Why Casey's General Stores Stock Popped Today

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY) stock jumped 15.6% through 11:40 a.m. ET Wednesday, after reporting better than expected earnings last night.

Heading into the company's fiscal Q4 2026 report, analysts predicted Casey's would earn $3.31 per share on $4.2 billion in quarterly sales. In fact, Casey's reported $4.37 per share in profit on nearly $4.6 billion in sales.

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Casey's same-store sales jumped 5.5% "inside" -- meaning not counting fuel sales -- and fuel sales increased 1.5% by volume. Profits were higher inside than outside, but overall, $4.37 per share in quarterly earnings translated into a 66.2% year-over-year increase in GAAP profits.

Q4 was, of course, the final quarter of Casey's fiscal year, so let's look next at the full-year numbers: In fiscal 2026, Casey's grew its sales 10.7%, and grew earnings 30.9% to $19.16 per share. Inside same-store sales were up 4.2% for the year, which means that sales growth accelerated in the year's final quarter (hitting the aforementioned 5.5%).

So Casey's got momentum as it exits fiscal 2026. Now, what does fiscal 2027 look like?

Turning to guidance, it seems we're looking at something of a slowdown, with inside same-store sales predicted to range from 2% to 5%, and fuel sales (again, by volume, not dollars) roughly flat year over year.

Now here's the bad news: Analysts polled by Yahoo! Finance are expecting Casey's revenue to grow 9% this year. On the one hand, that's a bit slower than fiscal 2026's growth rate. On the other hand, it's well above the same-store sales growth Casey's envisions. High gas prices could help Casey's hit the analyst target, but if the Hormuz crisis resolves and gas prices fall, a 2027 earnings miss is certainly possible.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Casey's General Stores. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Casey's General Stores Stock Popped Today was originally published by The Motley Fool