Kelly Bania

Darren detailed each: cigarettes in a decades-long decline with nicotine margin double combustibles; snacks pressured by national-brand pricing, offset by private label; beer soft, offset by liquor and RTD cocktails.

Steve cited a strong Q4 exit plus structural drivers (CPGs tracking CPI, small-operator pressure) as supporting the mid-$0.40s modeling assumption.

Darren said no behavior change. Fuel up ~$0.30/gal from recent events but still $0.30 below Ukraine-war starting point. Currently low $3/gal, well below $5 threshold. Positive traffic to stores continues. Value proposition strengthens in higher-price environment.

Rollout over next 2 years by distribution center, requires fryer installation and training. Pricing maintains gap below national competitors like pizza strategy. Creating incremental occasion; wing-only customers visiting and increasing frequency. $7.99 for 8 pieces.

Darren said integration on track. Fuel and G&A synergies tracking ahead of plan. Kitchen remodels (biggest bucket) haven't started; permitting in progress. Steve said $45M still right number but prospects likely above that once remodels complete. Fikes CEO used to price all fuel personally.

Darren said low end reflects reasonable conservatism given macro uncertainty. Wings test at ~225 stores showing encouraging results with strong guest feedback, modifications ongoing, more to come later.

Steve said Fikes was EBITDA accretive in Q4 as expected. FY26 contribution will be less than $80M pro forma (some stores still ramping) but consistently double-digit millions accretive each quarter.

Fikes was EBITDA negative in Q3 due to $13M integration costs; will be modestly positive in Q4. The EBITDA raise to 11% is a mothership phenomenon, not Fikes-driven.

Steve confirmed legacy Casey's CPG was ~$0.38 before Fikes blend-down of ~$0.02. Same-store gallons of +1.8% excludes Fikes entirely.

Gary declined specific international metrics but said Asian warehouses have far more members each who visit less frequently, versus fewer, higher-spending U.S. members.

Gary said pharmacy will see only a small top-line impact from Medicare maximum fair pricing, the business grew faster than total sales aided by new AI in-stock tools and digital checkout enhancements, and declined to size retail media because the value will flow back to members and show up in top-line growth rather than margin.

Gary said the renewal drag is entirely attributable to the digital-sign-up cohort, early communication-targeting results are encouraging but one quarter in, and a couple more quarters of slight decline are still possible.

Gary emphasized word-of-mouth organic growth over geographic splits, saying international opens drive more new sign-ups while US fill-ins drive faster sales ramps by freeing up capacity in impacted warehouses.

Gary gave pineapples/bananas (held price) vs flowers (passed some through) as live examples of item-by-item tariff mitigation, and pointed to opportunities to lean into US-produced items.

Gary announced Japan and Korea fee increases following Australia, Mexico and the US, and outlined executive-membership maturity curve internationally.

Ron said partnerships increase member shop frequency and enable cost-effective small-item delivery. Gary confirmed growth at least in line with digital business; Ron corrected to slightly higher.

Furner said rollbacks span food, general merchandise, consumables and fashion, communicated via in-store signing and the homepage, but did not quantify ROI by category.

Rainey said large numbers make same growth rates more challenging but overall progress not slowing. Growth increasingly from marketplace sellers versus first-party brands. VIZIO advertising achieved triple-digit growth in quarter with a lot of runway as base is not as large. As percent of addressable market or GMV still long way to go versus best-in-class competitors. Furner said Seth Dallaire moved to enterprise role with marketplace VIZIO advertisements data services and Walmart Plus to build once scale globally. Share relatively low compared to addressable market with opportunity to accelerate growth in other markets.

Rainey said team feels good about relative price gaps and value with over 7,000 rollbacks. Quarter was quite consistent with no month outlier. Pockets of moderation in low income cohort with wage growth disparity at widest in almost a decade. Walmart better insulated than most given value proposition. If more consumer pressure people become more value seeking. Furner added more than one thing can be true at once with accelerated gains in higher income customers throughout quarter. Apparel grew over 5% every month. All income levels participating in delivery choices. Rainey said marketplace categories like automotive toys electronics apparel growing north of 40% showing broader assortment resonating.

Furner said merchants have capabilities to mix business and be competitive. Over 7,000 rollbacks with customers responding to value investments. Focused on inventory management with how you close a quarter determining how you enter the next. Tailwinds from markdowns and shrinkage due to inventory management. Improvement in days on hand in stores supply chain and fulfillment centers. Turns increasing with 4.6% comp putting company in good position. Will watch competitors closely to maintain price gaps. Delivery at scale and speed driving dollar share gains in key food categories. Pretty consistent quarter to quarter from merchandise margin standpoint.

McMillon said tariffs managed for many years with great team and wired to save people money. Cannot predict future but can manage well. Delivery speed important with assets close to customers as big advantage. Make fluid decisions about technology wages and prices. Rainey confirmed no explicit tariff assumption in guidance and feel good about ability to navigate. Newer businesses contributed over half of operating income growth. Densification of delivery network improving unit economics.

David itemized the 265 basis point headwind (IRA 140bps, brand-to-generic 60bps, eggs 30bps, cyclospora 35bps) and said Kroger widened its share gap to Circana's rest of market.

David said pharmacy impact similar to recent quarters. Slight unit deceleration in Q3 driven by discretionary categories and meat inflation, offset by deli and natural/organic strength. On $400M reinvestment: split between pricing, in-store experience, technology, and operating margin improvement, specifics in 2026 guidance.

Ron declined to break out delivery channels or specific strategies. Attributed growth to unified leadership under Yael Cosset. David noted strong metrics across households, order volume, and orders per household.

Todd attributed 2024 margin outperformance to shrink improvement from ORC strategies and AI-driven sell-through tools. Expects some shrink benefit to continue but will start cycling gains mid-year. Alt profit expected to see dollar growth above 2024.

Management confirmed the $100M is net of investment, back-half weighted to USFS, builds over time, and more than covers the paused buyback.

Kevin clarified price agility targets volume growth at maintained margins, not margin sacrifice. Not materially in FY2026 plan; being rolled out at pace of change management. Perks 2.0 and AI 360 CRM are the primary FY2026 growth drivers.

Kenny provided specific Q2 outlook and October color showing similar trends to September with stronger back half of October.

Kevin cited three proof points: increasing customer count month-over-month, total team selling acceleration, and colleague growth on performance grid.

CEO attributed shrink outperformance to self-checkout removal, 100% front-end staffing, inventory control/SKU reduction. Noted damages expected to accelerate in 2026 with Q1 already showing improvement. COO detailed media network growth drivers: improved search, in-store audio, off-site expansion (social, CTV, video), and closed-loop measurement for advertisers.

CEO noted non-consumable AUR was similar YoY with tariff price increases not yet a significant factor. Highlighted 25% of holiday assortment at $1 or less despite tariffs.

Vasos detailed the pilot with 75 stores using third-party fulfillment through DG app. Emphasized low cost to both customer and DG with potential to expand to match DoorDash's 16,000-store footprint. Highlighted media network upside from delivery data as a margin contributor beyond product margin.