Teleconferência de Resultados do 3T26 da ARKO: Guidance de EBITDA É Elevado com Expansão das Margens de Combustíveis

Principais destaques

• O EBITDA ajustado do 3T26 subiu de US$ 75,2 milhões para US$ 75,7 milhões, enquanto o lucro líquido aumentou de US$ 13,5 milhões para US$ 14,3 milhões.
• O EBITDA ajustado dos primeiros nove meses atingiu aproximadamente US$ 199 milhões, alta de US$ 15,6 milhões, ou 8,5%, na comparação anual.
• A margem de combustíveis no conceito mesmas lojas aumentou 10,4%, para 48,8 centavos por galão, elevando a contribuição de combustíveis mesmas lojas em US$ 2,6 milhões, para US$ 98,3 milhões, apesar dos menores volumes de combustíveis.
• O portfólio de lojas mantidas apresentou crescimento de 0,8% nas vendas de mercadorias, excluindo cigarros. A margem de mercadorias no conceito mesmas lojas expandiu 50 pontos-base, para 34,8%, marcando o 12º trimestre consecutivo de melhora na comparação anual.
• A ARKO elevou o piso do seu guidance de EBITDA ajustado para o ano fiscal de 2026 de US$ 245 milhões para US$ 250 milhões. A faixa revisada passou a ser de US$ 250 milhões a US$ 265 milhões.
• A administração espera que a aquisição da USPP seja concluída durante o 4T26. A expectativa é de que o negócio adicione aproximadamente 280 milhões de galões anuais e cerca de US$ 30 milhões em EBITDA ajustado anualizado à ARKO Petroleum Corp. (APC).

Principais dados financeiros

Desempenho Comercial e Operacional

O desempenho do varejo da ARKO refletiu margens mais altas, mas pressão contínua sobre a demanda por combustíveis. A gasolina comum encerrou o trimestre em aproximadamente US$ 4,31 por galão, cerca de US$ 1,32 acima do ano anterior, enquanto o diesel superou US$ 6,50 em setembro. Os preços mais altos também geraram aproximadamente US$ 3,1 milhões em tarifas adicionais de cartão de crédito no conceito mesmas lojas.

As vendas de mercadorias no conceito mesmas lojas excluindo cigarros ficaram praticamente estáveis, enquanto as vendas totais de mercadorias mesmas lojas caíram 1,4%. O portfólio de lojas mantidas teve um desempenho melhor, registrando alta de 0,8% excluindo cigarros e superando as lojas destinadas à conversão para revendedores tanto em vendas de mercadorias quanto em galões de combustível.

A administração afirmou que as lojas mantidas geram aproximadamente de 98% a 99% do lucro operacional do varejo. A ARKO converteu aproximadamente 500 lojas para o modelo de revendedores desde agosto de 2024 e espera que o programa esteja praticamente concluído até o final de 2027. A empresa opera atualmente 1.038 lojas, e o CEO Arie Kotler estimou que o portfólio final mantido poderá ficar em torno de 900 lojas, enfatizando que se trata apenas de uma estimativa preliminar.

A ARKO espera concluir mais de 25 reformas em 2026, com 11 já finalizadas até a teleconferência. As reformas iniciais estavam gerando crescimento de vendas na faixa de dois dígitos baixos. Três lojas novas (new-to-industry) foram abertas durante os primeiros nove meses, e a administração planeja abrir quatro lojas novas da Dunkin' entre a teleconferência e o início de 2027. Os retornos iniciais das lojas de varejo novas estavam se aproximando de 20%.

O food service continua sendo uma iniciativa fundamental para mix e margens. Aproximadamente 145 lojas possuem delis com cardápios expandidos, enquanto mais de 500 lojas contam com algum tipo de oferta de alimentos. A administração afirmou que as margens das delis estavam próximas de 50%.

A contribuição de combustíveis no atacado aumentou 6,6%, para US$ 26,7 milhões. Os galões no atacado recuaram de 260,4 milhões para 249,2 milhões, mas a margem média combinada de combustíveis subiu 11,4%, para 10,7 centavos por galão.

Os galões de abastecimento de frotas tiveram ligeira queda de 36,6 milhões para 36,2 milhões. A margem de combustível aumentou 6,2%, para 48,6 centavos por galão, sustentando uma alta de 8,9% no lucro operacional do segmento. A ARKO abriu cinco unidades cardlock durante os primeiros nove meses e mais duas em outubro, com outras 16 em planejamento ou desenvolvimento. A administração espera que esses projetos gerem retornos entre 15% e 19%.

Guidance da Administração

A ARKO elevou seu guidance de EBITDA ajustado para o ano fiscal de 2026 para US$ 250 milhões a US$ 265 milhões, aumentando o piso em relação a US$ 245 milhões. A administração atribuiu a revisão ao desempenho acumulado no ano, às tendências atuais dos negócios e à expectativa de fechamento da aquisição da USPP no 4T.

A empresa também projeta uma margem de combustíveis no varejo para o ano completo de 47 a 49 centavos por galão.

Espera-se que a USPP adicione aproximadamente 280 milhões de galões ao volume anual de combustível em cerca de 400 pontos de revendedores. A administração projeta aproximadamente US$ 30 milhões em EBITDA ajustado anualizado, mas a contribuição para os resultados do ano fiscal de 2026 dependerá da data de conclusão da transação.

Riscos e pontos de atenção

Os preços elevados dos combustíveis continuaram pressionando a demanda no varejo e elevando as tarifas de cartão de crédito. A administração afirmou que os volumes de galões de combustível no setor caíram durante o trimestre e espera que a pressão sobre os volumes continue sendo um fator relevante no 4T.

O cronograma da aquisição da USPP permanece como uma incerteza dentro da faixa do guidance para o ano, uma vez que a transação ainda não havia sido concluída até a teleconferência de resultados.

A ARKO também está prorrogando seu programa de conversão para revendedores até o final de 2027, enquanto a administração continua refinando o número de lojas a serem convertidas. Isso gera mudanças contínuas no mix de resultados entre os negócios de varejo e da APC.

Destaques da sessão de perguntas e respostas com analistas

A administração afirmou que o prazo de conversão para revendedores foi estendido após a identificação de lojas adicionais cuja conversão para operação por revendedores poderia aprimorar o foco da empresa em pontos de maior qualidade. As lojas mantidas superaram as lojas destinadas à conversão em mais de 230 pontos-base nas vendas de mercadorias e em cerca de 320 a 330 pontos-base nos galões de combustível.

Quanto à precificação de combustíveis, a administração afirmou que a ARKO não mudou sua abordagem central. A empresa continua buscando o lucro bruto total de combustíveis, mantendo-se competitiva, em vez de gerenciar centavos por galão ou volumes isoladamente. Promoções de fidelidade e a campanha Fueling America’s Future continuam sendo centrais para sustentar o valor ao cliente durante períodos de preços elevados de combustíveis.

A administração também enfatizou que os ganhos de margem em mercadorias decorreram principalmente de um mix de produtos mais rentável — incluindo food service e outros produtos de tabaco —, e não de aumentos de preços.

Transcrição Completa da Teleconferência de Resultados

Transcrição completa da teleconferência de resultados

Comentários da administração

Operator

Greetings and welcome to the ARKO Corp. third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Priya Trivedi, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. You may begin.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to ARKO Corp.'s third quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. On today's call are Arie Kotler, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jeff Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer. Our earnings press release and quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026 as filed with the SEC are available on ARKO's website at www.arkocorp.com.

During our call today, unless otherwise stated, management will compare results to the same period in 2025. Before we begin, please note that all third quarter 2026 financial information is unaudited. During this call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please review the forward-looking and cautionary statement section at the end of our third quarter 2026 earnings release for various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made during our call today.

All forward-looking statements made during this call reflect our current views with respect to future events, and ARKO is under no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements made on this call, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. On this call, management will share operating results on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. Descriptions of the non-GAAP financial measures that we use, such as Adjusted EBITDA, and reconciliations of those measures to our results as reported in accordance with GAAP are detailed in our earnings release or in the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Additionally, management will share profit measures of our individual business segments along with fuel contribution, which is calculated as fuel revenue less fuel cost, excluding intercompany charges by our GPMP segment. Now I would like to turn the call over to Arie.

Arie Kotler

Thank you, Priya, and good morning, everyone. We delivered a very good quarter, closing the first 9 months of the year with Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $199 million, an increase of $15.6 million, or 8.5%, to prior year. Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $75.7 million, which was above prior year. Our retained store portfolio, which are stores we do not expect to be converted to dealer locations, delivered growth in merchandise sales, excluding cigarettes, of approximately 0.8%, and has delivered year-over-year growth in each quarter of this year.

Our subsidiary, ARKO Petroleum Corp., or APC, of which we currently own approximately 74%, also performed very well, with strong results across wholesale and fleet fueling. And earlier in the third quarter, APC entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire the business of U.S. Petroleum Partners, which we refer to as USPP.

We achieved these results despite the volatile fuel environment. Regular gasoline ended the quarter at approximately $4.31 per gallon, about $1.32 above last year, while diesel exceeded $6.50 in September. Against this backdrop, our team remained focused on areas within our control. We managed fuel margins with discipline and executed targeted in-store initiatives to help offset the impact of industry-wide lower retail fuel volumes and higher credit card fees.

Our year-to-date performance, current business trends, and the expected closing of the USPP acquisition give us confidence to raise the low end of our full year guidance. Now let's turn to our third quarter results. Turning to retail, in fuel, we remain focused on maximizing gross profit as elevated prices pressure demand.

While gallons declined across the industry, our same-store fuel margin increased 10.4% to 48.8 cents per gallon, driving a 2.7% increase in same-store fuel contribution, or $2.6 million. We continue to balance competitive street pricing with disciplined margin management. Through our Fueling America's Future marketing campaign, we also offered discounts of up to $2.50 per gallon, providing customers compelling, industry-leading fuel savings in this challenging environment.

Inside the stores, our focus was also on value. We increased promotional spend in our stores by approximately 16% versus last year's third quarter. We also redesigned our promotions to communicate clear value, reach more customers, and encourage larger baskets. We broadened eligibility for certain promotions to non-loyalty members, expanded targeted in-app offers, and worked with our vendor partners to bundle promotions across categories. These promotions allow customers to earn greater fuel savings as they add qualifying items to their basket while protecting merchandise margin.

Loyalty is an important part of this strategy. fas REWARDS members visit approximately 2 times more frequently, carry baskets that are over 45% larger, and spend over $100 per month on average, more than twice the spend of non-enrolled customers. We added approximately 70,000 new enrolled members during the quarter, increasing enrollment by approximately 3%.

We also continue to invest in higher-margin categories. We are expanding our food service offering, which is now in approximately 145 stores with delis offering a more robust food service menu. In other tobacco products, we expanded our assortment and shifted more space towards products with a higher growth rate, supporting category growth and a more favorable merchandise mix towards this higher-margin category. We also sharpened our value proposition in packaged beverages. These investments are improving overall merchandise mix and helping drive both sales and merchandise margin.

We continue to see the results of these efforts. Our retained store portfolio delivered merchandise sales growth, excluding cigarettes, of approximately 0.8%, and has now generated year-over-year sales growth in each quarter this year. Just as importantly, same-store merchandise margin increased by 50 basis points to 34.8% as compared to last year, marking our 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year merchandise margin expansion. Positive retained store comps and expanding merchandise margins are exactly what we want to see from our retail transformation.

Turning to dealerization, which remains central to our retail transformation, we have dealerized approximately 500 stores since the program began mid-2024. We expect to continue to convert a meaningful number of additional stores and be largely complete by the end of 2027. This allows us to focus our people and capital on a stronger core portfolio of company-operated retained stores.

This retained store portfolio continues to outperform the stores to be dealerized by over 230 basis points in merchandise sales, 330 basis points in gallons, and [ just over 1. ] generates the majority of the retail segment's operating profit. We are investing in our retained store portfolio. We expect to complete more than 25 remodels this year, with 11 already completed. Based on initial results, remodels are generating low double-digit sales growth.

We are also investing in new-to-industry stores and opened 3 NTI retail stores during the first 9 months of 2026 and plan to open 4 NTI Dunkin' stores between now and early 2027. Based on initial results, these NTI retail stores are generating return on investment approaching 20%. These stores incorporate our fas CRAVES food and beverage offering and updated layout. We remain disciplined with our capital allocation, prioritizing markets and projects where we see the strongest return.

Wholesale delivered another strong quarter. Blended fuel margin increased 11.4% to 10.7 cents per gallon from 9.6 cents per gallon last year. Higher margin more than offset lower gallons, driving total fuel contribution of $26.7 million, up 6.6% from last year. Dealerization continued to add volume to this business as stores transitioned from company-operated retail locations to wholesale dealer locations.

Fleet fueling also performed well. Approximately 80% of volume in this business is diesel. Despite record diesel prices, gallons declined only modestly compared to last year, demonstrating the relative stability of demand from our commercial customers. Fuel margin increased approximately 6.2% to 48.6 cents per gallon from 45.8 cents per gallon last year. This is a low-capital, cash-generative business.

We have opened 5 new cardlock locations in the first 9 months of 2026. 2 locations were added in October, and currently we have an additional 16 locations in various stages of planning and development. These projects require relatively low capital investments and are expected to generate mid-to-high teens returns.

Before turning it over to Gallagher, let me briefly review why we believe the USPP business is such a strong strategic and financial fit for APC. USPP is a vertically integrated fuel supply and distribution platform serving customers throughout the Great Lakes region. Upon closing, the business is expected to add approximately 280 million gallons of annual fuel volume across approximately 400 dealer locations, increasing APC's trailing 12-month volumes as of September 30, 2026, by approximately 14%.

We expect USPP to contribute approximately $30 million of annualized Adjusted EBITDA with strong conversion to discretionary cash flow, creating a meaningful step-up in APC's scale and earnings power. The acquisition will also add assets, including terminals in Novi, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio, as well as a transportation fleet that delivers more than 80% of its distributed volume. APC continues to work towards the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Overall, we made solid progress in the quarter. Retail trends improved. Our retained store portfolio delivered another positive comp, merchandise margin expanded, wholesale and fleet fueling performed well, and APC entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire the business of USPP. For the first 9 months, Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $199 million, up 8.5% from last year.

Given our year-to-date performance, current business trends, and the expected closing of the USPP acquisition, we are raising the low end of our Adjusted EBITDA guidance from $245 million to $250 million, and now expect our full year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $250 million to $265 million. With that, I will turn the call over to Gallagher to review our financial results and updated outlook in greater detail.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, Arie, and good morning, everyone. Third quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $75.7 million, up from $75.2 million in the prior year. Higher retail fuel and merchandise margins, along with stronger contributions from wholesale and fleet fueling, helped offset lower retail fuel volumes and approximately $3.1 million of incremental same-store credit card fees associated with elevated fuel prices. Net income was $14.3 million compared with $13.5 million in the prior year period.

In our retail segment, same-store merchandise sales, excluding cigarettes, were essentially flat for the quarter, while overall same-store merchandise sales declined 1.4%. As Arie highlighted, our retained store portfolio performed better, with merchandise sales, excluding cigarettes, increasing 0.8%. This portfolio has delivered positive comps, ex-cigarettes, in every quarter this year, and in this portfolio of retail stores, we see that's the future of the business.

Total merchandise margin in the quarter increased 110 basis points to 34.8%, while same-store merchandise margin increased 50 basis points to 34.8%. The improvement reflects favorable category mix and the investments we have made across food service, other tobacco products, and vendor-funded promotions.

Same-store retail fuel gallons declined in the quarter as elevated prices continued to weigh on demand across the industry. However, disciplined pricing across our stores increased same-store fuel margin by 10.4% to 48.8 cents per gallon from 44.2 cents, resulting in same-store fuel contribution of $98.3 million, an increase of approximately $2.6 million in same-store fuel contribution compared to the prior year period.

Turning to expenses, total retail site-level operating expenses were $160.3 million compared with $172.9 million for the prior year period. Same-store operating expenses were $156.7 million compared with $150.6 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily attributable to the $3.1 million of incremental credit card fees associated with elevated retail fuel prices, along with slightly higher personnel costs, rent, and utilities.

Excluding credit card fees, same-store operating expenses increased approximately 2.2%, with store labor up just 1.3% versus 3Q last year, which includes incremental investments in labor to support the expansion of our food service offering.

We continued to manage G&A expenses across the business. Corporate G&A expenses were $40.8 million, up 1.8% from the prior year period. The increase was entirely driven by normalized incentives as well as higher stock-based compensation in this year as compared to last year. We continue to manage our personnel expenses closely, reducing payroll expenses by 2.9% versus the prior year period.

Wholesale operating income increased 7% to $25.8 million. Wholesale gallons declined to 249.2 million from 260.4 million, while fuel margin increased 11.4% to 10.7 cents per gallon from 9.6 cents. The improvement in margin more than offset the impact of lower volume.

In our fleet fueling segment, operating income increased 8.9% to $13.3 million from $12.2 million in the prior year period. Fleet fueling gallons were 36.2 million, down slightly from 36.6 million in the prior year period, while fuel margin increased approximately 6.2% to 48.6 cents per gallon compared with 45.8 cents in the prior year period. Given its capital-efficient model, recurring cash flow profile, and attractive expected returns, cardlock expansion remains a high-priority organic investment within our capital allocation framework.

Turning to our balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $184 million of cash and cash equivalents. During the quarter, we opportunistically repurchased $62.1 million of our 5 1/8% senior notes for $56.8 million of cash and ended the quarter with $625 million of long-term debt, excluding lease-related financing liabilities.

Capital expenditures in the quarter were $41.4 million, compared with $24.9 million in the prior year period. The majority of our capital spending in the quarter continues to be directed towards growth initiatives, primarily retail store remodels and investments in NTI retail stores, as well as new cardlocks as we accelerate our organic growth and the purchase of fee properties.

Our capital priorities remain high-return remodels, new-to-industry retail stores, new cardlock locations, and expansion of food service. We continue to allocate capital toward projects that meet our return thresholds while preserving balance sheet flexibility to drive the long-term value of the business.

From a liquidity perspective, we ended the third quarter with $1 billion of total liquidity, providing significant flexibility to fund high-return organic growth, support APC's expansion, reduce debt, and pursue other value-creating opportunities.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, based on our year-to-date performance, business trends, and the expected closing of the USPP acquisition, we're raising the low end of our Adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal year 2026 from $245 million to $250 million, resulting in a revised range of $250 million to $265 million. We now expect full-year retail fuel margin of 47 to 49 cents per gallon. With that, I'll hand the call back to Arie for closing remarks.

Arie Kotler

Thank you, Gallagher. We are making progress across each of our strategic priorities. Our retained store portfolio is performing well. Dealerization is creating a more focused and cash-generative retail business. Wholesale and fleet fueling continue to provide stable, diversified earnings, and the expected closing of the USPP acquisition are all expected to contribute to APC's scaling as a growth and cash-generative platform.

We remain focused on execution, disciplined capital allocation, and creating long-term shareholder value. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from Bobby Griffin with Raymond James. Please state your question.

Perguntas e respostas

Robert Griffin

I guess, Arie and Gallagher, I want to first maybe start with the dealerization aspect. It looks like if I'm kind of monitoring the language a little bit as we've gone through the quarters, the program maybe is extended a little longer than we originally thought. I think you called out in the release there's still a meaningful opportunity left in front. You're going to be done by the end of '27 now. I believe we kind of had the program going through early '27, maybe even ending in '26.

So can you maybe just talk about that for a little bit? Are you finding more stores and more opportunities, additional savings, anything there to help us think about the dealerization program? And it looks like that has more opportunity in front of it?

Arie Kotler

Sure. Good morning, Bobby. Thank you for the question. So as you all know, since we started the program, we dealerized approximately 500 stores as we started in August 2024. And those stores that we converted were just not strategic for us. And as we continue to move forward, we just refined the numbers. I mean, we still have 55 additional sites committed under letter of intent.

And as we continue to focus and as we continue to see results, we just refined the numbers and that's why we decided to extend our program a little bit and extend the amount of stores in some areas that we just felt that, you know, we should focus our time, focus our people, focus our capital in areas that we believe there is just additional growth.

So we become a little bit more maybe selective in some of the other areas that we didn't think about them before. But again, all of those initiatives are just making sure that we are delivering better results on the retained stores, as you can see over here, for the past 3 quarters. Those retained stores continue to show just favorable comps.

Robert Griffin

Okay, that's helpful. And, Gallagher, I kind of wanted to spend a second or two unpacking that retained store side of things. I think you guys called out that the merchandise comps, ex-cigarettes, have been positive all year for retained stores, which is better than the collective comps, which kind of gives you that implied retained store performance is doing better. What is happening with same-store gallons of the retained stores versus the total comp gallons that I see from the business?

Unknown Speaker

Yes, Bobby, good question. And we do want to talk about retained stores a lot more as we finish dealerization. We think that's the future of our retail business and what's most meaningful to everyone. Our gallons have also outperformed around 300 basis points, 320 basis points versus the divested stores. 3Q, they did outperform OPIS. The OPIS percent was down around 6% for the quarter, and our retained stores performed better in gallons there also. So we continue to see good results.

And as you talked about with Arie, we're working thoughtfully, quickly to dealerize the remainder of the stores. That becomes our portfolio. We do think that's where the investments are going. We're continuing to grow same-store sales and improve gallons. So the gallon strength is there along with the merchandise sales.

Robert Griffin

Okay, so is it fair to think about, I think same-store gallons are down 7% collectively. You're saying a same-store basis for that retained portfolio stores is maybe down 4% or so?

Unknown Speaker

It's slightly worse than that, Bobby. But yes, the blended rate. Yes. But it's better than OPIS. And OPIS was down 6%.

Robert Griffin

Okay, perfect. That's helpful. And I guess, you know, I don't know if you're going to be able to answer this or not, just given kind of what's been signed and what's not. But like, is there any way to tell us what the number is and like how many stores are considered retained stores?

Arie Kotler

Well, we have right now 1,038 stores that are basically the current store count. Like I said, we have 65 additional stores that are under a letter of intent. We don't have the numbers that we can provide at the moment because we continue to refine this number. But like I said, it's probably going to be, you know, I would say if I have to guess, it's probably going to be around 900 stores at the end of the day. And again, this is just a guess.

Robert Griffin

Okay. Okay, that's—

Arie Kotler

Bobby, maybe I wanna add one more thing just because we keep talking about retained stores and non-retained stores. I just want to add that the retained stores generated the majority of basically the operating profit. When I say the majority, I'm talking about maybe 99 to 98%, just to be clear.

So it's not about the amount of stores, it's really the quality of the stores. And those stores, we work really, really hard to transfer them. And as you can see, having a positive 0.8% sales, excluding cigarettes, while we also increase margin, it's something remarkable for us.

Robert Griffin

Yes, and that's encouraging to hear. And I guess lastly for me, and I appreciate all the time this morning, it's more of just a guidance or what's implied in the guidance type question, Gallagher. But if we take the APC guide for the year, the midpoint, and we take the ARKO guide for the year, the midpoint for the ARKO consolidated, we can obviously back into what's implied for the retail division. And that looks like it's down pretty notably year over year from what was reported in 4Q '25.

And obviously, you know, a lot of things are moving around with the store count. So I'm just trying to see if there's something going on there because it looks like a pretty notable drop, a lot more than we've seen all year, honestly, for the retail segment. So is there anything further to unpack there from a timing standpoint, cost pressure standpoint, or anything there?

Unknown Speaker

Yes, I'll start and then Arie, you can weigh in. We feel good about year-to-date, Bobby. Like we've had 3 quarters that are delivering growth over last year. 3Q was solid also. So last year's 4Q was very, I think our CPG jumped 6% versus the prior year, one of the highest quarters of CPG for the year. We continue to see volume pressure, which we considered as we, you know, 3Q and 4Q. And then also the timing of the USPP acquisition. We're still not closed there yet.

We expect it to close in 4Q. So all those variables really make us comfortable with the range we put out there. And we do want to deliver a number that we tell you. So we're trying to be comfortable with that range and not be too aggressive as we go into 4Q.

Arie Kotler

Let me just jump in, Bobby, just with your comment. I don't think that's the case given that there is a different amount of stores that you had in 4Q '25 to the amount of stores that you have right now. I think there is a shift between retail to basically to APC. I think that may be the case at the end of the day.

Robert Griffin

Okay, that's helpful. Yes, I think it's that. I mean, we're looking on an average store basis as well, but admittedly, we don't have the perfect store set based on what we get in the disclosures. But that's helpful. That plus the retail gallons, I think, helps answer the question. So thank you again for the time. And I appreciate, Arie, the additional disclosure on the retained stores. I know it's something I've pushed you guys for and it's helpful, so thank you for providing that.

Arie Kotler

I still want to add one more thing for you Bobby, if you don't mind, just one more thing.

Robert Griffin

Of course.

Arie Kotler

Given that our comps are up, given that our fuel margin, gross profit dollars is up, and at the end of the day we have less stores, I believe that again, I believe there is basically a shift between the two and margin. And we continue with the pressure and with all of that, we actually able to increase margin. Remember, this is the 12th consecutive quarter that we are able to increase margin with this pressure. And I think all of that is just a mix and the help of our basically support vendor partners over here. And I think this is something incredible.

We have a lot of promos related to our loyalty members. As I mentioned earlier, I mean, the business is very, very healthy. The retained stores are very, very healthy, and you see it through the results of the year. So again, I think that I will look at the numbers again after this call, but like I said, I think the retained stores are doing much better than what we saw basically last year.

Robert Griffin

Yep, very well. Well, I appreciate the details, and I'm sure we'll talk again here, but yes, thank you. Best of luck in 4Q.

Arie Kotler

Thank you, Bobby.

Operator

Your next question comes from Daniel Guglielmo with Capital One Securities. Please state your question.

Daniel Guglielmo

I think in the opening remarks, you mentioned that 145 stores have food service. Thinking out longer term, what percentage of the retained portfolio do you expect will have food service, and what would be the expected timeline to get there?

Arie Kotler

Good morning, Dan. So, you know, we have 145 stores today that we have delis. In many of our stores, more than 500 stores, we have some kind of food component already. The idea is really to expand fas CRAVES. This is something that we're doing as we continue to remodel stores. So again, I cannot give you the exact number, but I can tell you it's hundreds of stores, and as I said, right now, many of those stores have a food component from, you know, anywhere from roller grills to basically to sandwiches and, you know, the idea is just to expand it.

Unknown Speaker

Dan, just to add, the remodels we're opening this year all have enhanced food service. And to me, that's a lot of headroom out there because the higher margin, the higher sales we get from those. It's still relatively a small number. It's only going to grow. So we expect it to really help our sales and margin. Margin growth is primarily through mix, selling more profitable products and not price. So it's through growing OTP and some more profitable nicotine categories plus food. And so looking forward, we expect that to continue to benefit both sales and margin.

Arie Kotler

Yes, the margin at our delis right now is close to 50%. That's their benefit.

Daniel Guglielmo

Okay, great. Yes, that's really helpful. And then as a follow-up to Bobby's earlier gallons question, I think you all use a third-party system to price fuel on a daily basis at your stores. So in this kind of volatile pricing environment, have you had to adjust or tweak the way that you're using that pricing system? And then do you know if wholesale partners kind of use a similar pricing strategy?

Arie Kotler

Sure. Well, when it comes to fuel, you know, this is something that we've been doing all along since the beginning of, you know, since 2020. I mean, our job is to actually maximize GP dollars over here. You know, this is the objective over here, to maximize total fuel contribution, while we are remaining very competitive in the marketplace. So it's just, you know, we're not just managing cents per gallon, you know, we're also looking on, you know, basically gallons in isolation. I think everybody is facing the same thing as Gallagher mentioned earlier. OPIS was down 6% this quarter.

As you can imagine, Daniel, when price of fuel is above $4, $4.30, as you can imagine, everybody's under pressure and everybody needs to figure out the way how to basically end their year with the same profitability. Everybody has expenses. I think every one of those guys is expanding his margin as well in order to basically maximize gross profit dollars in a way. I think with our systems, we are maybe a little bit more efficient than some others.

But like I said, we didn't change anything. We're just trying to maximize gross profit dollars and at the same time making sure that we are competitive in the market that we are. I think that's why our loyalty members and our Fueling America's Future campaign become very, very important during this time. I can tell you that, for example, on Tuesday, we are running 10 Cents Off Tuesday, in addition to Fueling America's Future. And we see a nice, basically, increase in penetration because of that.

So we're just trying to maximize gross profit dollars, and at the same time trying to help our consumer when they're very under pressure right now, given the price of fuel. And I think what will happen at some point when the price is, you're going to see basically the opposite. You're going to see an increase in fuel gallons and a decrease in basically in fuel margin. That's typically what happens.

Daniel Guglielmo

Great. Thank you. I appreciate all that color. That's helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, that was our last question for the day. I'll now hand the floor back to Mr. Kotler for closing remarks.

Arie Kotler

Thank you very much, everybody, for participating this morning. We're looking forward to meet you and see you again in our next quarter.

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