Stifel 09:42 AM EST, 11/23/2022 (MT Newswires) -- Stifel GMP on Wednesday reiterated its buy rating on the shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO) after the global convenience-store operator reported fiscal second-quarter results that came in near expectations.
"Couche-Tard reported strong Q2FY23 results, albeit slightly lower than expected. Q2FY23 adjusted EPS came-in at $0.82, up a strong 26.2% Y/Y, but slightly lower than both our expectations of $0.88 and consensus of $0.84," analyst Martin Landry wrote. "The $0.06 difference vs our forecasts comes mostly from higher SG&A than expected, explaining $0.04/share. Fuel margins in the U.S. came in at $0.49/gallon higher than our expectation of $0.45/gallon and industry as suggested per OPIS of $0.48/gallon. Merchandise same-store-sales increased by 5.6% in the US, the largest increase of the last six quarters. Same-store road transportation fuel volumes decreased by 1.9% Y/Y in the U.S and by more than 6% in Canada and Europe as volumes were impacted by high prices at the pump. Despite the slight earnings miss, we expect ATD's shares to be flat to up tomorrow as we view these results positively given they represent record earnings for a Q2.