Toronto, June 23, 2026, 13:10 (EDT)
- Couche-Tard shares jumped over 11% in Toronto after the company beat profit expectations for the fourth quarter.
- U.S. fuel margins—the profit per gallon after paying for fuel—were the key factor.
- The move came as Canada’s wider equity market fell.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. shares surged Tuesday as the Circle K owner delivered a strong fourth quarter, with results boosted by wide fuel margins in a volatile oil market.
The stock rose 11.5% to C$91.69 at 1:10 p.m. EDT in Toronto. Over the last five days, the gain went past 10%. Shares earlier reached C$92.60, hitting a 52-week high, according to Google Finance.
Couche-Tard stood out in Toronto trading on Tuesday, as Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.3% with technology and mining stocks under pressure. The move mattered because it happened on a weaker day for the broader market.
The Laval, Quebec-based company posted net earnings of $863.4 million, equal to 94 cents a diluted share, for the quarter ended April 26. That’s up from $439.4 million, or 46 cents, last year. Adjusted earnings were 73 cents a share, beating the 54 cents analysts had expected, FactSet data cited by Dow Jones showed.
Alimentation Couche-Tard posted a revenue jump of nearly 20% to $19.49 billion. Road transportation fuel revenue was $14.8 billion, and merchandise and service revenue hit $4.51 billion. Same-store merchandise sales were up 2.2% overall.
Fuel drove the results. U.S. fuel gross margin climbed 9.17 cents to 52.44 cents a gallon, but same-store fuel volumes dropped 2.1% in the U.S. and 4.4% elsewhere in Europe and other markets. Canada was stronger, with same-store fuel volumes up 2.0%.
“When there is volatility, it is a strong opportunity for us,” CEO Alex Miller told analysts on Tuesday, pointing to the company’s supply and sourcing abilities during shifts in fuel prices. He said the company built “optionality” into its supply chain over more than ten years. MarketScreener
Gasoline margins got most of the credit for the earnings beat, analysts said. Stifel’s Martin Landry and Jesse Kestenbaum noted Couche-Tard’s U.S. gasoline margins hit a five-year high and stayed well above the 35-cent industry average. They called strong gasoline margins “a main contributor to the earnings beat.” MarketWatch
RBC analyst Irene Nattel called gas margins “strong and better than expected” and said the company was “motoring along,” The Canadian Press reported. Stifel highlighted performance it said beat 7-Eleven, focusing on store execution and fuel economics over deal flow. MarketScreener
One-time gains played a role. Couche-Tard reported its latest quarter benefited from a $260.9 million pre-tax net recovery related to long-standing legal disputes. Stripping out that impact and other items, adjusted net earnings still jumped 51.2% to roughly $667 million.
Some of the positives this quarter may not stick. Fuel volumes dropped in two big regions, and Canadian merchandise same-store sales were down 0.9%. Fuel margins also tend to tighten if oil prices steady or rivals lower prices at the pump. “I cannot predict fuel margins,” Miller said.
Investors saw the quarter as evidence Couche-Tard can still post earnings in a choppy fuel market. The question is if those margins stick when the swings die down.
