Alimentation Couche-Tard finds upside in ‘volatile’ gas market: CEO

Mark Carden, equity research analyst on food retail & distribution at UBS, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss Couche-Tard's earnings and performance.

One of Canada’s largest gas station operators managed to grow its profit and revenue even as the Middle East war choked the global flow of fuel.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit attributable to shareholders of $863.4 million, up from $439.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The Laval, Que.-based company’s revenue for the period ended April 26 totalled $19.49 billion, up from $16.27 billion a year earlier.

Some of the boost came from higher gas prices.

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“When there is volatility, it is a strong opportunity for us and you see us delivering in this very volatile time,” chief executive and president Alex Miller said on a Tuesday call with analysts.

The results cover a period when conflict was breaking out between Iran, Israel and the U.S., impeding oil tankers and other ships from travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key fuel passageway. 

The unrest sent gas prices surging. Customers made more trips to the pump but filled up less each time.

While fuel volumes — how much gas was purchased at the same set of stores — fell from last year in the U.S. and Europe, total overall gallons sold were up. 

In Canada, the customer was even “more resilient,” boosting fuel volumes two per cent. 

Miller said the company had weathered the crisis well because of the attention it recently paid to building out more gas terminals and diversifying where it gets fuel from. 

“This has been a journey for more than a decade as we’ve kind of pivoted and invested in our own brands and invested in our supply chain,” he said. “It’s really about building optionality, that gives us sourcing choices, when the market becomes volatile and/or constrained so you see us executing against that.”

Miller said no one really knows what will happen to gas supplies next. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remains in flux, even after the U.S. and Iran agreed last week to a 60-day ceasefire.

“I cannot predict fuel margins but what I can predict is that our ability to execute, our capabilities in this space, I think continue to grow,” he said. “We are well prepared to compete under any environment.”

Analysts appeared to agree. Stifel’s Martin Landry pointed out Couche-Tard’s performance was better than rival 7-Eleven’s and its U.S. gasoline margins hit their highest level in more than five years.

Meanwhile, RBC’s Irene Nattel labelled gas margins “strong and better than expected” and said in a note to clients she thought the brand was “motoring along.”

Their observations were a reaction to Couche-Tard’s profit hitting 94 cents per diluted share, up from 46 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 73 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 46 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press