the northeast, southeast, and mid-Atlantic states, those are the areas that, we have a large economy of scale, the market, is being, from a. From the economy standpoint, from the, volatility in the market, we feel that there is a lot of opportunity for us. I mean, that's the reason we started the seven stores, pilots in the Mid-Atlantic states in Virginia, and we believe that those are the stores that we're going to continue to grow in this part of the country.

是的，我不能具體評論這些門店，但我可以說的是，我們的目標是那些我們能夠實現規模經濟的門店，正如我之前提到的，國內不同地區之間存在一些差異。你知道，如果你看看這個國家的不同地區，我們會覺得東北部、東南部和大西洋中部各州，這些地區擁有巨大的規模經濟，市場正在蓬勃發展。從經濟角度來看，從市場波動性來看，我們認為這對我們來說有很多機會。我的意思是，這就是我們開設七家門市的原因，我們在弗吉尼亞州等中大西洋各州進行試點，我們相信這些門市是我們將繼續在這個地區發展壯大的。

We're just seeing better results from the same store sales from gallons, from margin. Core categories. I mean, we just see, great results in those parts of the countries and those are the areas that we would like to invest more and get more out of them.

我們看到，在同等門市的銷售量（以加侖計）和利潤率方面，業績都有所提升。核心類別。我的意思是，我們看到這些地區取得了顯著的成果，而這些地區正是我們希望加大投資、獲得更多收益的地區。

But I think the Yes, go ahead.

但我認為，是的，繼續吧。

I'm sorry. No, go ahead. No.

對不起。不，你繼續。不。

I think the most important thing about dealerization is, there's a few things that I would like to maybe reiterate on this call, we took, meaningful amount of stores, we're converting them to basically to dealer. We are increasing the segment, we have the wholesale segment and the fleet segment, but we're increasing the wholesale segment and not only that we see, also increasing EBITDA.

我認為經銷商化最重要的一點是，我想在這次電話會議上重申幾點，我們已經接管了相當數量的門市，我們正在將它們基本上轉變為經銷商。我們正在擴大業務板塊，我們有批發板塊和車隊板塊，但我們正在擴大批發板塊，而且不僅如此，我們還看到 EBITDA 也在成長。

In those, basically moving from retail to wholesale.

這些轉變基本上是從零售轉向批發。

The conversion to cash flow is also much higher. I just want to remind you that you know we spend on a store about 2000 to $25,000 for basically for maintenance CapEx. That's what we usually spend in, roughly per year. So if you think about it, we're talking about 550 stores that we are converting from basically from retail to dealer, not only that we're talking about a $20 million or so. In EBITDA uplift, we're also talking about spending less money on maintenance CapEx, the number is just quoted right now, it's probably between $15 to $20 million just on CapEx that all of a sudden we're not going to spend over here. And like I said, the conversion, when you move those stores from retail to wholesale, the conversion to, free cash flow, it's much higher.

現金流轉換率也高很多。我只是想提醒您，您知道我們每個門市的維護資本支出約為 2000 至 25,000 美元。這大概是我們每年的大致花費。所以你想想，我們說的是要將 550 家門市從零售店轉型為經銷商，不僅如此，我們說的還涉及約 2,000 萬美元。在 EBITDA 提升方面，我們也談到了減少維護性資本支出，這個數字目前剛剛公佈，可能在 1500 萬到 2000 萬美元之間，而我們突然之間將不再在這裡花費這筆錢。正如我所說，當你把這些商店從零售轉向批發時，自由現金流的轉換率會高得多。

And I think that's something that we need to point on this call because cash flow is very important for us as we move along.

我認為這是我們需要在這次電話會議上重點強調的一點，因為現金流對我們來說非常重要。

Yeah, that makes sense. And I guess I just lastly from me, Ari, and you're prepared to march, you called out the fleet fleet card segment as an area for some new location growth in 26. Just curious if you can unpack that opportunity a little bit more. Where do you see like how big of white space do you see there? Is that all organic or is there opportunities for tucking M&A there again? I just curious kind of what that opportunity could look like over the next couple of years.

嗯，有道理。最後，我想說的是，阿里，你準備好了，你指出艦隊卡部分是 26 年一些新的地點成長領域。我只是好奇您能否更詳細地解釋一下這個機會。你看到哪裡有大片的空白區域？這些都是自然成長的，還是其中存在再次進行併購的機會？我只是好奇，未來幾年這個機會可能會發展成什麼樣子。

I'm talking about building additional sites. As this, the lit segment, it's very fragmented. There's not a lot of companies like us that are operating in this arena.

我指的是建設更多站點。因此，在有色人種領域，它非常分散。像我們這樣在這個領域運作的公司並不多。

I think we are one of the largest one in the country, we have today 280 sites.

我認為我們是全國最大的公司之一，目前擁有 280 個站點。

We see a lot of opportunities in the market that we operate and outside the market we operate just for your benefit to build a co log, it's anywhere between a million dollars to $2 million. That's the cost to build a colog versus when you build a new industry store, you're talking about 6 to 6 to $8 million. The card log it's much, I'll call it less expensive on one end and on the other end it's also from an operating standpoint. I mean, it's unmanned.

我們看到，在我們經營的市場內外，都有很多機會可以建立合作社，這完全是為了您的利益，金額在一百萬美元到兩百萬美元之間。這是建造一個倉庫的成本，而建造一個新的工業商店則需要 600 萬到 600 萬到 800 萬美元。卡片日誌一方面價格更低，另一方面從操作角度來看也是如此。我的意思是，它是無人駕駛的。

It's unmanned and as you can see, we operate those, we operate the 280 card logs, we enter into this in 2022. We generate a lot of cash, a lot of free cash flow from those assets, and we just see that this is another great opportunity for us, to increase the amount of co logs that we operate. We already identified 5 and going into 2026, we identified 5, and the idea is to build more into 2026. I mean, as I said, currently we found 5 that we are actually tackling at the moment. And the same thing goes, by the way, to the wholesale segment as you can see right now, we're spending a lot of time moving stores and configuring, the best way to position our company and also continue to be also a great opportunity for us.

它是無人值守的，正如你所看到的，我們操作這些，我們操作 280 張卡片日誌，我們在 2022 年進入這個領域。我們從這些資產產生了大量的現金和自由現金流，我們認為這是另一個絕佳的機會，可以增加我們營運的煤炭數量。我們已經確定了 5 個項目，進入 2026 年，我們又確定了 5 個項目，我們的想法是在 2026 年建造更多項目。我的意思是，正如我所說，目前我們發現了 5 個我們正在著手解決的問題。順便說一句，批發業務也是如此，正如你現在看到的，我們正在花費大量時間搬遷門市和進行配置，以找到定位我們公司的最佳方式，同時也繼續為我們帶來巨大的機會。

Thank you, Arie.

謝謝你，阿里。

Thank you, Jordan. Best of luck here in the 4th quarter.

謝謝你，喬丹。祝你在第四節比賽中好運。

Thank you very much, buddy.

非常感謝，兄弟。

Now our next question is from Benjamin Wood with BMO Capital Markets.

現在，我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Benjamin Wood。

Hey, good afternoon, guys, and this is Ben on behalf of Kelly Beania and BMO and congrats, Jordan as well.

嘿，大家下午好，我是 Ben，代表 Kelly Beania 和 BMO，也祝賀 Jordan。

Wanted to start with the improvement on, some of the organic metrics you saw sequentially, wondering if you can help frame how much of that improvement was, better store trends versus benefiting from having maybe a better performing or more efficient store base as a result of the deal erization.

我想先談談您看到的一些有機指標的改善情況，想知道您能否幫忙分析一下，這些改善有多少是由於門市趨勢的改善，又有多少是由於經銷商化後門市業績更好或效率更高而帶來的。

Sure, I will start with some remarks and then I will let maybe Jordan jump in if you have anything else to add. So, I think the performance that you see, not only that, I mentioned that this quarter was probably one of our best quarters for the past 18 months, from a trend standpoint, but it's not only that the sales like cigarettes were almost flat compared to prior year. I think it's really all about. The things that we did in 2025, we started with OTP. You saw what happened to OTP. OTP was basically up 6.6%, margin improvement of 300 basis points. In addition to that, we basically outperformed in many categories like candy, packbad, for example, and those categories are the categories that are really driving the margin up. So it's not only that the performance is better, it's also that the mix that we are having over there, it's a better mix. The mix drives the margin up.

當然，我先說幾句，如果你們還有什麼要補充的，我可能會讓喬丹插話。所以，我認為你們看到的業績，不僅如此，我之前提到過，從趨勢來看，本季度可能是我們過去 18 個月以來最好的季度之一，而且不僅僅是香煙等產品的銷售額與上年同期相比幾乎持平。我覺得這一切都與此有關。我們在 2025 年所做的事情，是從 OTP 開始的。你看到了OTP的下場。OTP 基本上上漲 6.6%，利潤率提高了 300 個基點。除此之外，我們在糖果、包裝袋等許多類別中表現優異，而這些類別正是真正推高利潤率的類別。所以不僅是演出效果更好，而且我們那邊的混音效果也更好。這種產品組合提高了利潤率。

And like I said, I think we started the OTP at the beginning with the backboard, then we went to Fueling America. I think the loyalty platform that we have with the Fueling America campaign that we have, we are selling right now items that you actually have a high margin, and on the top of it, of course I mentioned OTP, but OTP also drive traffic.

就像我說的，我認為我們最初是從籃板開始 OTP 的，然後我們又去了 Fueling America。我認為我們透過「Fueling America」活動建立的忠誠度平台，目前銷售的商品利潤率很高，此外，我當然也提到了OTP，OTP還能帶來流量。

So I think between the back bar investment and the fueling America investment along with loyalty, that's what really would drive the result and I think right now you see, you start to see more and more and more quarter after quarter, you start to see that the results are just improving. And you can, like I said, you see it in margin. I mean, we increase margin again this quarter and, quarter after quarter, we continue to increase margin, and I think this is, that's all because of those promotions that we are having out there.

所以我認為，在酒吧後台投資、加油站投資以及顧客忠誠度方面，這才是真正推動業績成長的因素。而且我認為，現在你可以看到，一個季度又一個季度過去了，業績正在不斷改善。就像我說的，你可以在頁邊空白處看到它。我的意思是，我們本季再次提高了利潤率，而且每個季度都在持續提高利潤率，我認為這完全是因為我們正在進行的促銷活動。

Yeah, then the only thing I would add is, if you look at, the prepared remarks and the guide from last quarter, we talked about, same underlying same store sales and same store gallon trends, and on an average per store basis we were roughly in line with what we guided, which means to me that the productivity of those stores was in line with what we expected, if not a little bit better.

是的，那我唯一要補充的是，如果你看一下我們準備好的發言稿和上個季度的指導方針，我們討論過同店銷售額和同店加侖數趨勢，平均而言，我們每家門店的業績大致符合我們的預期，這意味著這些門店的生產力符合我們的預期，甚至可能略好一些。

So you are seeing the benefit from higher productive stores in that in that base of stores that we've retained.

因此，在我們保留下來的這些門市中，您可以看到高產門市帶來的好處。

Great, that's helpful and just as a as a quick follow-up on that, are you able to give any details on kind of the monthly cadence and how things are looking quarter to date? I know we started, July off pretty strong, I believe we talked about, but how did the rest of the, quarter end up as far as cadence?

太好了，這很有幫助。再補充一點，您能否詳細說明一下每個月的進度安排以及本季至今的情況？我知道我們在七月開局不錯，我們也討論過，但是本季剩餘時間的節奏如何呢？

Well, I think July was very strong. I think August declined a little bit, and I think September start to come up. So it's really, like I said, I think overall the quarter was a good quarter.

我認為七月份表現非常強勁。我認為八月略有下滑，九月開始回升。所以，就像我剛才說的，我認為總體來說，這個季度表現不錯。

Unfortunately, August was a little bit lighter than July, but as I said, September start to come back, a little bit better.

可惜的是，8 月的收成比 7 月略少，但正如我所說，9 月的情況開始好轉。

And that's how we end up, like I said, that's how we end up the the quarter with, very close to flat on cells excluding cigarettes, at the same time you probably saw we also were able to, get a higher CPG over here, during this quarter. I mean our CPG is 2.$0.03 better than prior year.

就像我剛才說的，這就是我們本季的最終結果，不包括香菸在內的所有消費品銷售額基本上持平，與此同時，您可能也看到了，我們本季的消費品銷售額也有所提高。我的意思是，我們的 CPG 比上一年增長了 2.003 美元。

That's great. And then, Ari, you give a lot of color on on the work you're doing to drive the gross margin expansion and it and it continues to come.

那太棒了。然後，阿里，你詳細介紹了你為推動毛利率擴張所做的工作，而且這項工作還在繼續。

In above, at least our expectations, I just wanted, how should we think about where the upper limit is of your gross margins, and it sounds like it's all benefiting from promotions, but are you still as competitive on your pricing across the store, just the sustainability of margins.

以上至少是我們預期的情況，我只是想知道，我們該如何看待你們毛利率的上限？聽起來你們似乎都在享受促銷帶來的收益，但是你們在整個商店的定價方面是否仍然具有競爭力？利潤率的可持續性如何？

Please.

請。

Yeah, we continue to be competitive. I think the margin increase is really from, the heavy promotions that we're doing with our vendors, and I can tell you that, we started fueling America with, 10 amount of vendors. And as we start to show results and as we start to show those vendors how they can actually grab market share, more and more and more and more suppliers have decided to basically to join the program. I can tell you that going into 2026, Fueling America is going to actually continue to be one of our top promotions.

是的，我們依然保持競爭力。我認為利潤成長主要來自我們與供應商進行的大力促銷活動，我可以告訴你，我們最初是透過 10 家供應商開始為美國市場提供燃料的。隨著我們開始展示成果，並開始向供應商展示他們如何真正獲得市場份額，越來越多的供應商決定加入該計劃。我可以告訴大家，到了 2026 年，「為美國加油」活動仍將是我們最重要的推廣活動之一。

And I think that's what you see over here, it's really, all of those promotions are supported 100% by our vendors. I mean, they see the results and then that's why they're participating. So I think the, we believe that, this is sustainable, the improvement that you see over here, there is a lot of work put into it. I want to be very clear. This is something that our category managers and our You know team is working really hard, to put those programs together and like I said, we expanded merchandise margin in, multiple consecutive quarters and I believe this is sustainable and we're going to just continue to improve it as we move along with those promotions.

我認為這就是你們在這裡看到的，所有這些促銷活動都得到了我們供應商的100%支持。我的意思是，他們看到了結果，所以才參與其​​中。所以我認為，我們相信這是可持續的，你在這裡看到的進步，是付出了很多努力的結果。我想把話說清楚。這是我們的品類經理和團隊正在努力做的事情，他們正在製定這些計劃。正如我所說，我們已經連續幾個季度提高了商品利潤率，我相信這是可持續的，我們將繼續推進這些促銷活動，使其不斷改進。

Thank you guys.

謝謝大家。

Best of luck.

祝你好運。

Thank you, Ben.

謝謝你，本。

Thanks, Ben.

謝謝你，本。

Thank you. Our next question is from Daniel Guglielmo with Capital One Securities.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 Capital One Securities 的 Daniel Guglielmo。

Hi everyone, thank you for taking my question. Just following up on the various capital spend projects, so remodeling stores, new NTI retail, and new NTI card lot, is there one of those project types that you think offers the best returns right now, and how do you think about CapEx allocations for each into 26 and 27?

大家好，感謝各位回答我的問題。關於各種資本支出項目，例如商店改造、新的 NTI 零售店和新的 NTI 刷卡停車場，您認為目前哪種類型的項目能帶來最佳回報？您如何考慮將每項資本支出分配到 26 和 27 年？

Daniel, we started with those 7 stores, and we spend, we say on average we spend around a million dollars, a million won on those stores, we throw a lot of things into those stores to make sure that, we concentrate on food service, as we move along into 2026 and as we add more stores, the idea is really to scale it.

丹尼爾，我們最初開了這7家店，平均下來，我們每年在這些店裡投入大約一百萬美元（一百萬韓元），我們往這些店裡投入了很多東西，以確保……我們專注於餐飲服務，隨著我們邁向2026年，隨著我們增加更多門店，我們的想法是真正擴大規模。

Moving forward, so to adjust cost and scale the price, scale the cost, moving forward. In addition to that, of course our focus remains on maintaining, flexibility, to deploy capital towards high return opportunities.

接下來，為了調整成本並擴大價格規模，擴大成本規模，繼續前進。除此之外，我們當然還會繼續保持彈性，將資金投入高回報的機會。

So, the 7 stores, it's not significant, but as we move along over here, we're measuring, return on investment on each and every capital project. And the ones that we feel will actually provide us the best return, those are the ones that we are going to utilize. That's one of the reasons I mentioned earlier, converting over 500 stores eliminates approximately 15 to 18 to $20 million in maintenance caps, and when you have this, free cash available that can help us to invest in some of the other projects, to increase our return.

所以，這7家店雖然不多，但隨著我們繼續前進，我們正在衡量每個資本項目的投資報酬率。而那些我們認為能夠真正為我們帶來最佳回報的項目，才是我們會採用的項目。這就是我之前提到的原因之一，改造 500 多家門市可以節省約 1,500 萬至 1,800 萬至 2,000 萬美元的維護費用，有了這些資金，我們就可以投資其他項目，從而提高我們的回報。

Great, yeah, I appreciate that, and it actually segues into my next question. So I know that the majority of the dealers that take over the converted retail stores are are mom and pops. In this difficult consumer environment, has their appetite for taking on conversions changed at all? And then maybe you can just remind us why these dealers can take on the lower margin properties and still make the economics work for their.

好的，謝謝。這正好引出了我的下一個問題。所以我知道，接手改造後的零售店的經銷商大多是夫妻店。在當前嚴峻的消費環境下，他們對轉換率的接受程度是否有所改變？然後，或許您可以提醒我們，為什麼這些經銷商能夠承接利潤較低的房產，並且仍然能夠實現盈利。

Businesses.

企業。

I don't think it's the lower margin, by the way, Danielle, it's not in particular the lower margin. It's, we have decided to take stores that do not meet our, return on investment criteria. We have decided to take stores that are, in areas that we don't have maybe a large concentration.

順便說一句，丹妮爾，我不認為是較低的利潤率，尤其不是較低的利潤率。我們決定收購那些不符合我們投資報酬率標準的店家。我們決定在那些我們可能還沒有大量開設門市的地區開設門市。

And at the end of the day, if you're looking on this industry, I'm like I said, I'm here from 2003, 22 years, the amount of mom and pop stores in terms of percentage didn't really change. I mean, 20 years ago it was, I don't know, 65-70% of the stores in the US were mom and pop, and if you're looking today, it's exactly 65-70% stores are still mom and pop. You know those guys are very entrepreneurial. They concentrate on one or two stores, they spend all of their time in the store. They, they're coming up with many ideas that they can add to the stores, which we can't, as a large company, I can tell my guys just to sell different types of foods in different stores and different, basically in different regions. I mean we have to be very consistent. Those guys are, like I said, are very entrepreneurial and they know how to make things better, in some areas, and that's why they're very successful. And that's why there's still 65, 70% of them are mom and pop.

歸根結底，如果你觀察這個行業，就像我之前說的，我從 2003 年就在這裡，22 年了，夫妻店的數量佔比並沒有真正改變。我的意思是，20年前，美國大約有65%到70%的商店是夫妻店，而如果你看看今天，你會發現仍然有65%到70%的商店是夫妻店。你知道，他們都很有創業精神。他們專注於一兩家店，把所有時間都花在店裡。他們想出了很多可以添加到商店裡的想法，而我們作為一家大公司，卻不能告訴我的員工在不同的商店、不同的地區銷售不同類型的食品。我的意思是，我們必須始終如一。正如我所說，這些人非常有創業精神，他們知道如何在某些領域做得更好，這就是他們非常成功的原因。所以，其中仍然有 65% 到 70% 是夫妻店。

Great, thank you. I appreciate that color and the clarification. Thank.

太好了，謝謝。我喜歡這種色彩和清晰的解釋。感謝。

You.

你。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to Ariotler for any closing comments.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題了。我想把發言權交還給 Ariotler，讓他做最後的總結發言。

Thank you very much everybody for participating this evening in our earning call. I wish you guys all the best and happy holidays ahead of us.

非常感謝各位今晚參加我們的財報電話會議。祝你們一切順利，假期愉快。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time.

今天的會議到此結束。您可以在此時斷開線路。

Thank you for your participation.

感謝您的參與。