Caseys General Stores Inc (CASY) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Casey's General Stores Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Casey's General Stores 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Business Development. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係和業務開發高級副總裁布萊恩·約翰遜 (Brian Johnson)。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss the results from our second quarter ended October 31, 2023. I am Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Business Development. With me today are Darren Rebelez, Board Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Bramlage, Chief Financial Officer.

早安，感謝您與我們一起討論截至 2023 年 10 月 31 日的第二季業績。我是布萊恩·約翰遜，投資者關係和業務開發高級副總裁。今天與我在一起的有董事會主席、總裁兼執行長 Darren Rebelez；和財務長史蒂夫·布拉姆拉奇(Steve Bramlage)。

Before we begin, I'll remind you that certain statements made by us during this investor call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include any statements relating to expectations for future periods, possible or assumed future results of operations, financial conditions, liquidity and related sources or needs, the company's supply chain business and integration strategies, plans and synergies, growth opportunities and performance at our stores.

在我們開始之前，我要提醒您，我們在本次投資者電話會議中所做的某些陳述可能構成1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述包括與以下任何預期相關的陳述：未來期間、可能或假設的未來營運績效、財務狀況、流動性和相關來源或需求、公司的供應鏈業務和整合策略、規劃和協同效應、成長機會和我們商店的業績。

There are a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the integration of the recent acquisitions, our ability to execute on our strategic plan are to realize benefits from the strategic plan, the impact and duration of the conflict in Ukraine and related governmental actions as well as other risks, uncertainties and factors that are described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC and available on our website.

有許多已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素可能導致我們的實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果存在重大差異，包括但不限於最近收購的整合，我們執行戰略計劃的能力是從戰略計劃、烏克蘭衝突的影響和持續時間以及相關政府行動以及我們最近的年度報告中描述的其他風險、不確定性和因素中實現收益。向SEC 提交並可在我們的網站上獲取的10-K 表和10-Q 表的季度報告。

Any forward-looking statements made during this call reflect our current views as of today with respect to future events, and Casey's disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述均反映了我們截至今天對未來事件的當前看法，凱西不承擔任何更新或修改前瞻性陳述的意圖或義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件還是其他原因。

A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures referenced on this call as well as a detailed breakdown of the operating expense increase for the second quarter can be found on our website at www.caseys.com under the Investor Relations link.

本次電話會議中引用的非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務指標的調整表以及第二季度營運費用增長的詳細細目可在我們網站 www.caseys.com 的投資者關係連結下找到。

With that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Darren to discuss our second quarter results. Darren?

話雖如此，我現在想將電話轉給達倫，討論我們第二季的業績。達倫？

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. We'll discuss the excellent second quarter results in a moment. First, I want to thank our team, including the new team members in our 17th state of Texas for their dedication and hard work. We're excited to welcome the great state of Texas to the Casey's community.

謝謝布萊恩，大家早安。我們稍後將討論第二季的出色業績。首先，我要感謝我們的團隊，包括我們第十七州德克薩斯州的新團隊成員的奉獻和辛勤工作。我們很高興歡迎偉大的德克薩斯州來到凱西社區。

I know -- I speak for our entire team when I say we're extremely humbled by the response from our caring guests and dedicated team members to our annual Veterans giving campaign in November. This year's campaign resulted in over $1.2 million, just an outstanding outcome and for two great causes. Hope For The Warriors and Children of Fallen Patriots.

我知道——我代表我們整個團隊說，我們對關心我們的客人和敬業的團隊成員對我們 11 月的年度退伍軍人捐贈活動的反應感到非常謙卑。今年的活動籌集了超過 120 萬美元，這是一個出色的成果，有兩個偉大的原因。為勇士和陣亡愛國者的孩子們帶來希望。

We are so grateful to our communities and guests for their generous act of rounding up their purchase. As a veteran and myself, I know the great sacrifices these families have made and the challenges they face. Thank you to our partners at PepsiCo, who contribute to this campaign, our Casey's team members and especially to our guests who truly do good when they shop at Casey's.

我們非常感謝我們的社區和客人的慷慨行為，將他們的購買進行了匯總。身為一名退伍軍人和我自己，我知道這些家庭所做的巨大犧牲以及他們面臨的挑戰。感謝百事公司的合作夥伴為本次活動做出了貢獻，感謝我們的 Casey's 團隊成員，特別是感謝在 Casey's 購物時真正做好事的客人。

Now let's discuss the results from the quarter. Diluted earnings per share finished at $4.24 per share, a 16% increase from the prior year. Inside sales remained strong, driving inside gross profit dollars up 10% to $553 million. The company generated $159 million in net income, an increase of 15% and $306 million in EBITDA, an increase of 13% from the prior year.

現在讓我們討論本季的結果。稀釋後每股收益最終為每股 4.24 美元，比上年增長 16%。內部銷售依然強勁，推動內部毛利成長 10%，達到 5.53 億美元。該公司淨利潤為 1.59 億美元，較上年增長 15%，EBITDA 為 3.06 億美元，較上年增長 13%。

Inside the store, same-store sales were up despite lapping a very strong second quarter last year, while margins improved both sequentially and year-over-year as ingredient costs improve.

在店內，儘管去年第二季非常強勁，但同店銷售額仍在成長，而隨著原料成本的改善，利潤率環比和年比都有所提高。

On the fuel side of the business, we continue to strike the right balance between volume and margin. Similar to the first quarter, there are no significant macro events that impacted wholesale fuel costs. With each passing quarter, it becomes more evident that higher industry fuel margins are here to stay. With another strong quarter, which led to our highest EBITDA in the first 6 months in the company's history, the strength of our unique business model was again on full display.

在燃料業務方面，我們繼續在銷售和利潤之間取得適當的平衡。與第一季類似，沒有影響批發燃料成本的重大宏觀事件。隨著每季的過去，越來越明顯的是，較高的產業燃料利潤將持續存在。憑藉又一個強勁的季度，我們在前 6 個月實現了公司歷史上最高的 EBITDA，我們獨特的商業模式的優勢再次得到充分展示。

The team continues to do an excellent job operating the business efficiently and effectively, both inside and outside the store, as evidenced by same-store labor hours being down 2%, while our overall guest satisfaction score was up over 400 basis points over the prior year.

團隊繼續出色地工作，無論是店內還是店外，都高效、有效地運營業務，同店工作時間減少了 2%，而我們的總體顧客滿意度得分比之前提高了 400 個基點以上年。

I would now like to go over our results and share some of the details in each of the categories. Inside same-store sales were up 2.9% from the second quarter or 11% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 41.1%. We saw notably strong performance in whole pizza pies, bakery and dispensed beverage. We're also very pleased with the continued inside margin expansion this quarter. Same-store Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales were up 6.1% or 17.2% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 59%, up approximately 230 basis points from the prior year.

現在我想回顧一下我們的結果並分享每個類別的一些細節。同店內部銷售額較第二季成長 2.9%，以兩年計算成長 11%，平均利潤率為 41.1%。我們看到整個披薩餅、麵包店和分配飲料的表現尤其強勁。我們也對本季內部利潤率的持續擴張感到非常滿意。同店預製食品和配製飲料銷售額按兩年計算增長 6.1% 或 17.2%，平均利潤率為 59%，比上年增長約 230 個基點。

[Whole pies] performed well in the quarter, and we also saw a strong performance with appetizers and sides. Margin was favorably impacted by softening in commodities, notably cheese during the quarter.

[整個餡餅]在本季度表現良好，我們也看到開胃菜和配菜的強勁表現。本季大宗商品（尤其是起司）疲軟對利潤率產生了有利影響。

Same-store Grocery and General Merchandise sales were up 1.7% or 8.7% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 34%, an increase of approximately 70 basis points from the prior year. We saw positive momentum in the category, notably in alcoholic beverages, our private label program continues to be a great value option with bottled water and Casey's Chips performing well in the quarter.

同店雜貨和日用百貨銷售額以 2 年疊加計算成長 1.7% 或 8.7%，平均利潤率為 34%，比上年增長約 70 個基點。我們看到了該類別的積極勢頭，特別是在酒精飲料方面，我們的自有品牌計劃仍然是一個很有價值的選擇，瓶裝水和 Casey's Chips 在本季度表現良好。

For fuel, same-store gallons sold were flat with a fuel margin of $0.423 per gallon. Our fuel team is striking the right balance between volume growth and margin and the results continue to show it. This quarter marks for the tenth quarter in a row with fuel margins about $0.345 per gallon and 5 of the last 6 quarters have been over $0.40 per gallon.

燃油方面，同店加侖銷量持平，燃油利潤為每加侖 0.423 美元。我們的燃料團隊正在銷售成長和利潤率之間取得適當的平衡，結果繼續證明了這一點。本季是連續第十個季度燃油利潤約為每加侖 0.345 美元，過去 6 個季度中有 5 個季度超過每加侖 0.40 美元。

Our volume continues to outperform our geographic market as well as Opus fuel gallon sold data shows the Mid-Continent region, down approximately 5% in the quarter. I'd now like to turn the call over to Steve to discuss the financial results for the second quarter. Steve?

我們的銷售量持續跑贏我們的地理市場，Opus 燃油加侖銷售數據顯示，中大陸地區本季下降了約 5%。我現在想把電話轉給史蒂夫，討論第二季的財務表現。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Darren, and good morning. Our performance was excellent in the second quarter as we saw great results inside and with fuel, while we continue to operate the stores efficiently. This was despite a challenging comparison from the second quarter last year and that's a testament to the resiliency of our business model and our team's execution.

謝謝你，達倫，早安。我們在第二季度的表現非常出色，因為我們在內部和燃料方面都取得了巨大的成果，同時我們繼續有效率地經營商店。儘管與去年第二季相比具有挑戰性，但這證明了我們業務模式和團隊執行力的彈性。

Total revenue for the quarter was $4.1 billion, an increase of $86 million or 2% from the prior year due primarily to higher inside revenue. Total inside sales for the quarter were $1.3 billion, and that's an increase of $78 million or 6% from prior year.

該季度總收入為 41 億美元，比上年增加 8,600 萬美元，即 2%，主要是由於內部收入增加。本季內部銷售額總額為 13 億美元，比去年同期增加 7,800 萬美元，即 6%。

For the quarter, Grocery and General Merchandise sales increased by $47 million to $964 million, an increase of 5.2%. Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales rose by $31 million to $382 million, an increase of 8.9%. Results were also favorably impacted by operating more stores on a year-over-year basis. Retail fuel sales were up $11 million in the second quarter, as a 4% increase in gallons sold to $730 million was partially offset by a 3.5% decrease in the average retail price per gallon. That average retail price of fuel during the period was $3.62 a gallon, compared to $3.75 a year ago.

本季雜貨和百貨銷售額增加了 4,700 萬美元，達到 9.64 億美元，增幅為 5.2%。預製食品和配製飲料銷售額增加了 3,100 萬美元，達到 3.82 億美元，增幅為 8.9%。同比經營更多門市也對業績產生了正面影響。第二季零售燃料銷售額成長了 1,100 萬美元，加侖銷量成長 4%，達到 7.3 億美元，但被每加侖平均零售價下降 3.5% 部分抵銷。在此期間，燃油平均零售價為每加侖 3.62 美元，而一年前為每加侖 3.75 美元。

We define gross profit as revenue less cost of goods sold, but excluding depreciation and amortization. Casey's had gross profit of $886 million in the second quarter, an increase of $75 million or 9.2% from the prior year. This was driven by both higher inside gross profit of $48.8 million or 9.7% and higher fuel gross profit of $24.4 million or 8.6%.

我們將毛利定義為收入減去銷售成本，但不包括折舊和攤提。 Casey's第二季毛利為8.86億美元，較上年同期增加7,500萬美元，成長9.2%。這是由於內部毛利增加至 4,880 萬美元（即 9.7%）和燃料毛利潤增加至 2,440 萬美元（即 8.6%）所致。

Inside gross profit margin was 41.1% and that's up 130 basis points from a year ago. The Grocery and General Merchandise margin was 34%, an increase of 70 basis points from prior year. The increase was due primarily to favorable vendor-funded promotions and volume discounts, a lower LIFO charge [debt] in the prior year as well as private label increasing its share of our mix.

內部毛利率為41.1%，較去年同期成長130個基點。雜貨和百貨商品利潤率為 34%，比前一年增加 70 個基點。這一增長主要是由於供應商資助的有利促銷和批量折扣、上一年後進先出費用[債務]較低以及自有品牌在我們產品組合中所佔份額的增加。

Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage margin was 59%, up 230 basis points from prior year. The category margin benefited from lower commodity costs, specifically cheese which was $2.12 a pound for the quarter compared to $2.24 a pound last year, a decrease of about 5%. Margin also benefited from a lower LIFO charge in the prior year as generally input costs softened.

預製食品和配製飲料利潤率為 59%，比上年增長 230 個基點。品類利潤受益於商品成本下降，特別是乳酪，本季每磅為 2.12 美元，而去年為每磅 2.24 美元，下降了約 5%。由於投入成本整體疲軟，前一年的後進先出費用降低也使利潤率受益。

Fuel margin for the quarter was $0.423 per gallon up $0.018 per gallon from the prior year. Fuel gross profit benefited by $8.4 million from the sale of RINs, down $2.7 million from the same quarter in the prior year. Total operating expenses were up 7.5% or $40.5 million in the second quarter. Over 3% of the total OpEx increase is due to unit growth as we operated 129 more stores year-over-year.

本季燃油利潤為每加侖 0.423 美元，比去年同期每加侖增加 0.018 美元。燃料毛利因 RIN 銷售而增加 840 萬美元，比去年同期減少 270 萬美元。第二季總營運支出成長 7.5%，即 4,050 萬美元。總營運支出成長中超過 3% 是由於單位數量成長所致，因為我們比去年同期增加了 129 家門市。

Same-store employee expense accounted for another 1% of the increase, as increases in wage rates were partially offset by the reduction in same-store hours, Darren previously mentioned. The company also incurred higher variable incentive compensation, repair, maintenance and insurance expense that composed 2% of the total increase.

達倫先前提到，同店員工費用又佔成長的 1%，因為薪資的成長被同店工作時間的減少部分抵銷。該公司還產生了較高的可變激勵薪酬、維修、保養和保險費用，佔總成長的 2%。

Depreciation in the quarter was $85.6 million, and that's up $7.5 million versus prior year, primarily due to operating more stores. Net interest expense was $12.3 million in the quarter, down $1.2 million versus the prior year, aided by rising interest rates on our cash balances. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 23.6%, consistent with the prior year.

本季折舊為 8,560 萬美元，比上年增加 750 萬美元，主要是因為經營了更多商店。本季淨利息支出為 1,230 萬美元，比上一年減少 120 萬美元，這得益於我們現金餘額利率上升。該季度的有效稅率為 23.6%，與去年持平。

Net income was up versus prior year to $158.8 million, an increase of 15.4% and EBITDA for the quarter was $305.9 million, compared to $271.7 million a year ago, an increase of 12.6%.

本季淨利為 1.588 億美元，成長 15.4%，EBITDA 為 3.059 億美元，而去年同期為 2.717 億美元，成長 12.6%。

Our balance sheet remains in excellent condition, and we have ample financial flexibility on October 31. We had total available liquidity of $1.3 billion. Furthermore, we have no significant maturities coming due until fiscal 2026. Our leverage ratio, calculated in accordance with our senior notes is now 1.6x. For the quarter, net cash generated by operating activities of $253 million was purchases of property and equipment of $107 million resulted in the company generating $146 million in free cash flow. This compares to generating $115 million in the prior year.

我們的資產負債表狀況依然良好，截至 10 月 31 日，我們擁有充足的財務彈性。我們的可用流動資金總額為 13 億美元。此外，我們在 2026 財年之前沒有到期的重大債務。根據我們的優先票據計算，我們的槓桿率目前為 1.6 倍。本季度，經營活動產生的淨現金為 2.53 億美元，其中購買財產和設備為 1.07 億美元，導致公司產生了 1.46 億美元的自由現金流。相比之下，去年的營收為 1.15 億美元。

At the December meeting, the Board of Directors voted to maintain the quarterly dividend at $0.43 per share. During the quarter, we also repurchased approximately $30 million of stock and have $340 million remaining on our existing share repurchase authorization. Investing in EBITDA and ROIC accretive growth investments remains our primary capital allocation priority, but as we mentioned at our Investor Day, our balance sheet affords us the opportunity to be more opportunistic than in the recent past with regards to share repurchase.

在 12 月的會議上，董事會投票決定維持季度股利每股 0.43 美元。本季度，我們也回購了約 3,000 萬美元的股票，現有的股票回購授權還剩 3.4 億美元。投資於 EBITDA 和 ROIC 增值型成長投資仍然是我們的主要資本配置優先事項，但正如我們在投資者日提到的，我們的資產負債表使我們有機會在股票回購方面比最近更加投機。

Our M&A pipeline remains strong, and our integration capabilities continue to expand. The transaction with EG Group mentioned last quarter has closed, and that transaction as well as the other announced deals are being funded with cash on hand. The majority of these payments either occurred in the second quarter or they will occur in the third quarter. And this includes the transaction of 22 stores in our 17th state of Texas, which closed on November 16.

我們的併購管道仍然強勁，我們的整合能力不斷擴大。上季提到的與 EG 集團的交易已經結束，該交易以及其他宣布的交易均由手頭現金提供資金。這些付款大部分發生在第二季或將在第三季發生。這包括我們第17個州德克薩斯州的22家商店的交易，這些商店已於11月16日關閉。

As a result of the strong financial performance and unit growth year-to-date, we are updating our fiscal 2024 outlook as follows: fiscal 2024 EBITDA growth is expected to be in line with the long-term strategic plans goal of 8% to 10%. The company also expects to repurchase at least $100 million in shares throughout the fiscal year. Same-store inside sales are now expected to increase 3.5% to 5%. Net interest expense is expected to be approximately $53 million, and the tax rate is now expected to be approximately 23% to 25% for the year.

由於年初至今強勁的財務業績和單位成長，我們將 2024 財年展望更新如下： 2024 財年 EBITDA 成長預計將符合 8% 至 10% 的長期策略計畫目標%。該公司還預計整個財年將回購至少 1 億美元的股票。同店內部銷售額目前預計將成長 3.5% 至 5%。淨利息支出預計約為 5,300 萬美元，目前預計全年稅率約為 23% 至 25%。

As discussed in the first quarter, the company expects to add at least 150 stores in fiscal 2024. That's more than the originally planned 110. As a result of this, total operating expenses are now expected to increase approximately 6% to 8%, though same-store operating expenses, excluding credit card fees are expected to only increase approximately 3% for the year.

正如第一季所討論的，該公司預計在 2024 財年增加至少 150 家門市。這比最初計劃的 110 家還要多。因此，目前預計總營運費用將增加約 6% 至 8%。不包括信用卡費用的同店營運費用預計今年僅成長約3%。

Depreciation and amortization are now expected to be approximately $350 million for the year. The company is not updating its outlook for the following metrics: we expect inside margin to be approximately 40% to 41%. The company expects same-store fuel gallons sold to be between negative 1% and positive 1%. And the purchase of property and equipment is expected to be $500 million to $550 million.

目前預計今年的折舊和攤提約為 3.5 億美元。該公司沒有更新以下指標的前景：我們預計內部利潤率約為 40% 至 41%。該公司預計同店燃油加侖銷量將在負 1% 至正 1% 之間。財產和設備的採購預計將達到5億至5.5億美元。

Our results for the current quarter are as follows: First, November inside same-store sales are consistent with the updated range of the annual outlook. Fuel gallons are near the midpoint of the annual outlook and CPG is nearly $0.40 per gallon. Current cheese costs are modestly favorable versus the prior year. And now on a final note, as a reminder, in the third quarter of fiscal '23, we had a onetime operating expense benefit of approximately $15 million due to the favorable resolution of a legal matter. This benefit will not recur. Thus, total third quarter operating expenses will be up near the low teens in percentage terms, and that's primarily due to lapping the onetime benefit as well as store growth and several million dollars of onetime integration costs. If we were not lapping this onetime benefit from the prior year, total OpEx would be up approximately 8% to 9% in third quarter.

我們目前季度的業績如下： 首先，11 月份同店內部銷售與年度展望的更新範圍一致。燃油加侖接近年度展望的中點，CPG 接近每加侖 0.40 美元。目前的起司成本與去年相比略有優惠。最後提醒一下，在 23 財年第三季度，由於法律問題得到了有利的解決，我們獲得了約 1500 萬美元的一次性營運費用收益。這種好處不會再出現。因此，以百分比計算，第三季總營運支出將成長至接近兩位數，這主要是由於一次性收益以及商店成長和數百萬美元的一次性整合成本所致。如果我們沒有從上一年中獲得這一一次性收益，第三季的總營運支出將增加約 8% 至 9%。

I'd now like to turn the call back over to Darren.

我現在想把電話轉回達倫。

Thanks, Steve. I'd like to thank the entire Casey's team for another quarter of outstanding results. We know that it's a challenging time for consumers everywhere. And we're so proud of the ability of our team members and stores to serve those guests with high-quality products.

謝謝，史蒂夫。我要感謝凱西的整個團隊在另一個季度取得了出色的成績。我們知道，對世界各地的消費者來說，這都是一個充滿挑戰的時期。我們為我們的團隊成員和商店有能力為這些客人提供高品質的產品而感到自豪。

Our private label program continues to shine, and we saw positive growth in units and gross profit dollars during the quarter and continue to see a favorable impact on inside margin. And our guests are gravitating towards Casey's Rewards as we have over 7.3 million members today.

我們的自有品牌計畫繼續大放異彩，我們在本季看到單位數量和毛利的正成長，並繼續看到對內部利潤的有利影響。我們的客人非常青睞 Casey's Rewards，因為我們目前擁有超過 730 萬會員。

On the Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage side, Thin Crust Pizza continues to do well and has achieved a 13% share of whole pies throughout the quarter. The innovation team also moved to the breakfast daypart for the launch of the Ultimate Waffle breakfast sandwich, which has come out of the gate strong.

在預製食品和配製飲料方面，薄皮披薩繼續表現出色，整個季度佔據了整個披薩 13% 的份額。創新團隊也在早餐時段推出了終極華夫餅早餐三明治，一推出就表現強勁。

Our continuous improvement team deserves price for all it has done to operate the stores efficiently and effectively while maintaining or improving guests and team member satisfaction. The team was able to take out another 2% of same-store labor hours in the quarter. We continue to expand our store count with complementary geographic growth. Recent acquisitions have strengthened our Eastern footprint in Kentucky and Tennessee, while we've also ventured into Texas, which we think is a hand in glove fit in our Southwest footprint.

我們的持續改善團隊在維持或提高客人和團隊成員滿意度的同時，有效率、有效地經營商店，所做的一切都是值得的。該團隊在本季度又節省了 2% 的同店工時。我們繼續擴大我們的商店數量，並實現互補的地理增長。最近的收購加強了我們在肯塔基州和田納西州的東部足跡，同時我們也進軍德克薩斯州，我們認為這對我們西南部的足跡非常合適。

All of the stores are within our existing distribution radius, it fit the Casey's playbook of rural and suburban geographies.

所有商店都在我們現有的分銷半徑內，這符合凱西的農村和郊區地理策略。

On the fuel side of the business, we had another strong quarter, both in fuel margin and gallons. With each passing quarter, we are becoming more confident that our industry has the necessity due to higher operating expenses, reset to a higher fuel margin environment. And with our team and the capabilities that we've stood up, we're focused on continuing to maximize gross profit dollars.

在燃料業務方面，我們在燃料利潤率和加侖數方面又經歷了一個強勁的季度。隨著每季的過去，我們越來越有信心，由於營運費用增加，我們的產業有必要重置為更高的燃料利潤率環境。憑藉我們的團隊和我們所擁有的能力，我們致力於繼續實現毛利最大化。

As we look ahead to the second half of fiscal '24 and beyond, I'm excited about Casey's and our ability to execute our strategic plan. Our balance sheet affords us the ability to be disciplined but opportunistic with our store growth and our capabilities throughout the organization will allow for that growth to be efficient and innovative. We'll now take your questions.

當我們展望 24 財年下半年及以後時，我對凱西和我們執行策略計畫的能力感到興奮。我們的資產負債表使我們能夠在商店成長中保持紀律，但同時也能抓住機遇，而我們整個組織的能力將使這種成長變得高效和創新。我們現在將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens 的線路。

Steve, I want to follow up on the commentary you gave on quarter-to-date. You noted that the inside same-store sales results in the month of, I guess, November, and I don't know if that includes the stub period of December, but it's within the range of the annual guidance. Does the composition of the same-store sales growth looks similar to 2Q and that Prepared Foods is outpacing grocery. And any color that you can offer on kind of that divergence grocery moderating in the second quarter while same-store sales in Prepared Foods remains very strong, would be helpful.

史蒂夫，我想跟進您對本季至今的評論。您指出，我猜是 11 月的內部同店銷售結果，我不知道這是否包括 12 月的存續期，但它在年度指導範圍內。同店銷售成長的組成是否與第二季相似，預製食品的成長速度是否超過了雜貨？在第二季食品雜貨的差異趨於緩和，而預製食品的同店銷售仍然非常強勁的情況下，您可以提供的任何顏色都會有所幫助。

Sure, Ben. I'll answer the first part of that and let Darren talk a little bit about the experience in the second quarter. The commentary is meant to be quarter-to-date, so it includes a little bit of a stub period into December. And yes, generally, were within the annual range for total inside and Prepared Food quarter-to-date is running a little bit stronger than Grocery similar to what we experienced in the second quarter.

當然，本。我將回答第一部分，並讓達倫談談第二季度的經歷。該評論是季度至今的，所以它包括了 12 月的一段短時間。是的，總體而言，內部總量處於年度範圍內，並且預製食品本季迄今為止的運作情況比雜貨店稍強一些，類似於我們在第二季度的經歷。

Darren, do you want to a couple of comments on that second quarter experience.

達倫，你想對第二季的經驗發表一些評論嗎？

Yes. In the second quarter, Ben, we saw a little bit of softness on the Grocery and General Merchandise side that was primarily in the tobacco category, specifically cigarettes. And I think you've seen that throughout the industry that cigarette volume was significantly softer in the second quarter, and so that offsets some strength in some of the other categories.

是的。本，我們在第二季度看到雜貨和日用百貨方面出現了一些疲軟，主要是煙草類別，特別是香煙。我認為您已經看到，整個行業的捲菸銷量在第二季度明顯疲軟，因此抵消了其他一些類別的一些優勢。

We also encountered a little bit of weather anomalies, which I don't typically like to talk about, but it does impact the beverage business to a certain degree, and we saw some of that in October as well. But I didn't see anything trend-wise outside the cigarettes that was very concerning. And I think what was encouraging to us is that our Prepared Food growth actually accelerated from the first quarter into the second. And so a very strong 2-year comps plus 17%. And so we're seeing the overall business perform very well.

我們也遇到了一些天氣異常，我通常不喜歡談論，但它確實在一定程度上影響了飲料業務，我們在 10 月也看到了其中的一些情況。但除了香菸之外，我沒有看到任何令人擔憂的趨勢。我認為令我們感到鼓舞的是，我們的預製食品成長實際上從第一季到第二季加速了。因此，兩年期比較非常強勁，成長了 17%。所以我們看到整體業務表現非常好。

Okay. Great. My second question is related to your operating expense growth guidance. You raised that -- you noted that 3Q growth year-over-year will be elevated and implied in kind of the updated guidance that you've given in the 3Q commentary that you've given is a pretty substantial step down in growth from 3Q to 4Q. Is it just a function of comparisons or what else is going on there? You made nice progress in the period on labor hours.

好的。偉大的。我的第二個問題與你們的營運費用成長指引有關。您提出了這一點 - 您指出，第三季度同比增長將有所提升，並暗示您在第三季度評論中給出的更新指導，您給出的增長較第三季度大幅下降到第四季度。這只是比較的函數還是有其他原因？您在勞動時間方面取得了很大的進步。

Yes, I'll start with that, Ben. I would expect year-over-year total OpEx growth to be the highest in the third quarter, and that's purely a function of lapping the benefit we had last year and then you're combining that with the fact that now all of these year-to-date acquisitions, all of which have closed relatively recently, certainly the EG and the Texas transactions, we'll have several million dollars of integration-related activity and almost all of that will hit us in the third quarter. And so I would expect that we would be back to -- you can call those back into the number mechanically in the fourth quarter, but we would be back into a more normalized run rate in the fourth quarter, albeit with a higher number of units coming into the system. But that 3% number we gave for same-store OpEx, excluding credit cards, that number should be very consistent quarter in and quarter out, just -- and that's a testament to how well the mothership is managing OpEx at the stores right now.

是的，我就從這個開始，本。我預計第三季的同比總營運支出成長將達到最高，這純粹是我們去年獲得的收益的結果，然後你將其與現在所有這些年的事實結合起來——迄今為止的收購，所有這些收購都是最近才完成的，當然是EG 和德克薩斯州的交易，我們將有數百萬美元的整合相關活動，幾乎所有這些都將在第三季對我們造成影響。因此，我預計我們會回到——你可以在第四季度機械地將這些數字重新納入數字，但我們將在第四季度恢復到更正常化的運行率，儘管單位數量有所增加進入系統。但我們給出的同店營運支出 3% 的數字（不包括信用卡），這個數字每季都應該非常一致——這證明了母艦目前在商店管理營運支出的情況。

Next question comes from the line of Anthony Bonadio with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的安東尼·博納迪奧。

Congrats on the nice quarter. So I just wanted to ask about fuel margins in the context of the new guidance. I'm getting something in the mid-30s per gallon, maybe a little higher implied in the back half to get to that new 8% to 10% EBITDA growth number. I guess, one, is that the right way to think about it? And then two, can you just talk about why that's the right number? And then just different puts and takes around that.

恭喜這個美好的季度。所以我只是想問一下新指南中的燃油利潤率。我得到的價格是每加侖 30 多美元，後半段可能會更高一些，以達到新的 8% 到 10% 的 EBITDA 成長數字。我想，第一，這是正確的思考方式嗎？第二，可以談談為什麼這個數字是正確的嗎？然後只是不同的放置和取出。

Yes, sure, Anthony. With respect to the fuel margin, we tend to prefer to be a little bit conservative on those forecasts because as you well know, it's a pretty volatile category. That being said, we we've seen 5 out of the last 6 quarters, be in that $0.40 range. So we're not -- we don't see anything specifically that would cause a pullback in fuel margin, but we're just being conservative on that front. And so that's really about it in terms of the modeling.

是的，當然，安東尼。就燃料利潤率而言，我們傾向於對這些預測持保守態度，因為眾所周知，這是一個相當不穩定的類別。話雖如此，過去 6 個季度中有 5 個季度處於 0.40 美元的範圍內。因此，我們沒有看到任何具體情況會導致燃油利潤率回落，但我們只是在這方面持保守態度。這就是建模方面的真正意義。

Okay. Got it. And then just on inside margins. Obviously, another very strong quarter there. I know you guys have kind of talked about being comfortable around that 40% level over the long term. It seems like the current environment, as I think about things like mix as well as a lot of the things you guys are doing internally sort of remains favorable. I guess can you just talk about the sustainability of what we're seeing today? And just how you're thinking about the trade-off between sort of flowing that through versus investing in value?

好的。知道了。然後就在內邊距上。顯然，這是另一個非常強勁的季度。我知道你們曾經談論過長期保持在 40% 水平附近的舒適度。看來當前的環境，因為我認為諸如混合之類的事情以及你們內部所做的很多事情仍然是有利的。我想你能談談我們今天所看到的可持續性嗎？您如何考慮流動性與價值投資之間的權衡？

Yes. Well, we think the margins are sustainable for a couple of reasons. When you look at how the mix is evolving with the tobacco category being one of the lower-margin categories in the assortment and that the size of that category shrinking as a percentage of the total business, that's favorable to a margin rate as that mix becomes more heavily reliant on the higher-margin categories.

是的。嗯，我們認為利潤率是可持續的，原因有幾個。當你看看這種組合是如何演變的，煙草類別是該品種中利潤率較低的類別之一，並且該類別的規模佔總業務的百分比正在縮小，這對利潤率是有利的，因為該組合變得更加依賴高利潤類別。

The second piece of that is our Prepared Foods business. Our Prepared Foods business continues to grow, and you saw the margin expansion in that business. And so when you combine those two, that's a more sustainable margin mix. And the third thing I would say is our private label continues to grow inside the portfolio, which also blends up the margin.

第二部分是我們的預製食品業務。我們的預製食品業務持續成長，您看到了該業務的利潤率擴張。因此，當你將這兩者結合起來時，就會得到更永續的利潤組合。我要說的第三件事是我們的自有品牌在產品組合中持續成長，這也混合了利潤。

So those three things are all working for us. Now with respect to investing in value, we do invest in value to a certain extent today primarily through our private brand. And so with our private label products, even though they represent significant value to the guest, those are highly margin accretive to us. So that works out well.

所以這三件事對我們有用。現在就價值投資而言，我們今天確實在一定程度上主要透過我們的自有品牌進行價值投資。因此，對於我們的自有品牌產品，儘管它們對客人來說具有重大價值，但這些產品對我們來說卻能帶來很高的利潤成長。所以效果很好。

And more recently, what we're seeing from a consumer standpoint is it at the lower end of the economic spectrum, you're starting to see consumers shift heavier over to Prepared Foods as opposed to Grocery and General Merch. I think that's just a function of the relative value that our Prepared Food represents versus some of the other snack products and packaged good products you see on the other side. So all of that is constructive to margins. And so that's why we think that's sustainable, and we don't need to engage in extreme value offerings to maintain and drive the traffic.

最近，我們從消費者的角度看到，在經濟範圍的低端，你開始看到消費者更多地轉向預製食品，而不是雜貨和一般商品。我認為這只是我們的預製食品與您在另一邊看到的其他一些零食產品和包裝好的產品相比的相對價值的函數。因此，所有這些對利潤率都是有建設性的。這就是為什麼我們認為這是可持續的，我們不需要提供極有價值的產品來維持和推動流量。

Our next question comes from the line of Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格。

I had a question on your gross in general merchandise. First, your same-store sales were a bit soft. So for a little bit more color on the drivers of this? And more color on SIG sales the quarter, Darren, I know you called that out, but just curious to hear if your SIG business decelerated versus Q1 and wondering if you're making any changes to your nicotine category or possibly pricing on cigs to mitigate some of these pressures.

我對你們的一般商品毛額有疑問。首先，你們的同店銷售有點疲軟。那麼對於這個驅動因素有更多的了解嗎？關於本季SIG 銷售的更多信息，Darren，我知道您指出了這一點，但只是想知道您的SIG 業務是否比第一季度有所放緩，並想知道您是否正在對尼古丁類別或可能的香煙定價進行任何更改以減輕影響其中一些壓力。

Yes. Sure, Bonnie. I think on the cig category itself, just combustible cigarettes were down about 4% in the quarter. And typically, what we've been able to do is pass on price and have that price flow through and with the unit decline offset and still stay relatively positive on the dollars and the category. That was not the case in this last quarter. I think to a large extent, that's a reflection of where the consumer is right now. As you know, the cigarette consumer tends to be a lower income consumer generally. And so what we've seen is a bit of trade down from that consumer into either not buying cigarettes as frequently or trading down to lower-tier brands.

是的。當然，邦妮。我認為就香菸類別本身而言，僅可燃捲菸在本季就下降了約 4%。通常情況下，我們能夠做的就是傳遞價格，讓價格流通並抵消單位下降的影響，並且仍然對美元和類別保持相對積極的態度。上個季度的情況並非如此。我認為在很大程度上，這反映了消費者目前的處境。如您所知，捲菸消費者通常往往是收入較低的消費者。因此，我們看到的是消費者的一些降級行為，要么不那麼頻繁地購買香煙，要么降級到較低級別的品牌。

And so our team is assessing where to go from here on the cigarette category. But also that's not as significant a category for us as it is for others. So we don't feel the need to knee-jerk react. I mean, we still had a strong quarter. We were still constructive on margin. our gross profit dollars are growing at an accelerated rate relative to our peers. And so we don't feel any sort of undue pressure to do something different. We'll have to see how things play out with that category over time.

因此，我們的團隊正在評估捲菸類別的下一步發展方向。但對我們來說，這個類別並不像對其他人來說那麼重要。所以我們覺得沒有必要下意識地做出反應。我的意思是，我們仍然有一個強勁的季度。我們在保證金方面仍然具有建設性。與同業相比，我們的毛利成長速度更快。因此，我們不會感到任何不適當的壓力去做一些不同的事情。我們必須看看隨著時間的推移，該類別的情況會如何發展。

Yes. That makes sense. And then curious to hear your color on the consumer and maybe how things have changed in the last few months and maybe your outlook also just in the context of that color on your dayparts, maybe where stronger or weaker than expected, especially the morning daypart.

是的。這就說得通了。然後很想知道你對消費者的看法，也許過去幾個月事情發生了怎樣的變化，也許你的看法也只是在你的時段的顏色背景下，也許比預期更強或更弱，尤其是早上的時段。

Yes. I guess if I step back and I look at our consumer base, I'd just remind everybody that about 3/4 of our consumers make over $50,000 a year. And given our geographic footprint, we are in a very low cost of living geography. In fact, the most expensive state we operate in is ranked 27th in cost of living. So that $50,000 [tends] to go a long way. So with that cohort of guests, 75% or so, we're really not seeing any change in consumption behavior. The changes we're seeing is on the other 25%, which are lower income consumers.

是的。我想，如果我退後一步，看看我們的消費者基礎，我會提醒大家，大約 3/4 的消費者年收入超過 50,000 美元。鑑於我們的地理足跡，我們處於生活成本非常低的地區。事實上，我們營運所在的生活成本最昂貴的州排名第 27 位。所以 50,000 美元[往往]是很長的路要走。因此，對於 75% 左右的客人來說，我們確實沒有看到消費行為有任何變化。我們看到的變化發生在另外 25% 的人群中，他們是低收入消費者。

And so we've seen a couple of things there. They're gravitating more towards our private label. Their cigarette purchases have been impacted, both in unitvelocity and in just what they are buying when they do buy, like we were just mentioning. They're pulling back on premium fuels and open more towards ethanol-blended fuels. But generally speaking, that's for that cohort of guests. So as we look forward, we still feel really good about the value proposition that we offer. 80% of our guests believe that we offer a good value for the money. And our traffic was flat over the quarter inside the store and our gallons were flat outside of the store. And so we're not suffering from a lack of traffic, and we're seeing people gravitate more towards the Prepared Foods as a relative value proposition.

我們在那裡看到了一些事情。他們更傾向於我們的自有品牌。他們的香菸購買量受到了影響，無論是在單位速度方面，還是在他們購買時購買的東西方面，就像我們剛才提到的那樣。他們正在減少優質燃料的使用，並更多地使用乙醇混合燃料。但一般來說，這是針對那群客人的。因此，展望未來，我們仍然對我們提供的價值主張感到非常滿意。 80% 的客人認為我們提供的服務物有所值。本季店內客流量持平，店外加侖數也持平。因此，我們並沒有遭受流量不足的困擾，我們看到人們更傾向於將預製食品作為相對價值主張。

So we think as we look forward to the balance of the year, we still feel really good about the resilience of the consumers in our geography.

因此，我們認為，在展望今年剩餘時間的同時，我們仍然對我們所在地區消費者的復原力感到非常滿意。

Our next question comes from the line of Bobby Griffin with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自鮑比·格里芬和雷蒙德·詹姆斯的對話。

I guess the first question for me is, is it possible to size what the tobacco drag was on the grocery segment, just so we can get a little bit of a better flavor of how kind of the business performed ex tobacco?

我想對我來說第一個問題是，是否有可能確定菸草對食品雜貨市場的影響，以便我們能夠更好地了解菸草業的業務表現如何？

Yes, Bobby, we would have been about 100 basis points higher top line growth ex tobacco and grocery.

是的，鮑比，如果不考慮菸草和雜貨，我們的營收成長會高出約 100 個基點。

Perfect. That's very helpful. And then, I guess, secondly for me is just on the labor hours reduction and other great performance this quarter. Is the team finding new task and opportunities inside the store, and those are kind of the reduction? Or is this a function of kind of the lower overtime that we've discussed in the past, given that turnover continues to move in the right direction as well? Or is it a combo of both, I guess?

完美的。這非常有幫助。然後，我想，對我來說，第二點就是本季工時的減少和其他出色的表現。團隊是否在店內尋找新的任務和機會，這些都是減少的形式？或者，考慮到營業額也繼續朝著正確的方向發展，這是否是我們過去討論過的加班時間減少的一個函數？還是我猜它是兩者的結合？

Yes, Bob, I'd say it's a combination of both really, it's primarily driven, though, by the continuous improvement team, identifying nonvalue-added work that we can take out of the stores. That would be the primary impact. So that's a 2% reduction in labor hours. The overtime and training year-over-year has actually flattened out in terms of dollars, but we're using less hours when you factor in the wage rate. So if you think about flat dollars, but our average wage year-over-year is up about 3.5%.

是的，鮑勃，我想說這實際上是兩者的結合，不過，它主要是由持續改進團隊驅動的，確定我們可以從商店中取出的非增值工作。這將是主要影響。因此，工時減少了 2%。以美元計算，逐年加班和培訓實際上已趨於平緩，但如果考慮到工資率，我們使用的工時會減少。因此，如果你考慮固定美元，但我們的平均薪資年增約 3.5%。

So that over time came down a bit, training was about flat. So we think it is a combination, not as dramatic as it was last year when we were really taking big swaths of overtime and training out with the reduced turnover. The turnover continues to reduce, but just not at the same rate as it was last year.

所以隨著時間的推移，訓練量有所下降，基本上持平。所以我們認為這是一個組合，不像去年那麼戲劇化，當時我們確實進行了大量的加班和訓練，同時營業額也減少了。營業額持續減少，但幅度與去年不同。

Our next question comes from the line of Chuck Cerankosky with Northcoast.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chuck Cerankosky 與 Northcoast 的對話。

Everyone. Great quarter. I've got another question about the labor hours. What are you still able to do around fine-tuning the store hours and the number of stores that are doing pizza delivery and the number of days they're doing pizza delivery. How much of that is still available to help the store labor hour calculation.

每個人。很棒的季度。我還有一個關於工作時間的問題。您還能做些什麼來微調商店營業時間、提供披薩外帶的商店數量以及提供披薩外帶的天數。其中有多少仍可用於幫助商店工時計算。

Yes, Chuck. I would say that there's probably limited upside on that front as we sit here today. Our team constantly evaluates operating hours overall to determine whether we need to make adjustments there. But I would say that, that process is pretty dialed in at this point. So to be just fine-tuning here and there.

是的，查克。我想說，當我們今天坐在這裡時，這方面的上行空間可能有限。我們的團隊不斷評估整體營運時間，以確定是否需要進行調整。但我想說的是，這個過程在這一點上已經非常到位了。所以只是到處進行微調。

In terms of labor relative to delivery, we have a small number of stores that are still doing delivery. I think it's a couple of hundred at this point. Yes, about 10%, so call it 250 stores. they're delivering ourselves. And the rest of it is through third parties. So that's not a labor impact for us. It is a margin impact when we have that delivery. But because that we only pay per delivery, we don't have a delivery driver at the store, waiting for another delivery order to come in. It's a far more efficient way for us to do delivery. So that's probably running for us as well.

從相對於配送的勞動力來看，我們有少數商店還在做配送。我認為現在有幾百。是的，大約10%，所以稱之為250家商店。他們正在釋放我們自己。其餘部分是透過第三方完成的。所以這對我們來說不是勞動力的影響。當我們交貨時，這是對利潤的影響。但因為我們只按每次送貨付費，所以我們店裡沒有送貨司機等待另一個送貨訂單的到來。這對我們來說是一種更有效的送貨方式。所以這可能也適合我們。

Okay. And then private label products, where are you at on number of SKUs? And where is your goal on that?

好的。然後是自有品牌產品，您的 SKU 數量如何？您的目標在哪裡？

Yes. We've got 310 SKUs in the assortment right now, and that's a result of adding a number of SKUs in the last quarter and then taking some out that just weren't performing as well as we expected them to. So still, it's the highest SKU count that we've had on private label since we've started. There's still plenty of runway there. The team's got a pipeline of products that we'll be introducing over the next several quarters.

是的。目前，我們的產品類別中有 310 個 SKU，這是上季度添加了一些 SKU，然後剔除一些表現不如我們預期的 SKU 的結果。儘管如此，這仍然是我們自有品牌成立以來 SKU 數量最高的一次。那裡還有足夠的跑道。該團隊擁有一系列產品，我們將在接下來的幾個季度推出。

And then we're also starting to evaluate different tiers of private label. So think of premium products that would still be a significant value versus national brand, but elevated quality and uniqueness. So still a lot of way to go there.

然後我們也開始評估不同層次的自有品牌。因此，想想優質產品，與民族品牌相比，它們仍然具有重要價值，但品質和獨特性更高。所以去那裡還有很多路。

Our next question comes from the line of Kelly Bania with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Kelly Bania。

This is Ben Wood on for Kelly. So for the past 3 quarters, you've had flat gallons, which seems to be outpacing public peers down low single digit and outpacing the broader industry where you compete in where your commentary seems to be pointing towards down mid-single digit for that period, implying pretty solid market share gains. So first, can you provide any color on what you guys think is driving those market share gains? Is it loyalty or the value proposition inside the store? Or are you investing some fuel margin to get the bargain hunting customer?

這是凱利的班·伍德。因此，在過去的三個季度中，您的加侖數持平，這似乎超過了公眾同行，下降了低個位數，並超過了您競爭的更廣泛的行業，而您的評論似乎指向該時期的中個位數下降，這意味著相當可觀的市佔率成長。首先，您能提供一下您認為推動市場佔有率成長的因素嗎？是忠誠度還是店內的價值主張？或者您投資了一些燃油利潤來吸引討價還價的客戶？

And then second, just more generally, if the industry and your competitors are losing gallons at a mid-single-digit pace, is that sustainable longer term? Or at some point, are the independents and small chain operators going to have to change strategy to try to drive some more gallons through their stores.

其次，更一般地說，如果該行業和您的競爭對手以中等個位數的速度損失加侖，從長遠來看，這種情況是否可持續？或者在某個時候，獨立企業和小型連鎖經營者是否必須改變策略，試圖在商店中銷售更多加侖的汽油。

Yes, let me take the first part first. The flat gallons and now we're driving it. If I step back, our stated strategy, which has not changed since I've been here in the 4.5 years I've been here, for our fuel team is to drive gross profit dollars in fuel and to maximize gross profit dollars in fuel. That's going to be a combination of balancing gallon growth and fuel margin. And so we don't look at a fuel margin number and try to achieve that number in any given quarter. Our goal is to balance those two to maximize gross profit dollars. And so I think this was a great example in this quarter of doing that. We maintained flat gallons, and like you said over the last several quarters, we've maintained those flat gallons, and we were north of $0.40 a gallon on margin.

是的，讓我先講第一部分。平坦的加侖，現在我們正在駕駛它。如果我退一步說，我們的燃油團隊既定策略是推動燃油毛利並最大化燃油毛利潤，自從我加入以來 4.5 年以來，這項策略一直沒有改變。這將是平衡加侖成長和燃油利潤的結合。因此，我們不會考慮燃料利潤率數字並嘗試在任何給定季度實現該數字。我們的目標是平衡這兩者以最大化毛利。所以我認為這是本季這樣做的一個很好的例子。我們保持不變的加侖，就像你在過去幾個季度所說的那樣，我們一直保持這些不變的加侖，並且我們的保證金超過每加侖 0.40 美元。

Now if you were to look at the OPIS numbers, and I think this is reflective of what's going on in the industry right now, OPIS would say that fuel margin in our geography was about $0.48 a gallon. So that was higher than where we were clearly. It also said that gallons were down 5.2% in the quarter, significantly below where we are.

現在，如果您查看 OPIS 數據，我認為這反映了該行業目前的情況，OPIS 會說我們地區的燃油利潤約為每加侖 0.48 美元。所以這顯然比我們所處的位置還要高。它還表示，本季加侖量下降了 5.2%，明顯低於我們的水平。

To your second question, that is not sustainable for them. it clearly isn't. But what it is, is it's a reflection of the challenges that smaller and midsized operators are facing with inflation and in particular, the impact that the tobacco category has on them. If you look at what their mix is, their mix is probably 40% to 50% cigarettes. And so when that category underperforms like it has in the last quarter or two, that's going to have a material impact on their P&L. They don't have a choice. They're operating in survival mode right now. And so they're taking that higher margin and willing to sacrifice those gallons to get it. And that's -- in the short term, that can work if you're trying to survive, in the long term is not sustainable.

對於你的第二個問題，這對他們來說是不可持續的。顯然不是。但它實際上反映了中小型經營者面臨的通貨膨脹挑戰，特別是菸草類別對他們的影響。如果你看看他們的組合，你會發現他們的組合可能有 40% 到 50% 是香菸。因此，當該類別像過去一兩個季度那樣表現不佳時，就會對其損益產生重大影響。他們別無選擇。他們現在正處於生存模式。因此，他們正在獲取更高的利潤，並願意犧牲這些加侖來獲得它。從短期來看，如果你想生存，這種做法是可行的，但從長遠來看，這是不可持續的。

For us, we're not in that position. We're not as exposed to the tobacco categories, as the others. And we benefit from keeping that traffic in the store because we have high-margin Prepared Foods to sell people and high-margin private label to sell people that a lot of those others don't have. So it's important for us to keep that balance to keep that traffic. And you can see in the EBITDA results where most are going backwards in EBITDA, we had double-digit growth in EBITDA. So that is not just one metric or the other. It's a combination of all of these things working together that really makes our algorithm work for us.

對我們來說，我們不處於那個位置。我們不像其他人接觸菸草類別。我們受益於維持店內的客流量，因為我們有高利潤的預製食品可以賣給人們，還有高利潤的自有品牌可以賣給人們，而這是其他許多公司所沒有的。因此，保持這種平衡以保持流量對我們來說很重要。你可以在 EBITDA 結果中看到，大多數 EBITDA 都在倒退，但我們的 EBITDA 卻實現了兩位數的成長。所以這不僅僅是一個指標或另一個指標。正是所有這些因素的結合在一起，才真正讓我們的演算法為我們所用。

Ben, maybe I would add one thing there is it just it also continues to drive smaller operators out of the industry in the long run. It's just more and more difficult for small independent operators to compete not just against us, but just anybody with any reasonable amount of scale and so part of the -- we believe part of the long line of consolidation opportunities that exist today in the industry is a function of it's just getting harder and harder for the smaller operators to do business. And we just don't see that trend changing anytime in the near term, partially because of all the dynamics we just discussed.

Ben，也許我想補充一件事，從長遠來看，它還會繼續將小型業者趕出該行業。對於小型獨立運營商來說，不僅要與我們競爭，而且還要與任何具有合理規模的公司競爭，因此我們相信，當今行業中存在的一長串整合機會的一部分是這是因為小型運營商開展業務變得越來越困難。我們只是看不到這種趨勢在短期內發生變化，部分原因是我們剛剛討論的所有動態。

Okay. Great. And then I know, so I know we're only two quarters in, but with the guidance update, you're now expecting EBITDA growth within the long-term plan compared to kind of originally pointing us towards flat. And one of the discussion points at your Analyst Day was that your original plan seemed to imply an acceleration in EBITDA growth we calculated to kind of the 12% to 15% range in year 2 and year 3. Have expectations for the cadence changed? Or is some acceleration in the EBITDA growth and eventually getting above that 8% to 10% long-term plan, still the right way to think about it?

好的。偉大的。然後我知道，所以我知道我們只有兩個季度，但隨著指導更新，您現在預計長期計劃內的 EBITDA 增長，而不是最初表明我們持平。分析師日的討論要點之一是，您最初的計劃似乎意味著 EBITDA 增長加速，我們計算出第二年和第三年的 12% 至 15% 範圍。對節奏的預期是否改變了？或者 EBITDA 成長有所加速並最終超過 8% 至 10% 的長期計劃，仍然是正確的思考方式嗎？

I'll take a crack at that. I would not divine anything into our updating here midstream in the first year around what we're saying in the out years of year 2 and 3. We're committed to an 8% to 10% CAGR over that 3-year period of time. The reality is that the year has clearly started off stronger than we anticipated that it would be. And some of that's clearly fuel margin related, and some of that's just really good performance across the operations. And so we'll take a stronger start than we anticipated every day of the week, and we still feel equally good about all of our longer -- medium and long-term prospects for driving growth as we did when we had the Investor Day.

我會嘗試一下。我不會對我們在第一年中途更新的內容以及我們在第二年和第三年所說的內容做出任何預測。我們致力於在這三年期間實現8% 到10% 的複合年增長率。現實情況是，今年的開局顯然比我們預期的還要強勁。其中一些顯然與燃油利潤有關，而另一些則只是整個運營的良好表現。因此，我們將在一周的每一天都有一個比我們預期的更強勁的開局，而且我們仍然對推動成長的所有長期、中期和長期前景感到同樣良好，就像我們在投資者日時所做的那樣。

Our next question comes from the line of Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

On private label, which has been very successful for you, I was just curious to get an update on how your joint planning is going for the new calendar year with your national brand partners? Are they noticing or potentially responding to Casey's taking unit share in grocery? And anything you can share on expectations around pricing starting in January? And if you think that there's any possibility that maybe prices are going to start to roll back?

在自有品牌方面，這對您來說非常成功，我只是想了解您與國內品牌合作夥伴在新日曆年的聯合規劃進展如何的最新信息？他們是否注意到或可能對凱西在雜貨店獲得單位份額做出反應？對於一月份開始的定價預期，您有什麼可以分享的嗎？如果您認為價格有可能開始回落？

Yes, Krisztina, I guess, on joint planning. We are in the process of wrapping that up as we speak. And I think the planning sessions have gone really well so far. We've had good success over the last couple of years working with our primary CPG partners and growing their business and ours together. And so we enter into all of these discussions with that spirit, and I think we have some really good plans during the final stages of development working right now.

是的，我想是克里斯蒂娜，關於聯合規劃。正如我們所說，我們正在總結這一點。我認為到目前為止，規劃會議進展得非常順利。過去幾年，我們與主要 CPG 合作夥伴合作並共同發展他們和我們的業務，取得了巨大成功。因此，我們本著這種精神進行所有這些討論，我認為我們在開發的最後階段有一些非常好的計劃。

With respect to the private label, it really kind of depends on the category and the manufacturer we're talking to. Our goal always and we communicate this with our partners is not to steal share from a national, it's to grow the overall category and growing the category both with national branded products as well as private label products.

對於自有品牌，它實際上取決於我們正在談論的類別和製造商。我們的目標始終是，我們與合作夥伴溝通的目的不是竊取國家的份額，而是發展整體類別，並透過國家品牌產品和自有品牌產品來發展該類別。

And I've used chips as an example. In the last quarter, we had a really strong quarter in chips. The national brands grew 10% and 2% positive unit growth. That's a good result in the quarter. Our private label chips grew 38% and 33% units in the quarter. So it is possible to do both and to have the success at both. And so that's what we're striving for with all of this is to achieve that.

我以晶片為例。上個季度，我們的晶片表現非常強勁。民族品牌成長 10%，單位正成長 2%。這是本季度的一個不錯的結果。我們的自有品牌晶片在本季成長了 38% 和 33%。因此，兩者兼得併取得成功是可能的。因此，這就是我們努力實現的目標。

In some cases, our national brand manufacturers or also the manufacturers of their respective private label products. So we have varying degrees of integration on that front. In terms of pricing, I'm not really prepared to talk about price. Those conversations are still underway, but we would anticipate some low single-digit inflation probably being passed through somewhere around the beginning of the year -- calendar year.

在某些情況下，我們的國家品牌製造商或其各自的自有品牌產品的製造商。所以我們在這方面有不同程度的整合。在定價方面，我還不太準備談價格。這些對話仍在進行中，但我們預計，一些較低的個位數通膨可能會在今年年初（日曆年）的某個時候出現。

And then just a quick follow-up on some of your comments around the low-end consumer trading down, do you think that you're attracting a new customer in your Prepared Foods business as part of the trade down? Or is the acceleration that you saw in the second quarter, all organic? So how do you think about opportunities for customer acquisition in this environment? And essentially walking them into our loyalty program to make sure that they stay with you.

然後快速跟進您對低端消費者降價的一些評論，您是否認為作為降價的一部分，您的預製食品業務正在吸引新客戶？或者你在第二季度看到的加速是有機的嗎？那麼您如何看待在這種環境下獲取客戶的機會呢？本質上是讓他們加入我們的忠誠度計劃，以確保他們留在您身邊。

Yes. I like our opportunity here in this sort of economic environment. Our Prepared Foods business really does represent a tremendous value for consumers. You can get a whole pie and two sides for far less money than it would cost to take the family out to the QSR as an example. And so we have the opportunity to attract new guests to our stores based on the fact that it's just at our normal pricing, it's a strong value. And then again, like I said, what we're starting to see on the -- with our lower income consumers is that they're making a choice about what food to buy and they're gravitating more towards prepared foods as opposed to packaged foods because the prepared foods offer incremental value there. So we see the ability to grow that business on both sides, which is great for us because it's the highest margin category that we operate in.

是的。我喜歡在這種經濟環境下的機會。我們的預製食品業務確實為消費者帶來了巨大的價值。例如，您可以花比帶家人去快餐店便宜得多的錢來獲得整個餡餅和兩份配菜。因此，我們有機會吸引新客人來到我們的商店，因為它的價格只是我們的正常價格，具有很高的價值。再說一遍，就像我說的，我們開始看到，對於低收入消費者來說，他們正在選擇購買什麼食品，並且他們更傾向於預製食品而不是包裝食品因為預製食品可以提供增量價值。因此，我們看到了雙方發展業務的能力，這對我們來說非常好，因為這是我們經營的利潤率最高的類別。

Our final question comes from the line of John Royall with JPMorgan.

我們的最後一個問題來自摩根大通的約翰·羅亞爾 (John Royall)。

So could you dig in a little on some of the ingredient costs tailwinds in Prepared Foods. And what are your expectations for the second half of the year for ingredient costs? It looks like you're tracking at the top end of your guidance range for inside margin. And you made some adjustments to guidance, but you didn't adjust that one. So should we assume that margin may come in a little in 2H? And just anything there on what looks like maybe a conservative second half guide on the inside margin.

那麼，您能否深入了解預製食品中的一些成分成本優勢。您對下半年原料成本有何預期？看起來您正在追蹤內部保證金指導範圍的上限。你對指導方針做了一些調整，但你沒有調整那個。那麼我們是否應該假設保證金可能會在 2 個月內出現一點變化？任何看起來可能是保守的下半場內線指導的東西。

This is Steve. I'll start with that. Specifically -- cheese, let's start with cheese. That's obviously the biggest input cost and the one that gets the most attention. We're about 80% hedged or locked I should say, for the second half of the year on cheese costs. And so I would expect that to be modestly favorable at current spot prices year-over-year, similar to what it was in the second quarter. So somewhere between 5% and 10% favorable based on the current strip for cheese for the rest of the year.

這是史蒂夫。我將從那開始。具體來說——奶酪，讓我們從奶酪開始。這顯然是最大的投入成本，也是最受關注的。我應該說，今年下半年我們大約 80% 的起司成本都被對沖或鎖定。因此，我預計，以目前的現貨價格來看，與去年同期相比，這將是適度有利的，與第二季的情況類似。因此，根據目前的起司條，今年剩餘時間的折扣幅度在 5% 到 10% 之間。

Most of the other input costs on the Prepared Foods business are not contractual, a lot of commodities with proteins, et cetera. And so right now, we don't have a reason to believe that protein cost experience for the second half will be significantly different than what it was in the first half, which is just a modest slow improvement on a year-over-year basis. I think that would be somewhat similar. You've seen that really in the LIFO charge, the experience we've had in the first half of the year, specifically in Prepared Foods, right? We still have LIFO expense, but we have less year-over-year. And that's really just a function broadly of what kind of inflation pressure we're having in that business.

預製食品業務的其他投入成本大多不是合約成本，許多商品都含有蛋白質等。因此，現在我們沒有理由相信下半年的蛋白質成本體驗將與上半年有顯著不同，這只是同比的適度緩慢改善。我認為這會有些相似。你已經在後進先出的收費中看到了這一點，我們在今年上半年的經驗，特別是在預製食品方面，對吧？我們仍然有後進先出的費用，但同比有所減少。這實際上只是我們在該行業所面臨的通膨壓力的一個函數。

Great. And then my next question is on the buyback guide, $100 million on the year. You used the word opportunistic, but putting on a guide for the year, I think, suggests that maybe it's becoming a little more entrenched maybe in your capital allocation framework. Can you just talk about how we should think about the buyback as part of the framework going forward.

偉大的。然後我的下一個問題是關於今年 1 億美元的回購指南。您使用了「機會主義」這個詞，但我認為，提出今年的指南表明，它可能在您的資本配置框架中變得更加根深蒂固。您能否談談我們應該如何考慮回購作為未來框架的一部分。

Yes. Listen, I think your point -- it's a point well taken. You obviously had not been active and share repurchase for the last couple of years. We tried to message the folks at the Investor Day that as the company grows and continues to generate more operating cash flow and that cash flow outstrips in the short term, our ability to allocate it back into growth, which is always going to be the first stop on the bus for us if we can grow EBITDA and ROIC, do it accretively that's where we'll put the money. It just gives us more flexibility around capital allocation. And so as the leverage level continues to slowly tick down. I'm not sure that necessarily serves us well, letting that continue to get lower. It's driving up the cost of capital.

是的。聽著，我認為你的觀點——這是一個很好的觀點。顯然，過去幾年你並沒有積極進行股票回購。我們試圖在投資者日向人們傳達這樣的訊息：隨著公司的發展並繼續產生更多的營運現金流，並且現金流在短期內超過了我們將其分配回成長的能力，這始終是第一位的如果我們能夠增加 EBITDA 和 ROIC，請為我們停下來，不斷增加，這就是我們投入資金的地方。它只是讓我們在資本配置上更有彈性。因此，隨著槓桿水平繼續緩慢下降。我不確定這是否一定對我們有好處，並讓它繼續下降。它推高了資本成本。

We've got ample flexibility now. And so share repurchase just becomes kind of a logical next stop. We've been pretty disciplined on how we pay the dividend around 15% to 20% payout ratio and trying to match EBITDA growth over the medium term. We're not going to walk away from that. We've raised the dividend, I think, for 24 years in a row at this point. And so we're proud of that. But we simply have more available cash and share repurchase feels like an appropriate part of the capital allocation when you put all of the pieces of the balance sheet and just cash flow generation together.

我們現在有足夠的靈活性。因此，股票回購就成為合乎邏輯的下一站。我們在如何支付股息方面一直非常嚴格，股息率約為 15% 至 20%，並努力在中期與 EBITDA 增長相匹配。我們不會放棄這一點。我認為，我們已經連續 24 年提高了股利。所以我們為此感到自豪。但當你把資產負債表的所有部分和現金流的產生放在一起時，我們只是擁有更多可用的現金，而且股票回購感覺像是資本配置的適當部分。

And so it's not going to be nearly as significant as what we're reinvesting into growth. I would not want to set that expectation. But the reality is I do think it has a part to play more so than it has over the last couple of years.

因此，它不會像我們對成長的再投資那麼重要。我不想設定這樣的期望。但現實是，我確實認為它比過去幾年更能發揮作用。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Mr. Darren Rebelez for closing remarks.

謝謝。現在我想請 Darren Rebelez 先生致閉幕詞。

All right. Thank you, and thanks for taking the time today to join us on the call. Before we sign off, I want to thank our team members for all their hard work this quarter and wish everyone a happy holiday season and a new year.

好的。謝謝您，也謝謝您今天抽空參加我們的電話會議。在我們結束之前，我要感謝我們的團隊成員本季的辛勤工作，並祝大家節日快樂，新年快樂。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝大家有美好的一天。