Global Partners (GLP) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Bereinigtes EBITDA erreicht 122,9 Mio. USD

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

• Der Nettogewinn im dritten Quartal 2026 stieg von 29,0 Millionen US-Dollar im Vorjahr auf 52,4 Millionen US-Dollar. Das bereinigte EBITDA legte von 98,8 Millionen US-Dollar auf 122,9 Millionen US-Dollar zu.
• Die Produktmarge im Großhandelssegment stieg um 33,4 Millionen US-Dollar auf 111,4 Millionen US-Dollar, gestützt durch vorteilhaftere Marktbedingungen bei Benzin und Destillaten. Dies glich die schwächeren Ergebnisse im GDSO-Segment mehr als aus.
• Die Produktmarge im GDSO-Segment ging um 8,3 Millionen US-Dollar auf 210,6 Millionen US-Dollar zurück, da höhere Zapfsäulenpreise die Kraftstoffnachfrage belasteten. Die Marge im Benzinvertrieb sank um 8,0 Millionen US-Dollar auf 136,8 Millionen US-Dollar.
• Der bereinigte ausschüttungsfähige Cashflow erreichte 70,3 Millionen US-Dollar, verglichen mit 53,3 Millionen US-Dollar im dritten Quartal 2025. Die Ausschüttungsdeckung blieb mit 2,3x auf einem soliden Niveau.
• Global Partners hob seine vierteljährliche Barausschüttung das 20. Quartal in Folge auf 0,7850 US-Dollar je Stammanteil an, was annualisiert 3,14 US-Dollar entspricht.
• Die Unternehmensführung hob die Spanne für die Instandhaltungsinvestitionen für das Gesamtjahr 2026 um 5 Millionen US-Dollar auf 65 bis 75 Millionen US-Dollar an. Die Prognose für die Expansionsinvestitionen blieb ohne Akquisitionen unverändert bei 75 bis 85 Millionen US-Dollar.

Wichtigste Finanzdaten

Geschäftliche und operative Entwicklung

Das Großhandelssegment war der wichtigste Ergebnistreiber. Die Produktmarge stieg von 78,0 Millionen US-Dollar auf 111,4 Millionen US-Dollar. Die Marge bei Benzin und Benzinmischkomponenten legte um 14,3 Millionen US-Dollar auf 75,8 Millionen US-Dollar zu, während die Marge bei Destillaten und anderen Ölen um 19,1 Millionen US-Dollar auf 35,6 Millionen US-Dollar stieg.

Die Produktmarge im GDSO-Segment ging auf 210,6 Millionen US-Dollar zurück. Die Marge im Benzinvertrieb fiel vor allem infolge geringerer Volumina auf 136,8 Millionen US-Dollar. Die Marge im Tankstellenbetrieb – einschließlich Convenience Stores, zubereiteter Speisen, sonstiger Waren und Mieteinnahmen – blieb mit 73,8 Millionen US-Dollar (ein Rückgang um 0,3 Millionen US-Dollar) weitgehend stabil.

Nach Angaben der Unternehmensführung führten höhere Kraftstoffpreise für Endverbraucher dazu, dass Kunden beim Tanken sparsamer wurden. Die Transaktionen in den Convenience Stores gingen zurück, doch der durchschnittliche Warenkorb vergrößerte sich, sodass die Geschäftsentwicklung der Convenience Stores annähernd unverändert blieb. Global Partners beendete das Quartal mit 1.489 Tankstellen und Convenience Stores – ohne 69 Standorte, die über das Joint Venture Spring Partners Retail gehalten werden.

Die Produktmarge im Segment Commercial stieg um 0,1 Millionen US-Dollar auf 71,0 Millionen US-Dollar, was unter anderem vorteilhaftere Bedingungen am Bunkermarkt widerspiegelte.

Die Betriebsaufwendungen gingen zurück, da geringere Instandhaltungs- und Reparaturkosten an den Terminals die höheren Aufwendungen im GDSO-Segment – vor allem Kreditkartengebühren – ausglichen. Die SG&A-Aufwendungen stiegen infolge höherer Löhne und Sozialleistungen, ermessensabhängiger variabler Vergütungen und sonstiger Aufwendungen.

Zum 30. September lag der Verschuldungsgrad gemäß der Kreditvereinbarung des Unternehmens bei rund 2,8x (Funded Debt zu EBITDA). Global Partners hatte 99,0 Millionen US-Dollar aus seiner revolvierenden Betriebsmittelkreditlinie und 144,5 Millionen US-Dollar aus seiner revolvierenden Kreditfazilität in Anspruch genommen.

Im dritten Quartal löste das Unternehmen alle ausstehenden festverzinslichen 9,5-%-Vorzugsanteile der Serie B ab, wodurch Vorzugskapital in Höhe von 75 Millionen US-Dollar aus der Kapitalstruktur entfiel. Nach Quartalsende verlängerte es die Laufzeit seiner Kreditvereinbarung um mehr als drei Jahre bis Oktober 2031 und behielt dabei eine revolvierende Betriebsmittelkreditlinie über 1 Milliarde US-Dollar sowie eine revolvierende Kreditfazilität über 500 Millionen US-Dollar bei.

Unternehmensprognose

Global Partners rechnet für das Gesamtjahr 2026 nun mit Instandhaltungsinvestitionen von 65 bis 75 Millionen US-Dollar – 5 Millionen US-Dollar mehr als in der vorherigen Spanne. Die Prognose für die Expansionsinvestitionen bleibt ohne Akquisitionen unverändert bei 75 bis 85 Millionen US-Dollar.

Die Unternehmensführung erklärte, dass diese Schätzungen unter anderem vom Zeitplan der Projektabschlüsse, der Verfügbarkeit von Ausrüstung und Arbeitskräften, den Witterungsbedingungen sowie unvorhergesehenen Ereignissen oder Gelegenheiten abhängen, die zusätzliche Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen oder Investitionen erfordern.

Risiken und Beobachtungspunkte

• Die Unternehmensführung erwartet, dass eine ausgeprägte Backwardation der Produkt-Terminkurve die Kosten für das Halten abgesicherter Vorräte in künftigen Perioden erhöhen wird.
• Höhere Preise an den Zapfsäulen dämpften im Quartalsverlauf die Kraftstoffnachfrage der Endverbraucher, was bei anhaltend hohen Preisen weiterhin für eine Volumensensitivität sorgt.
• Der Zeitplan für die Investitionsausgaben bleibt abhängig von der Verfügbarkeit von Ausrüstung und Arbeitskräften, den Witterungsbedingungen sowie der Projektabwicklung.
• Die Unternehmensführung bezeichnete das M&A-Umfeld im Einzelhandel als aktiv, aber wettbewerbsintensiv. Das Unternehmen betonte, dass der Fokus weiterhin auf wertsteigernden Transaktionen mit attraktiven Renditen liegen werde.

Höhepunkte der Fragerunde für Analysten

Auf die Frage nach dem Verbraucherverhalten erklärte Gregory Hanson, dass höhere Einzelhandelspreise die Kraftstoffabsätze beeinträchtigt hätten, da die Kunden sparsamer gewesen seien. In den Geschäften sei die Zahl der Transaktionen zwar gesunken, die durchschnittlichen Warenkörbe hätten jedoch zugelegt, sodass die Entwicklung der Convenience Stores annähernd unverändert geblieben sei.

Zu der Frage, ob höhere Preise Übernahmechancen bei finanziell angeschlagenen unabhängigen Betreibern eröffnen könnten, sagte Eric Slifka, dass die derzeitige M&A-Aktivität offenbar nicht primär durch Kredit- oder Preisdruck getrieben werde. Er beschrieb den Einzelhandel als fragmentiert mit zahlreichen potenziellen Gelegenheiten, betonte jedoch Disziplin bei Transaktionen sowie attraktive Renditen. Terminal-Akquisitionen kämen seltener vor, fielen jedoch in der Regel größer aus, während das Unternehmen zugleich weiter in sein bestehendes Netzwerk investiere.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Global Partners Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded.

With us from Global Partners are President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Eric Slifka; Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Gregory Hanson; Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mark Romaine; and Chief Legal Officer, Ms. Kristin Seabrook.

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Seabrook for opening remarks. Please go ahead.

Kristin Seabrook

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today's call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including projections and expectations concerning the future financial and operational performance of Global Partners. No assurances can be given that these projections will be attained or that these expectations will be met. Our assumptions and future performance are subject to a wide range of business risks, uncertainties and factors, including supply and demand, which could cause actual results to differ materially as described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Global Partners undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements.

Now it's my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Slifka. Eric?

Eric Slifka

Thank you, Kristin, and good morning, everyone. Our third quarter results underscore the strength of Global's integrated liquid energy model. Our presence across the supply chain provides multiple sources of earnings and the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. We saw the benefit of that model this quarter. Solid execution across our terminal network and wholesale business more than offset lower retail fuel volumes as higher price pump -- higher pump prices weighed on demand and our station operations held steady.

We do not rely on any single segment or market dynamic to drive performance. It's that balance that helps us manage through different market environments and gives Global the ability to capture opportunities across the business.

We are also in a strong position to invest in the future. We remain disciplined in how we deploy capital, whether we are investing in our existing assets or pursuing opportunities that strengthen our platform and generate attractive long-term returns for unitholders.

Turning to our distribution. Last month, our Board approved our 20th consecutive quarterly distribution increase, raising the quarterly cash distribution to $0.7850 per common unit or $3.14 on an annualized basis. The distribution will be paid on November 13 to unitholders of record as of November 9. We believe that track record reflects the strength and consistency of the business and our priority of returning capital to unitholders.

Our commitment to the communities we serve remains an important part of who we are. We have committed more than $200,000 to community action agencies and nonprofits to assist with home heating oil efforts in New England this winter. This builds on our long-standing efforts to help families meet their heating needs with direct contributions that allow these organizations to put the funds where they can have the greatest impact.

Now let me turn the call over to Greg for the financial review. Greg?

Gregory Hanson

Thank you, Eric, and good morning, everyone. As we review the numbers, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons will be with the third quarter of 2025. Net income in the third quarter of 2026 was $52.4 million versus $29 million in the prior year period. EBITDA was $120.8 million in the third quarter versus $97.1 million in '25, and adjusted EBITDA was $122.9 million compared with $98.8 million.

Distributable cash flow was $70.1 million in the third quarter of '26 compared with $53 million and adjusted DCF was $70.3 million versus $53.3 million. We continue to maintain a healthy distribution coverage at quarter end of 2.3x.

Moving to our segment details. GDSO segment product margin decreased $8.3 million to $210.6 million in the quarter. Product margin from gasoline distribution was down $8 million to $136.8 million, primarily due to a decrease in volumes sold.

Station operations product margin, which includes convenience store and prepared food sales, sundries and rental income, decreased $300,000 to $73.8 million in the third quarter of 2026.

At quarter end, our GDSO portfolio of fueling stations and c-stores consisted of 1,489 sites, exclusive of the 69 sites under our Spring Partners Retail joint venture.

Turning to our Wholesale segment. Third quarter product margin increased $33.4 million to $111.4 million, primarily reflecting more favorable market conditions in gasoline and distillates, with product margin from gasoline and gasoline blendstocks increasing $14.3 million to $75.8 million and product margin from distillates and other oils increasing $19.1 million to $35.6 million.

In our Commercial segment, product margin increased $0.1 million to $71 million due in part to more favorable market conditions in bunkering.

We are pleased with our results in the quarter. Our integrated system provides us with multiple sources of revenue generation, and our team has demonstrated strong execution in capturing value in a dynamic market environment. We continue to expect the current steep backwardation in the forward product pricing curve to increase the cost of carrying our hedged inventory in future periods, and we remain focused on disciplined inventory management, driving growth across our segments and efficient operations.

Turning to the expense side. Operating expenses decreased $1.4 million in the third quarter to $131.1 million, reflecting lower expenses associated with our terminal operations, largely in maintenance and repair expenses, offset by higher expenses related to our GDSO operations, mostly in credit card fees.

SG&A increased $3.1 million to $79.4 million, consisting of increases in wages and benefits, discretionary incentive comp and various other expenses, offset by a decrease in maintenance and repair expenses.

Interest expense decreased $1.9 million to $31.4 million, partially due to lower average balances on our working capital revolving credit facility.

CapEx in the third quarter was $41.9 million, consisting of maintenance CapEx of $19.3 million and expansion CapEx of $22.6 million, primarily related to investments in our gasoline station business.

For full year 2026, we now expect maintenance CapEx in the range of $65 million to $75 million, up $5 million from our previous range, with expansion CapEx, excluding acquisitions, unchanged at $75 million to $85 million. Our current CapEx estimates depend in part on the timing of project completions, availability of equipment and labor, weather and any unforeseen events or opportunities that require additional maintenance or investment.

Our balance sheet remains strong. As of September 30, leverage as defined in our credit agreement as funded debt to EBITDA was approximately 2.8x, and we maintained ample excess capacity under our credit facilities. We had $99 million outstanding on our working capital revolver and $144.5 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility.

During the third quarter, we redeemed all of our outstanding 9.5% Series B fixed rate preferred units, eliminating $75 million of preferred equity from our capital structure. And subsequent to quarter end, we amended our credit agreement, extending its maturity by more than 3 years to October 2031, while maintaining our $1 billion working capital revolving credit facility and our $500 million revolving credit facility.

Let me turn the call back to Eric for his closing comments. Eric?

Eric Slifka

Thanks, Greg. As we look forward, our focus is straightforward: execute well, build on the strengths of our integrated platform and continue positioning Global for long-term growth. We have a strong foundation, a proven operating model and a team that knows how to navigate a dynamic market. We're excited about the opportunities ahead and remain focused on creating lasting value for our unitholders.

With that, Greg, Mark and I will be happy to take your questions. Operator, please open the line for Q&A.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Gregg Brody with Bank of America.

Fragen und Antworten

Gregg Brody

Can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing from the -- on the customer side in terms of their behavior with consumption and how that compares to what data you're seeing across the U.S.?

Gregory Hanson

Gregg, it's Greg Hanson. Yes. I mean, I think overall, we definitely saw an impact from [indiscernible]

Sorry about that. We have a little interference there. Yes, I think overall, we definitely saw an impact on the consumer from higher retail prices on the fuel volume side. I think we were pleasantly surprised how well our -- the consumer did inside our c-stores, basically being flat on the c-store, and we did see some higher transaction baskets in the quarter. Our transactions were down, but the basket size actually increased a little bit overall. So we definitely saw people conserving on the fuel side with the high prices overall. But I think on the c-store side, it was pretty steady overall, which we think is quarter-to-quarter, which was sort of a win in our book overall.

Gregg Brody

Okay. And just I would think -- is this volatility in -- maybe -- are these higher prices potentially creating more opportunities for you to acquire mom-and-pops that are feeling a little strained on the working capital needs here? Or is that a factor?

Eric Slifka

Yes. Greg, it's Eric Slifka. I don't think that that's the opportunity. I just think there is certainly a lot going on. M&A has been very busy. I think there's a lot of opportunity out there. I'm not sure it's being driven by credit issues or pricing per se. It still is at the retail level, it's still a very fragmented business, and there's lots of opportunities there. We continue to look at everything that we can find, but we also want to make sure that we're doing deals that are accretive and have good returns, and we're trying to maintain our discipline. It's still competitive. And then when you look at the terminaling business, there are opportunities there are fewer, but the deals are bigger, and we'll continue to make sure that we're investing through our own network to drive higher returns.

Operator

Thank you. We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Slifka for closing comments.

Eric Slifka

Thank you again for your time today and for your continued interest in Global. We look forward to speaking with you next quarter and wish everybody a great weekend. Thank you all.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.