Sunoco (SUNC) 2026年第三季法說會：創紀錄 EBITDA 與 Offen 收購案

重點總覽

• Sunoco 公布 2026 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 創下 10.6 億美元歷史新高（不含約 1,100 萬美元的一次性交易費用）。調整後可分配現金流為 5.88 億美元。
• 每 Sunoco LP 普通單位與 SunocoCorp 股票的季度配息約為 1.015 美元，季增 1.25%，且較 2025 年第三季成長逾 10%。
• 燃油分銷業務調整後 EBITDA 達 5.32 億美元（不含 900 萬美元交易費用），配送量約為 42 億加侖，每加侖燃油利潤率為 0.168 美元。
• 煉油業務調整後 EBITDA 從 2026 年第二季的 1.75 億美元增加至 2.38 億美元。本拿比 (Burnaby) 煉油廠平均每日處理量為 57,000 桶，煉油利潤率高於每桶 54 美元，且費用連續第二個季度保持在每桶 10 美元以下。
• Sunoco 在本季度結束後完成了對 Offen Petroleum 價值 6 億美元的收購案。Offen 每年可帶來約 25 億加侖的燃油分銷量，並擴大了該公司在美國中西部和山區西部的業務布局。
• 管理層非常有信心 2026 年業績將超越其財測指引的上限，並預計 2027 年將再創歷史新高，即使煉油利差回落至接近週期中游水準。

關鍵財務數據

業務與營運表現

燃油分銷

調整後 EBITDA 為 5.32 億美元（不含 900 萬美元交易費用），在相同扣除基準下，高於 2026 年第二季的 5.16 億美元及 2025 年第三季的 2.38 億美元。Sunoco 配送了約 42 億加侖，每加侖燃油利潤率為 0.168 美元。銷量較上一季微幅增加，利潤率則微幅下降。

管理層表示，市場波動（特別是柴油）創造了毛利優化的機會。管理層引述中間蒸餾油庫存緊張、全球供應中斷、煉油廠停機和季節性檢修為主要促成因素。

管理層指出，美國需求保持韌性，根據電話會議中引用的 EIA 數據，柴油需求年減持平，汽油需求年減低個位數。在加拿大，由於價格波動加劇，柴油與汽油需求下降了低至中個位數，但利潤率依然強勁。管理層繼續將加勒比海地區描述為受銷量與利潤率擴張所支撐的成長型市場。

收購 Offen Petroleum 擴大了 Sunoco 的區域規模和供應選擇彈性。管理層預期收購取得的物流能力和市場密度將支持其品牌與非品牌業務的運輸、採購和成長。

管道系統

調整後 EBITDA 為 1.66 億美元，低於 2026 年第二季的 1.90 億美元及 2025 年第三季的 1.82 億美元。每日輸量約為 130 萬桶，與兩個比較期間大致持平。

季減反映出合資企業貢獻減少，以及缺少了 2026 年上半年所記錄的 FERC 追回款項收益。管理層表示，該部門持續提供穩定收入，並有機會透過相對適度的資本投資來提升利用率並增加運輸量。

儲運碼頭

調整後 EBITDA 為 1.24 億美元（不含 200 萬美元交易費用），相較於 2026 年第二季的 1.15 億美元及 2025 年第三季在相同基準下的 7,600 萬美元。每日吞吐量維持在近 100 萬桶。

業績受益於混合油 (transmix) 處理業務以及 Sunoco 擴充後歐洲網絡的貢獻。管理層也看到了提高利用率和推動客戶支持之成長計畫的機會。

煉油業務

煉油部門的調整後 EBITDA 從 2026 年第二季的 1.75 億美元增加至 2.38 億美元。本拿比 (Burnaby) 煉油廠平均每日處理量為 57,000 桶，略高於上一季。煉油利潤率每桶超過 54 美元，而每桶費用連續第二個季度保持在 10 美元以下。

管理層將此成果歸因於有利的市場條件與營運執行力。Sunoco 並未將單獨擴建煉油視為獨立策略，但將本拿比煉油廠視為當煉油利差走強時能帶來非對稱上行空間的來源。

管理層業績指引

管理層表示非常有信心 2026 全年業績將超越其現有財測指引的上限，這將代表 EBITDA 連續第八年成長。

該公司預計將於 1 月初發布詳細的 2027 年財測指引。管理層目前預計，在所有四個部門的營運表現、收購案及有機投資的支撐下，即使煉油利差回落至接近週期中游水準，2027 年仍將是另一個創紀錄的年份。

Sunoco 預計 2026 年補強型收購總額將約為 15 億美元。包含有機成長資本在內，總成長投資部署預計將超過 20 億美元。管理層重申了每年至少進行 5 億美元補強型收購的多年度目標，並表示該門檻對 2027 年及以後而言相當溫和。

在燃油分銷的營運費用方面，管理層預期各季間會有一些波動，但隨著派克蘭 (Parkland) 整合工作的持續進行，預計 2027 年整體費用相較於 2026 年將有所下降。

風險與關注焦點

• 煉油利潤率預計將有所波動，若利差常態化回落至接近或低於週期中游水準，本拿比煉油廠的貢獻可能會下降。
• 燃油價格波動最終可能會削弱需求。管理層表示，更顯著需求反應發生的時間點與價格門檻仍具不確定性。
• 在高油價與波動加劇的情況下，加拿大柴油與汽油需求已出現低至中個位數的下滑。
• 由於合資企業貢獻、合約定價、時間差以及非經常性監管項目，管道業務的每季獲利可能會有所波動。
• 美國中大陸地區 (Mid-Continent) 潛在的管道發展可能會改變成品油的流向，不過管理層表示該影響目前仍屬假設性質，且 Sunoco 的網絡已準備好應對供應鏈的變動。

分析師問答亮點

分析師關注如果煉油條件回歸常態，2026 年的強勁表現是否能持續。管理層強調所有四個營運部門皆表現良好，並表示在週期中游的煉油假設下，Sunoco 仍能超越其最初的財測指引。

關於本拿比煉油廠，管理層表示並未積極尋求單獨的煉油廠擴展。只有在類似派克蘭 (Parkland) 那樣更廣泛的交易中，具吸引力的非煉油業務是主要戰略契合點時，才會考慮納入另一座煉油廠。

在收購方面，管理層將 Offen 視為其燃油分銷整合策略的延伸。此筆交易在 Sunoco 過去規模較小的市場中增加了區域密度、供應靈活性與物流能力。

管理層亦表示派克蘭 (Parkland) 的整合有助於降低第三季燃油分銷的營運費用。儘管可能存在季度間的波動，管理層預計 2027 年整體成本將進一步改善。

完整財報電話會議記錄

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Desiree, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Sunoco and SunocoCorp Q3 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Scott Grischow, Senior Vice President of Finance. Please go ahead.

Scott Grischow

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. On the call with me this morning are Joe Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer; Karl Fails, Chief Operating Officer; Austin Harkness, Chief Commercial Officer; Brian Hand, Chief Sales Officer; and Dylan Bramhall, Chief Financial Officer.

Today's call will contain forward-looking statements that include expectations and assumptions regarding Sunoco LP's future operations and financial performance. Actual results could differ materially, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements based on subsequent events. Please refer to our earnings release as well as our filings with the SEC for a list of these factors.

During today's call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow as adjusted. Please refer to the Sunoco LP website for a reconciliation of each financial measure.

The partnership continued its strong performance in 2026, with a record third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $1.06 billion, excluding approximately $11 million of onetime transaction expenses. Third quarter distributable cash flow as adjusted was $588 million. On October 22, we announced a distribution of approximately $1.015 for both Sunoco LP common units and SunocoCorp shares. This represents a quarterly increase of 1.25% from the prior quarter, over 10% versus the third quarter of 2025.

Our business continues to generate strong cash flow, resulting in a trailing 12-month coverage ratio of 2.1x. Our balance sheet and liquidity position remains strong. We had $2.3 billion in availability under our revolving credit facility at the end of the quarter, and leverage was approximately 3.5x, well below our long-term target. Finally, we spent $121 million on growth capital and $116 million on maintenance capital.

I want to wrap up my comments by stating that our execution in 2026 has put us in an outstanding financial position. In less than 1 year since closing on the Parkland acquisition, we have already delivered double-digit growth to DCF per common unit, while also getting our balance sheet below our long-term leverage target of 4x. Investors have benefited from this execution through year-over-year distribution growth of over 10%. Finally, we have continued to execute on growth opportunities, including the acquisition of Offen Petroleum for $600 million, which we closed last week.

In summary, we expect our financial position will continue to strengthen, which will provide us with continued flexibility to pursue high-return growth opportunities while maintaining a healthy balance sheet and a secure and growing distribution for our unitholders.

With that, I will turn it over to Karl to walk through some additional thoughts on our third quarter performance.

Karl Fails

Thanks, Scott. Good morning, everyone. As Scott outlined, we delivered record financial results in the third quarter. Our teams continue to optimize gross profit across fuel distribution, operate our midstream assets reliably and capture a favorable market environment at the Burnaby Refinery.

Let me walk through the performance of each segment. Starting with our Fuel Distribution segment. Adjusted EBITDA was $532 million, excluding $9 million of transaction expenses. This compares with $516 million last quarter and $238 million in the third quarter of 2025, both excluding transaction expenses. We distributed approximately 4.2 billion gallons during the quarter and fuel margin was $0.168 per gallon. Volume was up slightly and margin was down slightly from last quarter.

While industry demand indicators were mixed and varied by geography, the volatility in the market continued to provide opportunities for gross profit optimization, especially for a system with our scale. Volatility remained elevated, particularly in diesel, reflecting tight distillate inventories, global supply disruptions, refinery outages and fall maintenance activity. Our scale, supply optionality and commercial capabilities allowed us to respond to those market conditions.

When you step back, our model continues to deliver on what it is designed to do. We do not manage the business for an individual quarterly volume or margin outcome. Instead, we manage for total fuel profit, EBITDA and returns on deployed capital. The third quarter result demonstrates the value of applying that approach across a much larger geography. And more importantly, that geography continues to expand.

As Scott shared earlier, we closed on the acquisition of Offen Petroleum last week. Offen adds approximately 2.5 billion gallons of annual fuel distribution volume and strengthens our presence in the Midwest and Mountain West regions. The Offen business is a great fit with our existing portfolio. Its geographic footprint complements our network, while its logistics capabilities and market density create opportunities to improve supply, transportation and growth in both our branded and unbranded businesses. We look forward to the integration process and welcome the new team members to Sunoco.

In our Pipeline Systems segment, adjusted EBITDA was $166 million compared with $190 million last quarter and $182 million in the third quarter of 2025. Throughput was approximately 1.3 million barrels per day, essentially flat with last quarter and the third quarter of 2025. Sequential reductions were related to lower contributions from our joint ventures and some FERC clawbacks we received in the first half of the year that did not repeat in the second half. However, the underlying characteristics of the segment remain consistent. The segment consists of critical infrastructure assets generating stable income, with targeted opportunities to grow volumes, improve utilization and generate attractive returns from relatively modest capital investments.

Moving on to our Terminals segment. Adjusted EBITDA was $124 million, excluding $2 million of transaction expenses, compared with $115 million last quarter and $76 million in the third quarter of 2025, both excluding transaction expenses. Throughput was approximately 1 million barrels per day, in line with last quarter. Overall results were supported by a strong quarter in our transmix processing business as well as the continued contribution of our larger European network. This is another segment where the operating story is straightforward. The assets continue to generate stable results, and the expanded system gives us additional opportunities to increase utilization, support fuel distribution and deploy growth capital where we have attractive customer-backed returns.

Turning to our Refinery segment. Adjusted EBITDA was $238 million compared with $175 million last quarter. The Burnaby Refinery throughput averaged 57,000 barrels per day during the quarter, slightly up from the second quarter. Refining margin topped $54 per barrel and expenses were below $10 per barrel for the second quarter in a row. The market environment clearly remained favorable, but the financial result also reflects strong execution by the team.

Our priorities at Burnaby remain safe and reliable operations, disciplined expense management and positioning the facility to capture available market opportunities. We understand that refining margins will move over time. Our job is to manage what we can control and operate the facility with a long-term mindset.

Before I wrap up, I want to share a few final thoughts. This was an outstanding quarter, but it is really a continuation of the same operating focus that we deliver quarter after quarter, year after year. We grow and integrate. We operate our assets reliably and efficiently. We fully capture market opportunities, all through disciplined execution of our strategy.

I will now turn it over to Joe to share his final thoughts. Joe?

Joseph Kim

Thanks, Karl. Good morning, everyone. We had an outstanding third quarter. Although 2026 is not quite over, I want to share some perspectives on this year as a whole. 2026 will be another record year for Sunoco. With 3 quarters completed and visibility into the fourth quarter, we're highly confident that we will surpass the top end of our guidance. This will be our eighth consecutive year of EBITDA growth.

Obviously, the Parkland acquisition is a big part of our recent success. We have already delivered approximately a 25% growth in DCF per common unit in less than 1 year of ownership. In addition, our pre-Parkland businesses are performing at a high level. Our portfolio has become more diversified with greater scale and geographic reach. Combining this enhanced portfolio with our proven business model, we're able to succeed in various commodity environments.

2026 is a good example of our ability to deliver outstanding results in a higher price volatile market. Looking further into the future, we believe volatility will persist. Agnostic of the direction of prices, we're confident that we'll deliver strong results in various scenarios.

Let me wrap up with some final thoughts. We've had material accretive growth over the last 5 years, and we expect this to continue. Earlier this year, we provided a multiyear guidance of at least $500 million a year of bolt-on acquisitions. We exceeded this amount in 2026 and we expect this to be a modest bar in 2027 and beyond. In addition, we'll continue to deploy attractive organic growth capital. Bottom line, when you combine our portfolio of stable income streams with acquisitions and investments that are delivering on expected economics, our cash flow will continue to grow. We're in a strong position to continue to increase distributions while executing on accretive growth and maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Operator, that concludes our prepared remarks. You may open the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Spiro Dounis with Citi.

分析師問答

Charles Douglas Bryant

This is Chad on for Spiro. Just starting off on guidance. You're now trending over the '26 guidance range. Could you just provide kind of your latest thoughts on how the fourth quarter is shaping up versus your record third quarter results? And maybe any outlook into '27?

Joseph Kim

Chad, this is Joe. I think the first takeaway is that 2026 is going to be another outstanding year for Sunoco. Obviously, the refinery has performed very well this year. But even if we had more cracks that were closer to the mid-cycle levels for this year, we would have still surpassed the guidance that we gave back in January. I think the key point is that all 4 business segments are performing very well, and we've delivered on our very high expectations on the Parkland acquisition as well as other smaller acquisitions. But I think the most important takeaway is that 2026 is not an outlier. But instead, we're going to continue to grow our business. We are very well positioned for 2027 to be another record year, even if refining cracks are closer to the mid-cycle levels.

Charles Douglas Bryant

Perfect. And just following up on fuel demand. I guess, kind of in this elevated crude price volatile environment, what are you seeing with respect to the impact on fuel demand and margins as a result kind of going forward?

Austin Harkness

Yes. Chad, this is Austin. Happy to walk you through kind of some of the themes that we're seeing across the portfolio. If you start domestically, demand in the U.S. has been remarkably resilient despite all the fuel price volatility that we've seen recently. So if you look at EIA data, the monthly data shows that diesel is roughly flat on a year-over-year basis, with gasoline demand being off low single digits year-over-year. And then all this is against the backdrop of healthy margins, despite the fact that we've had all this flat price volatility and haven't yet hit the part of the volatility curve where prices durably come off and margins widen. So we feel really good about kind of where the U.S. business is for the segment and kind of the outlook there.

If you move to Canada, -- just as a reminder and point of reference, flat price volatility has actually been amplified in Canada relative to what we've seen in the U.S. So as an example, diesel recently touched USD 7 a gallon equivalent there. And so some of the themes that we had touched on last quarter around demand starting to soften continue into Q3. So diesel and gasoline demand is off low to mid-single digits. But as a reminder, that's -- it's a very strong margin environment. We've seen strong margins and durable margins likely, in large part, owed to the flat price volatility that we're seeing there.

And then lastly, in the Caribbean, that continues to be its own kind of animal. We've got 20-plus markets that we operate in, each with their own demand and margin profiles. What I would just say there is, in general, the theme is, the Caribbean has been a growth engine for us. It will continue to be a growth engine for us, and we expect that to be both on healthy volume growth and margin expansion.

So all that said, if you followed our story, you all know that if demand softens from here, that paints a pretty bullish picture for what the margin environment looks like. And then also, as Joe mentioned in his opening remarks, we've built this portfolio in this segment to perform in a range of economic scenarios. And so we feel really well positioned to grow the segment from an EBITDA and fuel profit standpoint durably into the future.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Gabe Moreen with Mizuho.

Gabriel Moreen

$500 million, I guess, is a pretty easily -- easy bogey to clear at this point. But Offen, nonetheless, it was a pretty big transaction for you. Can you just talk about that asset as a fuel distributor versus others and what it may give you? And then also any chance of another acquisition announcement 2 days after earnings like you did with Offen?

Karl Fails

Well, thanks, Gabe. This is Karl. Clearly, we're excited about Offen. And in many ways, Offen is just a continuation of our roll-up strategy, but clearly, it's on a much larger scale. So one of the pillars of our overall fuel distribution strategy is that scale matters. And that is not just from an aggregate basis, but also on a more regional view.

So Offen gives us scale in areas of the U.S. that we haven't necessarily had scale before. So that really leads into the next benefit, which is supply optionality. So that larger scale in the Midwest, Mountain West region really integrates well into our footprint in Canada, in the South, Southwest and a little bit further east. So it provides a lot of options for us to supply and integrate those markets into our much broader network.

And then I think the last thing I'd mention is people. With Offen, we picked up a couple of really good leaders that are going to help us on our much larger portfolio, and we're excited to have them join the team.

Gabriel Moreen

Great. And then maybe if I can just ask in terms of going back to the guidance for the year and the bump, and I guess not giving kind of specific range for where you might wind up for 2026. But just within the larger context of thinking about giving guidance going forward, particularly with Burnaby and the volatility in the backdrop here. Just can you talk about how you're thinking about that in terms of laying out specific parameters for the market and what you want your -- you obviously want to show a ratable growth rate, I think, with the underlying business, and how you would kind of go about communicating that?

Joseph Kim

Yes. Gabe, this is Joe. As far as guidance, we'll follow the same kind of rhythm that we've done in the past. We'll provide guidance in early January of next year. But here's -- I'll kind of reiterate what I said earlier. I want to reemphasize that '26 is not an outlier for us. Yes, cracks are really great this year. At the same time, the point is that even if we assume a mid-cycle type level, we're going to see SUN grow in 2027, and you should expect SUN to grow in 2028.

And that's why we gave that guidance earlier this year that we think that we can do bolt-on acquisitions of at least $500 million. This year, we should end up roughly about $1.5 billion in bolt-on acquisition. And if you add in our organic growth capital, we're well over $2 billion. And I said it in the prepared remarks, I think $500 million a year of bolt-on acquisitions is a modest bar. As we kind of look at all the different geographies we're in, we look at the different sectors we're in and we see what's kind of coming to the market, what's not on the market, what those opportunities are, we feel really good about our growth. And that's all with the foundation that all of our businesses are performing very well.

Operator

Next question comes from the line of Theresa Chen with Barclays.

Theresa Chen

Given the recent M&A activity across refining and the strength in margins, how are you thinking about the strategic value and long-term fit of Burnaby within your portfolio? Is there a valuation at which you would consider monetizing the asset?

Joseph Kim

Theresa, it's Joe. Here's the way that we look at -- look at the Burnaby Refinery. So I've talked to a lot of you many times. We've -- our strategic intent was never to say that we're going to go buy a refinery and put into the portfolio. But the Parkland acquisition, as I said, we're already 25% DCF growth within a year. So that worked out tremendously for us.

The way that I think you should look at our business is that if you look at our other 3 sectors, Fuel Distribution, our Pipeline and our Terminals segment, they're stable and growing. And the way that I would look at the Burnaby Refinery is it's kind of an asymmetrical upside for us, where whenever cracks blow out, we're going to -- we're going to take that to the bottom line. But even if it goes back to a mid-cycle or slightly below mid-cycle level, we're going to continue to grow our overall business. So that's the way we're looking at it.

As far as opportunistically, are we trying to grow the refining sector? And the answer is no. That's one scenario that I would say that we would look at is if there was an identical type of match to Parkland that came with a fantastic business that also happens to have a refinery, yes, we'll take a look at that. But as far as on a stand-alone segment basis, we like the position we're in, where we have 3 segments that are stable and growing and we have the smaller segment that gives us asymmetrical upside in various environments.

Theresa Chen

And I want to go back to Austin's comment about demand elasticity, taking into account your comment about not hitting the part of the volatility curve that would impact demand and margins at this point. But it does feel that the market has been testing that threshold for some time. Where do you see that inflection point today?

Austin Harkness

Theresa, it's a good question. I think it's one that's on a lot of our minds. But frankly, it's not one that we spend a lot of time thinking about because our guess is likely going to be wrong. I think what we have seen is there's a couple of different themes that we can talk to. One is when there's flat price volatility, the degree and direction which is going to impact demand is really a question of how high does price go and for how long, right? And so to your point, I think we've seen extended periods of pretty significant volatility, but demand has been holding up. As to when it gets -- demand gets impacted, I think, is anyone's guess.

What I would say is we've built the portfolio -- just going back to my earlier comments and Joe's opening remarks, we've built the portfolio to perform in a range of economic conditions. And I think given our scale, the supply chain optionality, the logistics capabilities that Karl referenced earlier, we feel really well positioned regardless of what the macroeconomic future kind of holds, that we're going to be well positioned to grow the segment's EBITDA well into the future.

Operator

Next question comes from the line of Vrathan Reddy with JPMorgan.

Vrathan Reddy

I wanted to start on the Fuel Distribution segment and maybe if you guys could just speak to the strength in margins there, your outlook and the synergies you still have left to capture in that segment?

Austin Harkness

Yes, this is Austin. Just going back to kind of some of the earlier comments that have been shared, I think we feel really good about where margins are right now. I think for those that are maybe newer to the story, we don't really solve for margin or volume independently. It's more a story around fuel profit and optimizing for EBITDA growth on a year-over-year basis.

There's always going to be some quarter-to-quarter volatility, but as mentioned earlier and then I think implied relative to Theresa's question a moment ago, we feel really good about where margins are right now given where flat price volatility has been, and the fact that we haven't yet come -- prices haven't durably come off, which is where we tend to see the most margin expansion.

Vrathan Reddy

And then in Pipelines, is there anything that we should note this quarter, a little softer versus expectations beyond seasonality?

Karl Fails

Yes. I mean, I mentioned a couple of things in my prepared remarks. I don't know that there's a lot more color to add other than -- just like in most of our segments, we look at it on a rolling 12-month sort of basis. So there's always quarter-to-quarter fluctuations, whether it's certain contracts or certain pricing or certain kind of timing variations. But overall, we're really happy with our Pipeline business. And as Joe mentioned earlier, I think both of our midstream segments, Terminals and Pipelines, provide a lot of stability in our portfolio.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our final question comes from the line of Ned Baramov with Wells Fargo.

Ned Baramov

Could the planned pipeline, which is linking the Midwest, Mid-Con and Gulf Coast refinery supply to Arizona, Nevada and California, together with the recently completed refined products pipeline expansion into Denver and the Denver Airport, could this tighten product balances in the Mid-Con and potentially increase demand for northbound shipments from the Gulf Coast? And if yes, do -- is there a role for Sunoco to play in this rerouting of flows?

Karl Fails

Yes, Ned. I mean the short answer is yes. I mean, there are obviously a lot of hypotheticals in what you've laid out. I know they're -- there are other pipeline companies that have announced projects that could impact the product flows in the middle part of the U.S.

I'd say here's -- our view is if those projects are built and product flows change, we've experienced that a lot in our history, and we are well positioned, particularly in the Mid-Continent, we have our pipeline system that kind of flows north in the Mid-Continent. But I'd extend that to the broader kind of point that Joe made earlier, given our portfolio, I mean, we've intentionally put together the portfolio we have to be able to withstand and take advantage of lots of different product shifts or supply chain shifts, whether they're a tailwind like the hypothetical that you gave us could be or even if they are a headwind, we can find some other way in other parts of our business to continue to grow year after year.

Ned Baramov

Understood. And then a quick housekeeping item on operating expenses in the Fuel Distribution segment. It seems OpEx was well below our forecast. Can you maybe just talk about drivers behind the lower number and how sustainable this is going forward?

Scott Grischow

Ned, this is Scott. I'd offer a couple of comments there. I think, one, being a low-cost operator has always been a focus for us. And the decline you saw in Q3 is another example of that.

Second, the Parkland integration efforts continue, and that also contributed to the sequential decline. I think moving forward, there may be some ups and downs sequentially, but looking forward to 2027, we expect an overall decline relative to '26.

Operator

That concludes the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Scott Grischow for closing remarks.

Scott Grischow

Well, thank you for joining us on the call today, and we appreciate the continued interest in Sunoco. Please feel free to reach out if you have any follow-up questions. This concludes today's call.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.