Caseys General Stores Inc (CASY) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q3 FY 2026 Caseys General Stores earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker today, Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investor relations and business development. Please go ahead.

您好，感謝您稍候。歡迎參加 Caseys General Stores 2026 會計年度第三季（Q3 FY 2026）財報電話會議。（接線員指示）請注意，今天的會議將被錄音。現在我想把會議交給今天的講者：投資人關係與業務發展資深副總裁 Brian Johnson。請開始。

Good morning and thank you for joining us to discuss the results from our third quarter ended January 31, 2026. I am Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investment Relations and Business Development. With me today are Darren Rebelez, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, and Steve Bramlage, Chief Financial Officer.

各位早安，感謝各位加入我們，一同討論截至 2026 年 1 月 31 日止第三季的營運結果。我是 Brian Johnson，投資人關係與業務發展資深副總裁。今天與我一同出席的有董事長、總裁暨執行長 Darren Rebelez，以及財務長 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.

在開始之前，我要提醒各位，我們在本次投資人電話會議中所作的某些陳述，可能構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》所定義的前瞻性陳述。

These forward-looking statements include any statements relating to the potential impact of the [fike's] transaction, 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 of our stores.

這些前瞻性陳述包括任何與 [fike's] 交易之潛在影響、對未來期間的預期、可能或假設的未來營運結果、財務狀況、流動性及相關資金來源或需求、公司的供應鏈、業務與整合策略、計畫與綜效、成長機會，以及我們門市的表現等相關的陳述。

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 or to realize the benefits from the strategic plan. The impact and duration of conflicts in oil-producing regions and related governmental actions, as well as other risks, uncertainties, and factors which are described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the FCC and available on our website.

存在多項已知與未知的風險、不確定性及其他因素，可能導致我們的實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示的任何未來結果有重大差異，包括但不限於近期收購案的整合、我們執行策略計畫或實現策略計畫效益的能力。產油地區衝突的影響與持續時間及相關政府行動，以及其他風險、不確定性與因素，均已於我們最近一期的 Form 10-K 年報與 Form 10-Q 季報中說明，並已向 FCC 申報且可於我們網站查閱。

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

本次電話會議中所作的任何前瞻性陳述，均反映我們截至今日對未來事件的當前看法；Caseys 不承擔亦無意因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述之任何意圖或義務。

A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures referenced in this call, as well as a detailed breakdown of the operating expense increase for the third quarter, can be found on our website at www.caseys.com under the Investor Relations link. With that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Darren to discuss our third quarter results. Darren.

本次會議提及之非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表，以及第三季營業費用增加的詳細拆解，可於 www.caseys.com 的「投資人關係」連結中查閱。接下來，我將把電話會議交給 Darren，請他說明我們第三季的營運結果。Darren。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Before we go into further detail on our outstanding third quarter performance, I'd like to praise the entire Caseys team for their hard work serving our guests.

謝謝你，Brian，各位早安。在我們進一步深入說明第三季傑出表現之前，我想先讚揚整個 Caseys 團隊辛勤工作、服務顧客。

The team's high level of execution across the board is reflected in the numbers I'll share with you shortly. But before I do that, I want to highlight the positive impact Caseys is making throughout our geography.

團隊在各方面的高水準執行力，反映在我稍後將與各位分享的數字上。不過在此之前，我想先強調 Caseys 在我們營運版圖中所帶來的正面影響。

Supporting the community is core to who Caseys is, and right now we're activating our Feeding America campaign in partnership with DoorDash. The campaign will benefit over 60 local food banks in our footprint. Thank you to our guests and team members who are engaging in this campaign to combat hunger and food insecurity.

支持社區是 Caseys 核心精神的一部分；目前我們正與 DoorDash 合作推動 Feeding America 募捐活動。此活動將使我們營運範圍內超過 60 家在地食物銀行受益。感謝參與本活動、共同對抗飢餓與糧食不安全的顧客與團隊成員。

Now let's discuss the results from the quarter. Diluted earnings per share finished at $3.49 per share, up 50% from the prior year. Net income was $130 million an increase of 49% from the prior year. The company generated $309 million in EBITDA, 27.5% higher than the prior year.

現在我們來討論本季的業績。稀釋後每股盈餘為每股 3.49 美元，較去年同期成長 50%。淨利為 1.30 億美元，較去年同期增加 49%。公司創造 EBITDA 3.09 億美元，較去年同期高出 27.5%。

Inside the store, prepared food and dispensed beverages remain strong, supported by a compelling value proposition and continued innovation, such as the two new specialty pizzas, twisted pepperoni and ultimate meat. Margin expansion was driven primarily by grocery and general merchandise.

在店內方面，現做食品與現調飲料維持強勁表現，受惠於具吸引力的價值主張與持續創新，例如兩款新的特色披薩：twisted pepperoni 與 ultimate meat。毛利率擴張主要由雜貨與一般商品所帶動。

As a result of our joint business planning process, our guests have early access to Monster's ultra red, white, and blue rasp flavor, celebrating 250 years of American Independence. This product will be sold almost exclusively at Caseys locations up until Memorial Day weekend.

透過我們的聯合業務規劃流程，顧客可搶先購買 Monster 的 ultra red、white、and blue rasp 口味，以慶祝美國獨立 250 週年。在陣亡將士紀念日週末之前，該產品幾乎將僅在 Caseys 門市販售。

In the forecourt, our team executed well as same stored gallons grew for the 5th consecutive quarter, while fuel margin exceeded $0.40 per gallon. I'd now like to go over our results and share some of the details in each of the categories.

在加油站前庭區（forecourt），我們的團隊執行到位，同店加油加侖數連續第 5 季成長，同時燃油毛利超過每加侖 0.40 美元。接下來我想概述我們的業績，並分享各類別的一些細節。

Inside, same store sales were up 4% for the third quarter, or 7.9% on a two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 42.2%. Same store prepared food and dispensed beverage led the way, as sales were up 4.3% or 9.2% on two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 58.3%. Continuing the momentum from the prior quarter, [pol pies] and hot sandwiches and all day parts performed well during the third quarter.

店內方面，第三季同店銷售成長 4%，以兩年疊加（two-year stack）基礎計算為 7.9%，平均毛利率為 42.2%。同店現做食品與現調飲料表現領先，銷售成長 4.3%，以兩年疊加基礎計算為 9.2%，平均毛利率為 58.3%。延續前一季的動能，[pol pies]、熱三明治以及全時段（all day parts）在第三季表現良好。

Same store grocery and general merchandise sales were up 4% or 7.4% on a two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 35.7%. Energy drinks and nicotine alternatives continue to outperform the category with double-digit growth.

同店雜貨與一般商品銷售成長 4%，以兩年疊加基礎計算為 7.4%，平均毛利率為 35.7%。能量飲料與尼古丁替代品持續優於品類表現，維持雙位數成長。

On the fuel side, same store gallons sold were up 0.4%, with a fuel margin of $0.41 per gallon. The mid-continent region saw an approximate 4% decline this quarter, according to Opus fuel gallon sold data, indicating that we continue to take the market share.

燃油方面，同店銷售加侖數成長 0.4%，燃油毛利為每加侖 0.41 美元。根據 Opus 的燃油加侖銷售數據，本季中部大陸（mid-continent）地區約下滑 4%，顯示我們持續取得市占率。

In the third quarter, same store operating expense, excluding credit card fees, increased 4.6%. Same sort of labor hours were down slightly as the organization continues to prioritize efficiency while being mindful of guest satisfaction, where scores for the fiscal year are at an all-time high.

第三季同店營業費用（不含信用卡手續費）增加 4.6%。同店工時略為下降，因組織持續優先提升效率，同時兼顧顧客滿意度；本會計年度的滿意度評分創下歷史新高。

And I'd like to now turn the call over to Steve to discuss the financial results from the third quarter. Steve.

接下來我想把電話會議交給 Steve，請他說明第三季的財務結果。Steve。

Thank you, Darren, and good morning. Before I begin, I also want to share my appreciation for the hard work and the great results from our team members.

謝謝你，Darren，各位早安。在開始之前，我也想對團隊成員的辛勤付出與優異成果表達感謝。

Total revenue for the quarter was $3.91 billion. That's an increase of $12 million or 0.3% from the prior year, primarily due to higher inside sales, as well as higher fuel gallons sold that was nearly offset by a lower retail fuel price.

本季總營收為 39.1 億美元。較去年同期增加 1,200 萬美元（或 0.3%），主要因店內銷售增加，以及燃油銷售加侖數增加，但幾乎被較低的零售燃油價格所抵銷。

Results were also favorably impacted by operating approximately 1% more stores on a year over year basis. Total inside sales for the quarter were $1.48 billion an increase of $80 million or 5.7% from the prior year.

此外，年對年而言，我們營運的門市數約增加 1%，亦對業績帶來正面影響。本季店內總銷售為 14.8 億美元，較去年同期增加 8,000 萬美元（或 5.7%）。

For the quarter, prepared food and dispensed beverage sales rose by $26 million to $423 million an increase of 6.5%, and grocery and general merchandise sales increased by $54 million to $1.06 billion an increase of 5.4%.

本季現做食品與現調飲料銷售增加 2,600 萬美元至 4.23 億美元，成長 6.5%；雜貨與一般商品銷售增加 5,400 萬美元至 10.6 億美元，成長 5.4%。

Retail fuel sales were down $57 million in the quarter as a 2.3% increase in fuel gallons sold was offset by a 4.6% decline in the average retail price. The average retail price during the period was $2.72 a gallon, and that compares to $2.85 a year ago.

本季零售燃油銷售減少 5,700 萬美元，原因是燃油銷售加侖數增加 2.3%，但被平均零售價格下滑 4.6% 所抵銷。期間平均零售價格為每加侖 2.72 美元，相較一年前為每加侖 2.85 美元。

We define gross profit as revenue less cost of goods sold, excluding depreciation and amortization. Caseys had gross profit of $1.01 billion in the quarter, an increase of $94 million or 10.3% from the prior year. This is driven by both higher inside gross profit of $51 million or 8.9%, as well as higher fuel gross profit of $46.2 million or 15.3%. Inside gross profit margin was 42.2%.

我們將毛利定義為營收減去銷貨成本，不包含折舊與攤銷。Caseys 本季毛利為 10.1 億美元，較去年同期增加 9,400 萬美元或 10.3%。這主要由店內毛利增加 5,100 萬美元或 8.9%，以及燃油毛利增加 4,620 萬美元或 15.3% 所帶動。店內毛利率為 42.2%。

That is up 130 basis points from a year ago.

較一年前上升 130 個基點。

Prepared food and dispensed beverage margin was 58.3% and that's up 50 basis points from prior year. Cheese was $2.05 per pound for the quarter compared to $2.12 per pound last year. That's a decrease of 3% or approximately a 20 basis points benefit to margin.

即食食品與現調飲料毛利率為 58.3%，較去年同期上升 50 個基點。本季起司價格為每磅 2.05 美元，去年為每磅 2.12 美元。這下降了 3%，或約為毛利率帶來 20 個基點的助益。

Margin also benefited from improved waste, which was partially offset by promotional activity. The grocery and general merchandise margin was 35.7%. That's an increase of 150 basis points from the prior year. The change was impacted by strong cost of goods management as well as a favorable mixed shift within the category.

毛利率亦受惠於報廢（耗損）改善，但部分被促銷活動所抵銷。雜貨與一般商品毛利率為 35.7%。較去年同期增加 150 個基點。此變動受到強勁的銷貨成本管理以及品類內組合轉變有利所影響。

Fuel margin for the quarter was $0.41 per gallon. That's up [4.$0.06] per gallon from prior year. Total operating expenses were up 4.1% or $27.4 million in the quarter.

本季燃油毛利為每加侖 0.41 美元。較去年同期每加侖增加 [4.$0.06] 美元。本季總營業費用增加 4.1%，或 2,740 萬美元。

The total operating expense comparison benefited from $13 million in one-time deal in integration costs that we incurred in the prior year related to the closing of the acquisition of fikes, which amounted to a roughly 2% year over year benefit.

總營業費用的比較受惠於去年因完成收購 fikes 交易交割而發生的一次性交易整合成本 1,300 萬美元，約帶來年對年 2% 的有利影響。

Approximately 1% of the total operating expense increase is due to unit growth as we operated 31 more stores than the prior year. Same store employee expense accounted for approximately 1.5% of the increase due to increases in labor rates which were partially offset by reduced same store labor hours.

總營業費用增加中約 1% 來自門店成長，因我們較去年多營運 31 家門店。同店員工費用約占增加的 1.5%，主要因勞動薪資率上升，但部分被同店工時下降所抵銷。

Snow removal due to unfavorable weather in the geography during the quarter contributed to approximately 1% of the increase. And finally, higher variable incentive compensation and charitable contributions contributed to approximately 1.5% of the increase.

本季因地理區域天候不佳導致的除雪費用，約貢獻了增加的 1%。最後，較高的變動式獎酬與慈善捐款約貢獻了增加的 1.5%。

Net interest expense was $23.4 million in the quarter. That's down $6 million versus the prior year. That's primarily due to paying off debt associated with the fikes transaction.

本季淨利息費用為 2,340 萬美元。較去年同期減少 600 萬美元。主要原因是償還與 fikes 交易相關的債務。

Depreciation in the quarter was $114.1 million. That's up $8.9 million versus the prior year, primarily due to operating more stores.

本季折舊費用為 1.141 億美元。較去年同期增加 890 萬美元，主要因營運門店數增加。

The effective tax rate for the quarter was 24.1%. That compares to the prior year of 19.2%. The increase this year was driven by a one-time benefit in the prior year from revaluing state deferred tax liabilities following the closing of the fikes transaction.

本季有效稅率為 24.1%。相較去年同期為 19.2%。今年的上升主要是因去年在 fikes 交易交割後，重新評價州別遞延所得稅負債所帶來的一次性利益。

Our financial flexibility remains excellent. On January 30, we had a total available liquidity of $1.4 billion. In our credit facility debt to EBITDA ratio ended the quarter at 1.6 times.

我們的財務彈性仍然非常充裕。截至 1 月 30 日，我們的可用流動性總額為 14 億美元。在我們的信貸融資安排下，債務對 EBITDA 比率於本季末為 1.6 倍。

For the quarter net cash generated by operating activities of $260 million less purchases of PP&E of $184 million resulted in the company generating $76 million in free cash flow, and that compares to generating $91 million in the prior year.

本季營運活動產生的淨現金 2.60 億美元，扣除購置不動產、廠房及設備（PP&E）1.84 億美元後，公司產生 7,600 萬美元自由現金流；相較去年同期為 9,100 萬美元。

At the March meeting, the board of directors voted to maintain the quarterly dividend at $0.57 per share. Also, during the third quarter, we repurchased approximately $76 million in shares. We are updating our previously communicated fiscal 2026 guidance as follows.

在 3 月的會議上，董事會投票決議維持季度股利每股 0.57 美元。此外，在第三季期間，我們回購約 7,600 萬美元的股票。我們將先前公布的 2026 會計年度指引更新如下。

Fiscal '26 EBITDA is now expected to increase 18% to 20%. The company now expects inside same store sales to increase between 3.5% to 4.5% and an inside margin of between 41.5% to 42.5%. Total operating expenses are expected to increase approximately 10%.

2026 會計年度 EBITDA 現預期將成長 18% 至 20%。公司現預期店內同店銷售成長 3.5% 至 4.5%，店內毛利率介於 41.5% 至 42.5%。總營業費用預期約增加 10%。

And the tax rate is now expected to be between 23.5% and 24.5% for the fiscal year. The remainder of our annual guidance remains unchanged. Now our results for the month of February were as follows.

本會計年度稅率現預期介於 23.5% 至 24.5%。其餘年度指引維持不變。接下來，我們 2 月份的表現如下。

Same store volumes both inside and outside the store were strong, and they are reflected in the updated annual guidance. Fuel CPG was in the low $0.40 per gallon. Current cheese costs are slightly favorable versus the prior year.

店內與店外的同店銷量皆表現強勁，並已反映在更新後的年度指引中。燃油每加侖毛利（CPG）約在 0.40 美元出頭。目前起司成本相較去年同期略為有利。

And we expect fourth quarter operating expense to be up mid-single-digits that's partially attributable to higher expected variable incentive compensation. I would now like to turn the call over to Darren.

我們預期第四季營業費用將以中個位數百分比成長，部分歸因於預期變動式獎酬較高。接下來我想把電話交給 Darren。

Thanks, Steve. About a year ago, we began a test for chicken wings in our Des Moines market at 225 stores. I'm happy to announce that we've expanded to over 550 stores as of the end of the third quarter. Our culinary team has done a great job getting the flavor profile right with five sauces and three dry rubs that resonated with our guests.

謝謝，Steve。大約一年前，我們在得梅因（Des Moines）市場的 225 家門店開始進行雞翅測試。我很高興宣布，截至第三季末，我們已擴展到超過 550 家門店。我們的廚藝團隊在風味設定上做得非常出色，推出五種醬汁與三種乾式香料塗抹（dry rub），深受顧客喜愛。

Our goal with the wings has been to complement pizza and create an incremental occasion within our prepared foods business. While we do not have financial metrics to share on the wings yet, the platform has been largely incremental because our pizza units in the stores where we sold wings were up high single-digit percentages in the quarter.

我們推出雞翅的目標，是與披薩形成互補，並在即食食品業務中創造額外的消費情境。雖然目前尚無可分享的雞翅財務指標，但該平台在很大程度上屬於增量貢獻，因為在販售雞翅的門店中，本季披薩銷量以高個位數百分比成長。

Within Caseys rewards, we crossed a major milestone as we now have over 10 million members. This is a testament to the whole team from marketing to store operations and everyone in between, providing real value for our guests to earn and use points throughout the store and at the pump.

在 Caseys rewards 方面，我們達成一個重要里程碑：會員數已超過 1,000 萬。這證明了從行銷到門店營運以及中間每一位同仁的努力，為顧客提供實質價值，讓他們能在店內與加油機台累積並使用點數。

As we continue to grow, we're excited for more guests to join the Caseys rewards platform. On the fuel side, our fuel team continues to grow our capabilities. They've prioritized business to business relationships, growing our self-supply capabilities, and remaining focused on increasing our capacity to haul fuel on Caseys trucks. This coupled with our strong inside offering gives us a strategic advantage in the forecourt.

隨著我們持續成長，我們很期待有更多顧客加入 Caseys rewards 平台。在燃油方面，我們的燃油團隊持續提升能力。他們優先發展企業對企業（B2B）關係、提升自供能力，並持續聚焦於提高使用 Caseys 卡車運輸燃油的運能。再加上我們強勁的店內商品與服務，讓我們在加油站前場（forecourt）具備策略優勢。

Lastly, as we're now in the final quarter of our three-year strategic plan, I'd like to announce that we have set a date, June 24, for our next Investor Day. We'll hold the event in New York City, and plan to release our next three year strategic plan at that event.

最後，隨著我們進入三年策略計畫的最後一季，我想宣布我們已訂定下一次投資人日的日期：6 月 24 日。活動將在紐約市舉行，並計畫在該活動發布我們下一個三年策略計畫。

And I'll let you in on a little secret. We plan to serve our famous pizza at the event. We'll now take your questions.

另外跟各位透露一個小祕密。我們計畫在活動上供應我們著名的披薩。接下來我們開始回答各位的問題。

Thank you, (Operator Instructions) Corey Tarlowe, Jefferies.

謝謝，（接線員指示）Jefferies 的 Corey Tarlowe。

Great, thanks and good morning. Darren, I was wondering if you could comment on, the impact of volatility on your business and any comments on, the recent events and some of the impacts that that might have had on either, fuel sales or profitability.

很好，謝謝，早安。Darren，我想請你評論一下波動性對你們業務的影響，以及對近期事件的看法，還有這些事件可能對燃油銷售或獲利能力造成的影響。

Yeah, sure, Corey, is as you well know, volatility is kind of par for the course in this business. And so these events like what's happening with Iran right now happen from time to time. The most recent history we have on that is a few years ago when the Russia-Ukraine war began.

好的，當然，Corey。正如你很清楚的，波動性在這個產業算是家常便飯。因此，像目前伊朗的情況這類事件會不時發生。我們最近一次可參考的類似經驗，是幾年前俄烏戰爭爆發的時候。

And you know typically what happens in a situation like this is the cost runs up on gasoline and is driven by crude oil primarily and then flows through the system. Wholesale prices move up, retail prices move up, but tend to move a little bit more slowly, and so margins get a little bit compressed on the front side of that curve.

而且你知道，通常在這種情況下會發生的是，汽油成本會上升，主要是由原油帶動，然後傳導到整個系統。批發價格上漲、零售價格也上漲，但通常零售端上漲會慢一點，因此在曲線前段的利潤率會稍微被壓縮。

When there's an ultimate inflection point and the costs start to come down. Retail prices will come down as well, but also tend to come down more slowly and the margin expands. So over the course of the cycle, it historically has ended up being a net positive from a fuel margin standpoint, but--it is a little bit of tightening on the front end, a little bit of expansion on the back end. When we look at the The history from the most recent event with the Ukraine war, that's exactly what played out. Margins did get a little bit compressed, but not bad. I mean, the quarter.

當出現最終的拐點、成本開始下降時，零售價格也會下降，但同樣往往下降得更慢，利潤率就會擴大。因此在整個週期中，從燃料毛利的角度來看，歷史上最終通常是淨正面，但——前段會稍微收緊、後段會稍微擴張。當我們回顧最近一次烏克蘭戰爭的事件歷史，情況正是如此。利潤率確實有些被壓縮，但不嚴重。我的意思是，那個季度。

Our quarter in '22 where we had the first initial shock from the Ukraine war, we printed a $0.36 fuel margin that quarter. Then the subsequent three quarters were all over $0.40 a gallon. So again they'll be a little bit of tightening, but this is not a huge deal from a margin perspective and then on the volume side of things with absolute retail prices.

我們在 2022 年、烏克蘭戰爭帶來第一次初始衝擊的那一季，燃料毛利是 0.36 美元。接下來三個季度都超過每加侖 0.40 美元。所以同樣地，會有一點收緊，但從毛利角度看這不是什麼大事；至於量的部分，則取決於絕對零售價格。

We really don't start to see any level of demand destruction until we're approaching $5 a gallon at retail, and we, as we sit here today, we're right around $3 a gallon in our footprint, so we have quite a ways to go before we would be concerned from a volume standpoint.

我們通常要到零售端接近每加侖 5 美元時，才會開始看到任何程度的需求破壞；而以我們今天的情況來看，在我們的營運版圖內大約是每加侖 3 美元，所以距離會讓我們在銷量面擔心的水準還差得很遠。

That's very helpful, thank you so much. Steve, I just wanted to follow-up as you think about the inside sales for sales of 3.5% to 4.5%, some of your largest vendors, have called out that they're investing in price. How do you think about, pricing impacts within the full year guide and what do you expect to have from a pricing perspective because I do believe you also mentioned increased promotions. Thanks so much.

這非常有幫助，真的非常感謝。Steve，我想追問一下：你提到店內銷售成長 3.5% 到 4.5%，你們一些最大的供應商也提到他們正在投入「價格」。你如何看待價格影響在全年指引中的反映？以及從定價角度你預期會如何？因為我也相信你提到促銷會增加。非常感謝。

Yeah, Corey, hey, good morning.

好的，Corey，早安。

Thank you, we don't lean heavily, in, into prices as a general manner as a as a constituent part of our inside, sales bridges, as you know we had, a little under 3% pricing reflected in our current quarter and that's primarily on the nicotine category where we tend to just pass through the manufacturer price increases that we have. I mean our. The strength of our inside offer is very much, especially in prepared food predicated on the value proposition that we've worked very hard to maintain. We took, almost no price. I think actually with the way commodities worked in the quarter, we had negative pricing net within the prepared food category and so as our.

謝謝。我們一般不會在價格上用力，作為我們店內銷售橋接分析中的主要構成；如你所知，我們本季反映了不到 3% 的定價，主要來自尼古丁品類，我們通常只是把製造商的漲價轉嫁出去。我的意思是，我們。我們店內商品組合的強項，很大一部分——尤其是現做食品——是建立在我們非常努力維持的價值主張之上。我們幾乎沒有漲價。其實以本季大宗商品的走勢來看，現做食品品類的淨定價是負的，所以隨著我們的。

QSR competitive set broadly has continued to take price in the last couple of years, that's really helped the velocity of units in that prepared food category and then, we will continue to run that play. We like to be a value proposition on that side and so I would not expect us to lean into price, heavily going forward and prepared food. We always have that.

整體 QSR（速食餐飲）競爭組合在過去幾年持續漲價，這確實提升了現做食品品類的單位銷售速度；因此我們會繼續採用這套策略。我們希望在那一端維持價值主張，所以我不預期我們未來會在現做食品上大幅倚重漲價。我們一直都有那個。

As an insurance policy if if we would need to, but we simply have not needed to do that on the grocery side you know we do use pricing to preserve margin that's a contractual business for us annually and so we will continue to take price in that category commensurate with the inflation, we take from our partners and the pricing we do receive to your point on promotion in the grocery category especially is often largely or completely offset by promotional support from our vendor partners.

作為保險措施——如果我們需要的話——但我們確實一直不需要這麼做。至於雜貨端，你知道我們確實會用定價來維持毛利；那對我們而言是每年以合約方式運作的業務，所以我們會持續在該品類按我們從合作夥伴承受的通膨幅度來調價。而你提到促銷，在雜貨品類尤其如此，很多時候大部分甚至全部都會被供應商夥伴提供的促銷支持所抵銷。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mark Carden, UBS

Mark Carden，瑞銀（UBS）

Good Morning. Thanks so much for taking the question. So to start, you guys just put together a solid performance in grocery and genn merch. Can you provide a little more color on what drove the strength in non-alcoholic beverages? I would assume the Monster is more of a benefit next quarter, but, if you saw a tailwind there, definitely let us know. And then do you think there was a stocking up benefit ahead of the severe winter weather that helped the segment?

早安。非常感謝讓我提問。首先，你們在雜貨與一般商品（general merchandise）方面剛交出不錯的表現。能否多分享一些非酒精飲料強勁表現的驅動因素？我猜 Monster 的效益可能更多在下個季度，但如果你們這季就看到順風，也請告訴我們。另外，你們認為在嚴寒冬季天氣來臨前是否有囤貨效益，對該部門有所幫助？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah, Mark staring up on the non elk beverages, it was driven primarily by energy. Overall energy was up about 14% in the quarter. There's also, we had strong growth in our flavor enhanced waters and so, both of those two categories really, contributed to, the non-al beverage performance. In terms of stocking up, I don't think we saw any real change in behavior from that perspective, during the quarter, and, so, and I'm not sure what the impetus would have been during the third quarter to, for that to happen. So, no, we didn't see any of that behavior in the quarter.

好的，Mark，先談非酒精飲料，主要是由能量飲料帶動。整體能量飲料本季約成長 14%。另外，我們的風味強化水也有強勁成長，所以這兩個品類確實共同貢獻了非酒精飲料的表現。至於囤貨，我不認為我們在本季看到行為上有任何實質改變；而且我也不確定第三季會有什麼誘因讓這種情況發生。所以沒有，我們本季沒有看到那種行為。

Thank you. Chuck Grom, Gordon Haskett

謝謝。Chuck Grom，Gordon Haskett

Hey, thanks very much. Good morning. Great quarter. You noted that quarter to date sales are strong, yet your implied fourth quarter guide, has a pretty big detail on the stack. So I was just wondering if we could reconcile that and maybe just double click on the overall health of your customer, based across income cohorts, any changes you've seen recently.

嗨，非常感謝。早安。很棒的一季。你提到截至目前本季銷售很強，但你們隱含的第四季指引，在兩年疊加（stack）上看起來有相當大的放緩。所以我想請問能否幫我們對齊一下這兩者，並且更深入談談你們客戶的整體健康狀況——按收入族群分布——以及你們最近看到的任何變化。

Yeah, maybe, Chuck, I'll talk about the health of the customer. I'll let Steve talk about the guidance in that bridge, from a consumer standpoint, the health of the customer, we're still seeing.

好的，也許，Chuck，我先談談客戶的健康狀況。我讓 Steve 來談指引以及那個橋接；從消費者角度來看，客戶的健康狀況，我們仍然看到。

Customers, shop at our stores across all income cohorts. For sure, the upper income cohorts are stronger, but we're growing business across the low income cohorts as well. And what we're seeing in terms of behavior difference, I'd say the middle and upper income cohorts are performing about the same. They're still shopping at our stores. They're shopping across all categories, very little change in their behavior. The lower income cohorts.

顧客在我們門市涵蓋所有收入族群。確實，高收入族群表現更強，但我們在低收入族群的業務也在成長。而就行為差異而言，我會說中高收入族群的表現差不多。他們仍然在我們店裡購物。他們跨各品類購買，行為變化非常小。低收入族群。

Are still growing with us. I think that's an important thing to call out. They are growing at a slower rate than the other cohorts, except in prepared foods where they're actually growing as strong, if not stronger than the higher income cohorts.

仍然與我們一起成長。我認為這點很重要，值得特別指出。他們的成長速度比其他族群慢一些，但在現做食品方面，他們的成長其實同樣強勁，甚至可能比高收入族群更強。

So I think that's really a reflection of the value proposition that our prepared foods category offers relative to QSRs and other of our national brand pizza competitors. They're also leaning a little bit heavier on the dispensed beverage side within prepared foods because that, typically represents a better value than.

所以我認為這確實反映了我們現做食品品類相對於 QSR（速食餐飲）以及其他全國性品牌披薩競爭對手所提供的價值主張。他們在現做食品中的現調飲料（dispensed beverage）端也更偏重一些，因為那通常代表比。

In the bottle and canned beverages on the non or on the grocery and general merchandise side.

相較於雜貨與一般商品端的瓶裝與罐裝飲料，具有更好的價值。

On grocery and general merchandise, lower income consumers are buying at a little bit slower rate, still growing again, and that kind of holds together logically is they may have, opportunities to go to a grocery store and buy in bulk at a lower unit cost than what we would be able to provide, but that's really what we're seeing on the consumer side.

在雜貨與一般商品方面，低收入消費者的購買速度稍微慢一些，但仍然在成長；這在邏輯上也說得通，因為他們可能有機會去雜貨店以更低的單位成本大量採購，而那是我們不一定能提供的；但這就是我們在消費者端看到的情況。

I still feel very good about the overall health of the consumer and their shopping habits and Steve, you want to talk a little bit about the guidance?

我仍然對消費者整體健康狀況及其購物習慣感到非常有信心。Steve，你要不要談一下指引？

Yeah, sure, good morning, Chuck. Chuck, we normally don't give quarterly specific numbers for, much at all, because we're probably not that precise, but coming into the fourth quarter we're trying to serve up some squeeze math, for people as best we can, so I think on the inside number I think year-to-date, we're about 3.8% or so on the inside number, the inside.

好的，當然，早安，Chuck。Chuck，我們通常不會提供太多按季度的具體數字，因為我們可能沒那麼精準；但進入第四季時，我們會盡力替大家做一些「擠壓」的數學推算，讓大家更好理解。所以就內部口徑來看，我想年初至今我們大約是 3.8% 左右，內部口徑。

Range, the midpoint of that range is right around where we are, maybe a touch higher, so I, ultimately I think that squeeze math would indicate that, 4th quarter should look pretty close to what the year-to-date, inside experience has been. We're not expecting it to be, significantly different.

至於區間，該區間的中點大概就在我們目前的位置附近，可能略高一點。所以最終我認為，這個擠壓數學會顯示第四季看起來應該會與年初至今的內部表現相當接近。我們不預期會有顯著不同。

Okay, great, thanks very much and then just on the the grocery margins up, really healthy here, right up 150 basis points talked about cost of goods management and mix maybe dive into the cost of goods management where you are with your vendors on some of that journey versus how much of it was mixed just so we can think about the complexion, in the next few quarters.

好的，非常感謝。接著關於雜貨毛利率上升，這裡看起來非常健康，上升了 150 個基點；你們提到銷貨成本管理與品類組合，能否再深入談談你們在銷貨成本管理方面、與供應商合作推進到哪個階段，相較之下有多少只是組合因素？這樣我們才能思考未來幾季的結構樣貌。

Thanks. Yeah, this is Darren.

謝謝。對，我是 Darren。

Yeah, on the cost of good management side, I think it's really just a reflection of our joint business planning process. Our merchants have done a really good job of partnering with our supplier partners and creating plans that, allow us to manage that cost of goods a little bit more effectively and at the same time grow the business for all of us and so I, I'd say that's really what you see on the cost of goods management side of the mix.

對，在銷貨成本管理這一塊，我認為這其實就是我們聯合商業規劃流程的反映。我們的採購團隊與供應商夥伴合作得非常好，制定出一些計畫，讓我們能更有效地管理銷貨成本，同時也讓大家的業務一起成長。所以我會說，你在銷貨成本管理這一塊看到的，主要就是這些。

Is really a couple of different things. The fastest growing subcategory within.

至於組合面，主要是幾個不同因素。在……之內成長最快的子品類。

Grocery and general merchandise is non-alcoholic beverages, and that's also Carries the highest margin rate and that's margin expansion in in the quarter, so that's favorably mixing. The other thing I would call out is the nicotine category and that's a combination of a couple of things. The combustible cigarette mix has gone down, and that's the lowest margin part of that subcategory.

在雜貨與一般商品中，成長最快的子品類是非酒精飲料，而這個品類同時也有最高的毛利率，因此本季帶來毛利擴張，所以組合對我們是有利的。另外我想特別提到尼古丁品類，這是幾個因素的組合。可燃式香菸的組合占比下降，而那是該子品類中毛利最低的部分。

The nicotine alternatives, so I think the pouch business is up 31% in the quarter. Vapor was up another 12% as enforcement actions against illicit vape have improved, and so those both carry more than double the margin rate of combustible cigarettes. So when you throw all that into the mix, and that really does favorably impact. The grocery and general merchandise category margin rate.

尼古丁替代品方面，我想本季口含袋（pouch）業務成長 31%。隨著對非法電子煙的執法行動改善，電子煙（vapor）又成長了 12%；而這兩者的毛利率都超過可燃式香菸的兩倍。因此把這些放進組合裡，確實會帶來正面影響。雜貨與一般商品品類的毛利率。

Thank you. Kelly Bania, BMO Capital Markets.

謝謝。Kelly Bania，BMO Capital Markets。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking our questions.

嗨，早安。謝謝你們回答我們的問題。

Darren, you, I think, made the comment that you typically don't see demand destruction until the retail price of fuel hits closer to $5 per gallon, and obviously we're still far away. From that, I was just curious if you have seen any, impact to consumer behavior, traffic ticket, inside sales, just in the past few weeks and if you are making any contingency plans from a promotional perspective, if this fuel margin, environment remains elevated or continues to, increase.

Darren，你提到你們通常要等到燃油零售價格接近每加侖 5 美元時，才會看到需求被破壞（demand destruction），而顯然我們距離那個水準還很遠。因此我想請教，過去幾週你們是否看到任何對消費者行為的影響，例如來客數、店內銷售等？以及如果燃油毛利環境維持在高檔或持續上升，你們是否會從促銷角度制定任何應變計畫？

Yeah, Kelly, we, we've seen no signs at this stage of the cycle, in terms of any change in guest behavior, certainly people don't like seeing gas prices go up, but again, I'll put this in perspective.

對，Kelly，就目前這個週期階段而言，我們還沒有看到任何顧客行為改變的跡象。當然大家不喜歡看到油價上漲，但我再把這件事放到脈絡裡說明。

Right now, after this last week or so's events, retails are up, give or take, on average about $0.30 a gallon.

就目前來看，在過去一週左右的事件之後，零售油價平均大概上升了約每加侖 0.30 美元，上下些許。

At that $0.30 a gallon an hour in the low $3 a gallon range on average, that's still $0.30 below the starting point when when the Ukraine war began. So we, fuel prices had run down quite a bit over the last year or so. So we're actually sitting in a really low position.

在每加侖上升 0.30 美元、平均仍在每加侖 3 美元出頭的水準下，這其實仍比烏克蘭戰爭剛開始時的起點低了 0.30 美元。所以過去一年左右油價其實下滑了不少。因此我們現在其實處在一個非常低的位置。

So the fact that we moved up a little bit more recently. Still puts us at a very low absolute retail price relative to recent history. So again, we're still not seeing any sort of behavior change in the event that we start to get up into that, close to $5 a gallon range, we certainly will do some things to encourage demand, but as it stands right now, our traffic to our stores has been positive, and that's a great credit to our merchandizing, our food team, our store ops teams who are running great stores every day, to get people to come in, and that's worked, across the Board and so that that value proposition relative to other alternatives is still very strong.

所以我們最近稍微往上走了一點。相較於近期歷史，絕對零售油價仍然非常低。因此同樣地，我們仍未看到任何行為改變；如果油價開始上升到接近每加侖 5 美元的區間，我們當然會採取一些措施來鼓勵需求，但就目前而言，我們門市來客數仍是正成長，這要歸功於我們的商品團隊、餐食團隊與門市營運團隊每天把店經營得很好，讓人願意進店；而且這在各方面都奏效，因此相較於其他替代選項，我們的價值主張仍然非常強。

And so in a higher price environment for fuel, I think more consumers will be more discerning about where they spend their money, and they'll see the value proposition that we have every day in our stores, and I think that ultimately accrues to our benefit.

因此在燃油價格更高的環境下，我認為消費者會更謹慎地選擇把錢花在哪裡；他們會看到我們門市每天提供的價值主張，而我認為最終這會對我們有利。

Thank you. Just wanted to also ask about the wings sounds like that's now at 550 stores. Can you talk a little bit more about the timing and cadence of additional rollout of that program to more stores and also can you tie in just how you think about the pricing of that item? I think what we're seeing is [77.99] for eight pieces and just curious how you think about. The value proposition of that category to say pizza or hot sandwiches or some of your other core prepared food offerings.

謝謝。我也想問一下雞翅，聽起來現在已經到 550 家店了。你能否多談談這個計畫接下來擴展到更多門市的時程與推進節奏？另外也請你連帶談談你們如何思考這個品項的定價。我看到的是 8 支售價 [77.99]，想請教你們如何看待這個品類相對於披薩或熱三明治等其他核心現做食品的價值主張。

Yeah, so with respect to timing, We're going to have a more measured roll out over time, and we'll we'll do that, essentially by distribution center to make sure the supply chain is running efficiently and keep in mind, this just isn't selling a new product we have equipment that we need to install in stores to enable that, process we have to do a lot of training so, I would say.

好的，關於時程，我們會在一段時間內以較為審慎的方式逐步推廣；基本上會以配送中心為單位來推進，以確保供應鏈運作有效率。也請記得，這不只是賣一個新產品而已，我們需要在門市安裝設備來支援這個流程，也必須做大量訓練，所以我會說。

Over the next two years would be the the case where we would roll out the rest of the chain.

在接下來兩年內，會是我們把其餘門市推廣到全鏈的時間範圍。

With respect to pricing.

至於定價。

We intend to approach the pricing similar to how we've done with pizza in terms of keeping a GAAP relative to any sort of national brand competitor so we encourage trial and adoption and and continue to grow the unit velocity on that business, our ultimate goal with this platform is really to create an incremental occasion.

我們打算用類似披薩的方式來定價，也就是相對於任何全國性品牌競品維持一個差距（gap），以鼓勵試用與採用，並持續提升這項業務的單店銷售速度（unit velocity）。我們在這個平台上的最終目標，是創造一個增量的消費情境（incremental occasion）。

In addition to pizza and so it certainly can be an add-on to the pizza, but it also, as a quality and value proposition to stand alone on its own as an incremental occasion and in the early indications are that we are selling the product to wing only customers and we're also seeing that when people are buying our wings they are increasing their frequency of visit.

也就是在披薩之外的另一個情境；它當然可以作為披薩的加購，但同時也具備品質與價值主張，能夠獨立成為一個增量情境。而早期跡象顯示，我們確實有把產品賣給只買雞翅的顧客，同時也看到當人們購買我們的雞翅時，他們的到店頻率正在提高。

As a result of that, so, we feel very good about, the progress so far. We still have a long way to go, but, things are working well so far.

因此，我們對目前的進展感到非常好。我們還有很長的路要走，但到目前為止運作得很順利。

Thank you. Michael Montani, Evercore ISI.

謝謝。Michael Montani，Evercore ISI。

Yes, hi, good morning, thanks for taking the question and congrats on the results.

是的，嗨，早安，謝謝讓我提問，也恭喜你們的業績表現。

I just wanted to ask if I could, I guess on two areas. One is, if you could discuss a little bit, Steve, any synergies that you realize kind of in the quarter and then what a realistic full year outlook is, for synergy from CEO, and then just to follow-up on the wings. How should we think about potential CapEx investment, if it's a light touch versus a heavier touch, how do you see that kind of split out over time and then similarly on the OpEx side, do you need to add kind of a full, a full-time equivalent worker to be able to, deliver the wing value prop.

我想問兩個面向。第一個是，Steve，你能否談談本季你們實現了哪些協同效益，以及對於全年來看，來自 CEO 的協同效益，一個務實的全年展望會是什麼？另外再追問雞翅：我們應該如何看待潛在的資本支出（CapEx）投資，是屬於輕量投入還是較重投入？你們預期這在時間上會如何分布？同樣地在營運費用（OpEx）方面，是否需要增加例如一名全職等效人力（FTE）才能交付雞翅的價值主張？

Yeah, hi, good morning, Mike. This is Steve. I'll maybe start on the synergy one, turn it to Darren for the wings. We are right where we expect it to be as it relates to the integration of fikes and CEO is probably the overarching comment I would make, if you go back to the synergy capture that we. Expected and talked about at the time of the time of the closing the deal.

是的，嗨，早安，Mike。我是Steve。我先從協同效益那題開始，翅膀的部分再交給Darren。就Fikes的整合以及CEO而言，我想我可以先給一個總結性的評論：目前進度完全符合我們的預期；如果你回頭看我們在交易完成時所預期並討論過的協同效益擷取。以及在交易交割當時我們所預期、所談到的內容。

So a year ago this quarter, the early innings of those synergies were going to be some G&A capture, which we're right where we thought we'd be probably a little bit ahead of that, and certainly some fuel benefit capture both from converging the supply agreements of the two entities together which we just completed actually this quarter, everybody is now on the same kind of timeline with the same volume, benefit in those negotiations as well as the pricing which we took over really on day one. And centralize that pricing. So, most of those synergies have all been realized. We have started to, take some synergies, inside the store slowly as we put some of our product into.

所以，一年前的這一季，在協同效益的早期階段，主要會先擷取一些G&A（一般及行政）效益；我們目前正如預期，甚至可能略為超前。另外也確實擷取到一些燃料端的效益，包含把兩個實體的供應合約整併到同一套架構下——我們其實就在本季完成了——現在大家都在同一個時程上、以相同的量體，在談判中取得量的效益，以及我們幾乎在第一天就接手的定價。並將定價集中化。因此，這些協同效益大多都已經實現。我們也開始在店內逐步擷取一些協同效益，因為我們把自家的產品導入到。

Some of the proof of concept stores that we converted, a while ago and we're also now in the process of converting another 50, stores that had previously had kitchens in them, we'll have 50 more converted by the end of the fiscal year. Those stores will also start to show prepared food synergies, which is the bulk, about 40% of the total synergies we expected to capture would ultimately be prepared for food because we're putting pizza in. That will follow the conversion schedule and so, long story short, we spikes for sure as we had communicated at the beginning of the year, the EIT created for us, this year comfortably. So, and this gy capture is right where we expect and the bulk of the prepared food synergy capture will really start in the first half of, next fiscal year, and we'll ramp that up throughout the course of the year.

一些我們先前轉換完成的概念驗證門店（proof of concept stores）中；而我們現在也正在把另外50家先前就有廚房的門店進行轉換，我們會在本財年結束前再完成50家轉換。這些門店也會開始展現即食/熟食（prepared food）的協同效益；而這一塊是我們預期可擷取的總協同效益中最大宗的部分，約占40%，最終主要來自熟食，因為我們會導入披薩。這會跟著轉換時程走。總結來說，Spikes（門店）確實如同我們在年初所溝通的，EIT在今年會為我們帶來相當舒適的貢獻。所以，G&A的擷取正如預期，而熟食協同效益擷取的大部分，會在下一個財年的上半年真正開始顯現，並在全年逐步加速。

Yeah Michael, I'll go ahead and take the wings, from a CapEx perspective it's a pretty light lift, really it's just putting a commercial fryer into the stores. We have electrical, we have vent hoods already, there's a little bit of small wares that are required to produce a product, but that's it, it's just we got.

好的，Michael，我來回答翅膀的部分。從資本支出（CapEx）的角度來看，這是相當輕量的投入，基本上就是在門店裝一台商用油炸鍋。我們本來就有電力配置，也有排煙罩，另外需要一些小型器具（small wares）來製作產品，但大致就這些而已，就是我們得。

You know thousands of stores we have to install them into so it takes a little time but from a CapEx perspective it's not a significant investment on the labor side it's not as. It's a little more scientific in terms of how we add the labor it's not just adding an FTE.

你知道，我們有數千家門店要安裝，所以需要一些時間；但從CapEx角度來看，並不是重大的投資。至於人力端，並不是。我們在增加人力時會更「科學化」一些，不是單純增加一個全職人力（FTE）。

We have a pretty robust labor modeling process that we go through with time motion studies to understand what it actually takes to produce any product in our kitchens and then the team forecast the demand in those stores and based on that they'll get an incremental labor allocation to the stores.

我們有一套相當完善的人力建模流程，會透過時間與動作研究（time motion studies）來了解在我們的廚房製作任何產品實際需要多少時間；接著團隊會預測各店的需求，並依此給門店分配額外的人力配置（labor allocation）。

If the volume were high enough, it may warrant an an an incremental FTE. I would say for the most part at this stage it's warranting incremental hours but not necessarily an FTE at this stage of the game, but every store has their own specific.

如果量夠高，可能就需要新增一個額外的FTE。但我會說，就目前這個階段，大多數情況是需要增加工時，但未必需要增加FTE；不過每一家店都有其特定的。

Allocation based on that math and then that ebbs and flows as the volume, the actual volume experience, goes forward, so that, that's how we approach the labor.

配置，都是依照那套數學模型計算；而且會隨著銷量、實際銷量的表現往前推進而上下調整，所以，這就是我們看待人力的方式。

Thank you. Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs.

謝謝。Goldman Sachs 的 Bonnie Herzog。

Thank you. Good morning. I was, hoping you could touch on the durability of your new unit growth, I guess it was the long-term. Curious to hear from you, what is the sustainable pace, new unit growth, and, how many sites, do you have in your pipeline.

謝謝。早安。我想請你們談談新店成長的耐久性，應該說是長期面。想聽聽你們認為可持續的新店成長速度是多少，以及你們的開店管線（pipeline）裡大概有多少據點。

I guess can you, share with us if you're still on track to deliver on your guidance this year and to add, I guess the 80 new stores, which implies about 60 new store openings in the fourth quarter and then are you guys also sort of on track to add the 500 new stores by the end of this fiscal year? Thanks.

另外，你們是否仍按計畫達成今年的指引、也就是新增約80家新店？這代表第四季大概會開出約60家新店；以及你們是否也大致按計畫在本財年結束前新增500家門店？謝謝。

Yeah Bonnie, we are definitely on track to open 80 stores this year. I'm not sure what numbers you're looking at, for the fourth quarter, but we do not need to open up 60 stores in the fourth quarter to get to our 80.

是的，Bonnie，我們今年開出80家店絕對是按計畫進行。我不確定你看的第四季數字是怎麼算的，但我們不需要在第四季開60家店才能達到80家的目標。

So, and remember that's a combination of new store, new to industry stores, and M&A, and so on both fronts, we are well positioned to wrap up the fourth quarter and hit that 80 for this year and that 80 for this year will get us the 500 for the three year, planning horizon which was originally 350 stores then we moved it up to 500 so feel very good. About that and then on a on a sustainable basis.

而且請記得，這是新開店（new store）、新進入產業的門店（NTIs），以及併購（M&A）等的組合；所以在這兩個面向上，我們都很有把握在第四季收尾並達成今年的80家。而今年的80家也會讓我們在三年規劃期內達到500家的目標——原本是350家，後來我們上調到500家——所以我們對此非常有信心。至於在可持續的基礎上。

We are, we're well situated from a pipeline perspective on NTIs and, we have stores right now. If we're buying real estate, we're really putting that in the FY28 or 29 pipeline at this point because the pipeline's in good shape and then in the M&A front I'd say the team feels very good about the small deal M&A and the pipeline there as well and remember we like to have.

就管線而言，我們在NTI方面的布局很到位；而且我們現在的門店。如果我們是在買不動產，基本上此刻會把它放進FY28或FY29的管線，因為目前的管線狀況良好。至於M&A方面，我會說團隊對小型交易的併購以及相關管線也感覺非常好；而且請記得我們喜歡。

Both NTIs and M&A working at the same time and if multiples get a little bit too rich on the M&A side we can lean heavier on the on the NTI side to keep that rateable store growth, and lastly I'd say just in terms of the pace.

讓NTI與M&A同時運作；如果M&A端的估值倍數變得有點太貴，我們就可以更偏向NTI端，以維持可持續、可預期的門店成長。最後我想就成長節奏來說。

Our algorithm, our growth algorithm at a high level is pretty straightforward. We get about 4% growth from. Organic, running the mother ship, so same store sales, fuel profitability, efficiency in our operations, and then 4% from new units so. Give or take, every year we kind of approach that year with a goal of growing the units by 4% per year, so we pull back a little bit in this current fiscal year deliberately so so we have the opportunity to.

我們的演算法（growth algorithm），從高層次來看其實很直接。我們大約有4%的成長來自。有機成長，也就是把母體業務（mother ship）經營好：同店銷售、燃料獲利、營運效率；另外4%來自新門店，所以。大致上每一年我們都會以門店數年增4%作為目標來規劃；而在本財年我們刻意稍微放慢一些，這樣我們才有機會。

Integrate CEO acquisitions because there's a lot of work to be done there, but then, we'll be back on that 4%, unit growth rate.

整合CEO的收購案，因為那裡有很多工作要做；但之後我們會回到4%的門店成長率。

Thank you. Jacob Aiken-Phillips, Melius Research

謝謝。Melius Research 的 Jacob Aiken-Phillips

Hey, good morning. So thanks for the clarity on the unit expansion. I'm just curious, as we're approaching the new strategic plan, not going to ask for numbers, but how should we be thinking about the biggest growth leverage from here? And you outline unit expansion, and, you recently talked about how maybe you're going back to adding some waiver to the stores as opposed to the constant reduction in same store hours, so just.

嗨，早安。謝謝你們針對門店擴張的說明很清楚。我只是好奇，隨著我們接近新的策略計畫——我不會問數字——但我們應該如何思考接下來最大的成長槓桿會來自哪裡？你們提到門店擴張，另外你們最近也談到，或許會回到在門店增加一些豁免（waiver），而不是持續降低同店工時，所以就。

Levers on top-line and bottom line that we should be thinking about.

我們在營收端與獲利端應該關注的槓桿有哪些。

Yeah, Jacob, I think, first of all, I don't want to share too much about the next 3-year plan. I want you to come to New York City and have some pizza with us and we'll tell you all about it, in June.

是的，Jacob，我想首先，我不想透露太多下一個三年計畫的內容。我希望你六月來紐約市跟我們一起吃披薩，我們會把所有細節都告訴你。

But yeah I, look, fundamentally we're still going to grow the business by growing the units by running the business efficiently by growing our inside sales and so we'll have all kinds of details around that but I mean those are those are the things we're going to continue to do to grow our business on the on the labor side I've I've mentioned on the last few calls that. When we entered into this three year strategic planning cycle that we're wrapping up right now, we said we would.

不過是的，我的意思是，從根本上來說，我們仍會透過擴張門店、有效率地經營業務、提升店內銷售來成長；我們會提供各式各樣的細節，但大方向就是我們會持續做這些事來推動業務成長。至於人力端，我在最近幾次電話會議也提到。當我們進入這個目前即將結束的三年策略規劃週期時，我們曾說我們會。

Reduce labor hours by 1%, same store per year over the three year period and we have actually exceeded that goal, with, great work done by our operations team and continuous improvement teams to make that happen, but that's not a.

在三年期間內，我們的目標是每家同店每年將工時降低 1%，而實際上我們已經超越了這個目標；這要歸功於營運團隊與持續改善團隊所做的出色工作，才得以達成，但這並不是一個。

Something that just goes on in per in perpetuity and so as I've communicated before I think we're we're close to the end of that. There'll always be efficiencies that we'll continue to work on but you should not expect that we'll just continue on a on a cadence of reducing same store labor hours.

能夠永無止境、永久持續下去的事情，所以如同我先前溝通過的，我認為我們已經接近那個階段的尾聲。我們永遠都會持續尋找效率並加以改善，但你不應該預期我們會一直以固定節奏持續降低同店工時。

That being said, as the business grows and volumes increase, there will be a need to add some labor back to meet that need and keep the guest satisfaction scores at the all-time highs that they're currently at, so. But that all comes with incremental sales, incremental margin, incremental gross profit.

話雖如此，隨著業務成長、銷量提升，為了滿足需求並維持目前創新高的顧客滿意度分數，確實會需要把部分工時加回來，所以。但這些都會伴隨增量銷售、增量利潤、增量毛利。

So you know we're happy to add those hours back when the business warrants those additional hours and that that also works the other way if the business were to go backwards, we would pull back on those hours to right size the labor allocation with the with the business demand.

所以你知道，當業務需要這些額外工時時，我們很樂意把工時加回來；反過來，如果業務走弱，我們也會把工時拉回，讓人力配置與業務需求相匹配、達到適當規模。

Got it. And then, just on cheese real quick, can you update us on like what the annual amount of pounds you use in terms of cheese? And then you said, cheese is slightly down in 4Q, but can you update us on like how much exposure you have locked in over the next two quarters?

了解。另外，快速問一下起司，你能更新一下你們一年大概使用多少磅的起司嗎？還有你提到第四季起司價格略降，但你能更新一下未來兩個季度你們鎖定的曝險大概有多少嗎？

Yeah, we move out GBP45 million pounds. Yeah, in the quarter, about GBP11.5 million pounds for a full year, about GBP45 million. We're 80% locked on cheese through, this quarter and the next couple of quarters.

是的，我們一年用量大約是 4,500 萬磅。是的，單季大約 1,150 萬磅；全年大約 4,500 萬磅。起司方面，我們在本季以及接下來幾個季度已鎖定約 80%。

And then, and that's about where we like to keep it when we can, lock in favorability. It's slight favorability. It's not massive favorability, and then we have another 20% we can buy on spot when, conditions are favorable.

而且在可行時，我們大致希望維持在這樣的鎖定比例，以鎖住有利的價格。這是小幅有利。不是非常大的有利幅度；另外還有 20% 我們可以在市場條件有利時以現貨採購。

Thank you. Edward Kelly, Wells Fargo.

謝謝。Wells Fargo 的 Edward Kelly。

Hi, good morning guys. I wanted to first just follow-up on wings. I was curious, I know we don't want to give, too many numbers, but curious as to how you think about the margin implication overall with wings and then taking a step back, adding fryers. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but how are you thinking about, potential for other products, as it pertains to this category.

嗨，各位早安。我想先追問一下雞翅。我知道我們不想提供太多數字，但我想了解你們如何看待雞翅對整體毛利的影響；再退一步，談到新增油炸鍋。我不想操之過急，但你們如何思考在這個品類上，其他產品的潛力？

Yeah, on the margin, we like the margin profile on wings. It is obviously a protein versus, something like pizza that's a little more dough based, so, it doesn't carry the same margin rate that.

是的，就毛利而言，我們喜歡雞翅的毛利結構。它顯然屬於蛋白質品項，相較於像披薩這種以麵糰為主的產品，因此它的毛利率不會和。

That pizza would, so far there hasn't been a real margin implications because the mix hasn't been great enough to do that over time if it became a big enough business, that could put a little bit of pressure on margin rate, but it would grow gross profit dollars and and improve trips and everything else. So, we're okay with that, our goal isn't margin rate, it's gross profit dollar growth and so. To the extent that plays out, over time we're comfortable with it in terms of other products, as I guess the thing we haven't talked about, we rolled out, fries in addition to the wings. That was, the most commonly requested side item to go with the wings. So we are selling wings or fries right now. We have, we're cooking some of the other products.

披薩一樣；到目前為止，因為產品組合占比還不夠大，所以沒有真正的毛利影響。長期來看，如果它成為足夠大的業務，可能會對毛利率帶來一些壓力，但它會增加毛利額，並提升來客次數及其他各項指標。所以我們可以接受；我們的目標不是毛利率，而是毛利額成長，所以。就其他產品而言，我想我們還沒談到的是：除了雞翅之外，我們也推出了薯條。那是與雞翅搭配最常被要求的配菜。所以我們現在在賣雞翅和薯條。我們也正在烹調一些其他產品。

That we had already had in the store in the larger fryers, we'll have to see as time goes on, whether we expand that, but for now, we have a long way to go in terms of growing the wing business, so we're more focused on doing that and doing that well and getting that velocity up and creating that incremental occasion per week in that business before we start tackling other products.

那些原本在店內就有的產品，會用較大的油炸鍋來製作；至於未來是否擴大，還要看時間推進後的情況。但就目前而言，在雞翅業務的成長上我們還有很長的路要走，所以我們更專注於把雞翅做好、做到位，提高銷售速度，並在我們開始處理其他產品之前，先在這項業務上創造每週額外的消費情境。

Great. And then just a a follow-up on the M&A question. I was curious as to.

很好。接著追問一下併購（M&A）問題。我想了解。

You know where you feel like you are with the integration of of bikes and what that means in terms of your ability to execute on another large deal if something came about and maybe just thoughts on what the market currently looks like there.

你們覺得目前 Fike's 的整合進度到哪裡了？這對於你們在若出現另一筆大型交易時的執行能力意味著什麼？以及你們對目前市場狀況的看法。

Yeah, in terms of the integration cadence, well, by the end of this fiscal year.

是的，就整合節奏而言，到本財年結束時。

We will have 50 stores converted. We've got about 25 converted right now and we're on a cage of about 3 per week. So by the end of the fiscal year we'll have the first tranche of 50 done.

我們將完成 50 家門市的轉換。目前大約已轉換 25 家，我們的節奏大約是每週 3 家。所以到本財年結束時，我們會完成第一批 50 家。

The plan for next year will roughly be to wrap that up.

明年的計畫大致上是把剩餘部分收尾完成。

In the next fiscal year, there'll be some stragglers there, but the bulk of the work will occur, next fiscal year.

下一個財年會有一些零星的落後門市，但大部分工作會在下一個財年完成。

From a balance sheet perspective, we could do another deal right now. Obviously our leverage ratio is low, we have ample liquidity, we have the ability to do that, just practically speaking, with the timing it would take, starting you right now to do something of a similar size to a fike's. It would take time, so yeah, we're in a position to be able to execute on a larger deal, if the opportunity were to present itself, as you can imagine.

從資產負債表角度來看，我們現在就有能力再做一筆交易。顯然我們的槓桿比率很低、流動性充足，也具備執行能力；只是就實務面而言，以現在開始、要做一筆規模類似 Fike's 的交易，所需的時間安排。會需要時間，所以是的，如果機會出現，我們處於能夠執行更大型交易的位置，這點你可以想像。

There are, they're only there's a finite number of chains of that size that just exists and then a smaller number than that that are actionable we are we're definitely engaged with potential sellers and working through those processes all the time but.

這類規模的連鎖其實數量有限；而在其中可實際推進的又更少。我們確實一直都在與潛在賣方接觸，並持續推進相關流程，但。

One of the things that Kind of narrows the aperture a little bit for us is that we set a pretty high bar on asset quality, because ultimately the biggest energy we bring to any acquisition is our prepared foods and so the physical buildings need to be able to accommodate adding a kitchen or the real estate has to be large enough that we can bump out a building and add a kitchen that that has to be a highest high enough percentage of the total stores.

有一點會讓我們的範圍稍微收斂：我們對資產品質設定了相當高的門檻，因為最終我們在任何收購案中帶來的最大動能是我們的即食餐飲（prepared foods）；因此實體建物必須能容納新增廚房，或是地塊必須夠大，讓我們能把建物外擴並加建廚房——而且這必須占被收購門市總數中足夠高的比例。

That we acquired to make to make it work for us so.

我們收購的資產必須符合這些條件，才能讓這件事對我們而言可行，所以。

We're a little bit picky, but I think That pickiness is a proven beneficial for us over time and so, we like how the market sets up for us, we just need to have the right combination of timing and willing sellers so that we can act on those opportunities.

我們會比較挑，但我認為這種挑剔長期以來已被證明對我們有利；因此我們喜歡目前市場對我們的配置，只是需要在時機與願意出售的賣方之間出現正確的組合，讓我們能把握這些機會。

Thank you. Brad Thomas, Key Bank Capital Markets

謝謝。KeyBank Capital Markets 的 Brad Thomas

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question and let me add my congratulations on a nice quarter here. I wanted to ask about the competitive landscape, and I know that Caseys remains in an advantageous position relative to your rural footprint, but just curious therear and if you could comment any more on what you're seeing out of the other CST players and restaurant competitors of yours.

早安。謝謝回答我的問題，也讓我在此恭喜你們本季表現不錯。我想問一下競爭態勢。我知道相較於你們的鄉村據點布局，Casey's 仍處於有利位置，但我想了解目前你們看到其他便利商店（CST）業者以及餐飲競爭對手的情況，能否多評論一些。

Yeah, we're it's a competitive environment. I think. When you look at either one, I guess I'll take a restaurant first. I think the restaurant industry at large and QSRs and pizza players in particular are under quite a bit of pressure.

是的，這是一個競爭激烈的環境。我想。如果要看其中一類，我先從餐飲說起。我認為整體餐飲產業，尤其是 QSR（速食餐廳）以及披薩業者，正承受相當大的壓力。

The advantage that Caseys holds relative to those folks is that we're in three businesses. We're in the fuel business, the grocery business, and the prepared food business. The restaurants are in one business, and it's the food business.

Casey's 相較於那些業者的優勢在於，我們同時經營三個業務。我們有燃油業務、雜貨業務，以及即食餐飲業務。餐廳只做一個業務，也就是餐飲業務。

And so they have to absorb all of the increased costs that we've all experienced over the last several years. And absorb that within the prepared foods and so that's translated into menu price increases. I think that's been well documented and so that relative gap between restaurant pricing and our pricing has widened over the last couple of years and so that value proposition for us just gets all the stronger and so I feel very good about our position relative to national brand.

因此，他們必須吸收我們在過去幾年都經歷過的所有成本上升。並把這些吸收在即食食品之中，因此就轉化為菜單價格上調。我認為這已經有充分的記錄，因此過去幾年餐廳定價與我們定價之間的相對差距已經擴大，所以對我們而言的價值主張只會更強，因此我對我們相對於全國性品牌的定位感到非常有信心。

QSR chains and so as a reminder, half of our stores don't even have a national brand pizza competitor, but the other half that do, we have a very strong value proposition relative to them and then by the same token on the convenience store side, I think we have the same thing, we still have a lot of stores in the suburbs we face some of the best competition and that our industry has to offer and we perform very well there.

QSR 連鎖也是如此。提醒一下，我們有一半的門市甚至沒有全國性品牌的披薩競爭對手；但在另外一半有競爭對手的市場，我們相對於他們有非常強的價值主張。同樣地，在便利商店端，我認為我們也具備同樣優勢；我們在郊區仍有許多門市，面對的是本產業所能提供的一些最強競爭者，而我們在那裡的表現也非常好。

Largely because we have that differentiated food offer that really is unique and and represents a a great value proposition it's hard to execute so a a bulk of the convenience store industry doesn't even have a prepared foods program and those that do are largely in in the sandwich business or fried chicken business, something, not pizza and certainly not pizza like we do it.

主要是因為我們有差異化的餐食供應，確實獨一無二，並且代表很高的價值主張；這很難執行，所以便利商店產業中有相當大一部分甚至沒有即食食品計畫，而那些有的多半是在做三明治或炸雞之類的生意，不是披薩，當然也不是我們這種做法的披薩。

And so we really have a unique niche within the industry and I think our results over the last several years would speak to the fact that niche has really resonated with guests and we perform very well across all environments.

因此，我們在產業中確實有一個獨特的利基，我認為我們過去幾年的成果足以說明，這個利基確實引起顧客共鳴，而我們在各種環境下的表現都非常好。

That's really helpful and maybe if I could just ask the follow-up to try to tie together the question around where oil prices may be going and how that might influence your updated financial guidance in June, is there a particular price for gas and oil where we could think about or should think about the algorithm changing? Is it that $4 gas number that you referenced earlier, Darren? Just curious about how you think about it from kind of a long-term standpoint.

這非常有幫助。也許我可以追問一下，試著把油價可能走向以及它如何影響你們 6 月更新的財務指引這個問題串起來：是否存在某個汽油或原油價格水準，我們可以或應該認為你們的演算法會改變？是你先前提到的每加侖 4 美元那個汽油價格嗎，Darren？只是好奇你們從較長期的角度如何看待。

Yeah. Look, Brad, I would say long-term, this doesn't change anything fortunately or unfortunately, I've been in this industry long enough now to go through a number of these cycles and.

是的。Brad，你看，從長期來說，這不會改變任何事情。幸也好不幸也好，我在這個產業待得夠久，已經經歷過好幾輪這樣的循環。

And every one of them runs its course like I described earlier where margins get a little bit compressed on the front end of the curve and And expand on the back end. So, I think from a long-term algorithm, growth algorithm standpoint, what's going on today is not changing anything. It'll run its course. Who knows how long that that'll be? I'd say we ran a complete cycle in 24 hours yesterday, so, it's kind of hard to tell how this will all shake out, but ultimately it will normalize.

而且每一輪都會像我先前描述的那樣走完它的週期：在曲線前段利潤率會稍微被壓縮，然後在後段擴張。所以，從長期的演算法、成長演算法角度來看，今天發生的事情不會改變任何事。它會走完它的週期。誰知道會多久？我會說我們昨天在 24 小時內就跑完了一個完整循環，所以很難判斷最後會如何發展，但最終它會回歸常態。

And so the long-term algorithm will be the same in terms of the quarter. I would just go back to what Steve commented on our experience we've had a strong start to the quarter that's reflected in the guidance, our February experience on margin was $0.40 a gallon.

因此，長期演算法在本季的表現上會是一樣的。我只想回到 Steve 對我們經驗的評論：我們本季開局很強，這已反映在指引中；我們 2 月在毛利率方面的經驗是每加侖 0.40 美元。

And we'll have to see how the rest of the quarter shakes out, but I mean, I don't know how to handicap that, we've, we had a $0.30 cost swing.

接下來就要看本季剩餘時間會如何發展，但我的意思是，我不知道該怎麼去預判；我們昨天成本波動了 0.30 美元。

From high to low yesterday and so I haven't looked at the news in the last hour so I'm not sure what's going on today, but you know we'll manage it appropriately and we'll see how the quarter shakes out.

昨天從高點到低點的波動就是如此，而且我過去一小時沒有看新聞，所以不確定今天情況如何，但你知道，我們會適當地管理，並看看本季最終會如何發展。

Thank you. Jack Hardin, Stephens

謝謝。Jack Hardin，Stephens

Yes, hi, this is Jack Hardin on for Pooran Sharma. Thanks for the question. I wanted to ask about labor. We've done a really strong job over the past several years at reducing same store labor hours. And so at this point, how should we think about the runway for further productivity gains? Are we closer to a state of a steady state labor model? And do you see incremental opportunity from here?

是的，你好，我是 Jack Hardin，代 Pooran Sharma 提問。謝謝讓我提問。我想問一下人力。過去幾年我們在降低同店人力工時方面做得非常出色。那麼在這個時間點，我們應該如何看待進一步提升生產力的空間？我們是否更接近一個穩態的人力模型？從這裡開始你們還看到增量機會嗎？

Yeah, Jack, I commented a few minutes ago about the fact that I think we're probably closer to steady state, and look, we'll, we have a continuous improvement team for a reason we will always look to find ways to make the job in stores easier and sometimes that ultimately results in less labor needed, but by the same token we're always focused on growing our business and as you sell more stuff. It requires more labor to produce that stuff, stock that stuff, sell that stuff, so, that will ebb and flow. I would not expect to see the types of labor decreases that we saw over the last three year period, but again, we'll always focus on managing that expense line tightly and add where we need to and take away where we don't need it anymore.

是的，Jack，我幾分鐘前提到過，我認為我們可能更接近穩態。你看，我們之所以有持續改善團隊是有原因的：我們會一直尋找讓門市工作更容易的方法，而有時候最終會導致所需人力更少；但同時我們也一直專注於成長業務，而當你賣出更多商品時，就需要更多人力去生產、補貨與銷售，所以這會有起有落。我不預期會再看到過去三年那種幅度的人力下降；但同樣地，我們會一直緊密管理這條費用線，該增加的時候就增加，不需要的時候就減少。

Thank you. Scott Stringer, Wolfe Research

謝謝。Scott Stringer，Wolfe Research

Hey guys, appreciate the time. You kept the fuel volume guidance unchanged, but performance has been nicely positive year-to-date as you're taking share. So is that at least fair to say that you're tracking at the high end of your range for the year?

各位好，感謝撥冗。你們維持燃油銷量指引不變，但年初至今的表現相當正面，因為你們正在取得市占。那麼至少可以說，你們今年的進度是在區間的高端嗎？

Yeah, Scott, I wouldn't say that we're tracking it at the high end of the range. I'd say we're tracking in the range and that's where we feel comfortable guiding everybody at this point. And so, yeah, I've been pleased with the performance so far.

是的，Scott，我不會說我們是在區間高端。我會說我們是在區間內運行，而這也是我們目前覺得對大家給出指引時最舒適的位置。所以，是的，我對目前的表現感到滿意。

Okay got it. And then there was also some positive commentary around, tobacco sales. So, on specifically on the tobacco alternatives, is there a potential that these newer products can return the category as a whole back to positive growth?

好的，了解。另外也有一些關於菸草銷售的正面評論。那麼就菸草替代品而言，這些較新的產品是否有可能讓整個品類回到正成長？

Yeah, I do think there is that potential. You know what we've seen a little bit more recently is the decline in combustibles has slowed a bit. It's still from a unit perspective, it's still, dropping, but not at the same rate as it was for the last several quarters. So the combination of that decline slowing with the inflation that happens on the combustible side, in addition to the growth.

是的，我確實認為有這個可能。你知道，我們最近看到的是可燃式產品的下滑速度稍微放緩。從銷量（單位）角度來看仍在下降，但不像過去幾個季度那樣快。因此，下滑放緩再加上可燃式產品端的通膨（漲價），以及替代品的成長，

In alternatives and vapor has actually netted that category out to positive and that hasn't been the case for quite a while so we'll have to see how it plays out, but at this point, that is correct. It is actually starting to see some growth in the overall nicotine category.

替代品與電子煙的成長，實際上讓該品類整體轉為正成長，而這種情況已經好一段時間沒有出現了，所以我們還得看後續如何發展，但就目前而言，沒錯。整體尼古丁品類確實開始出現一些成長。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We're coming up on the end of our hour-long call. I would now like to turn the call back to Darren Rebelez for closing remarks.

謝謝各位女士先生。我們的一小時電話會議即將結束。現在我想把電話交回給 Darren Rebelez 作結語。

All right, thank you and thanks for taking time today to join us on the call. And before we go, I just want to thank our team members once again for all their hard work this quarter. Have a great rest of the week.

好的，謝謝，也感謝大家今天撥空參加電話會議。在結束之前，我想再次感謝我們的團隊成員在本季的辛勤付出。祝大家本週剩下的時間愉快。

Ladies and gentlemen, so that's conclude today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

各位女士先生，今天的簡報到此結束。您現在可以掛線，祝您有美好的一天。