Murphy USA Inc (MUSA) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Organic Growth and Strategic …

• Fuel Volumes: Total in APSM volumes up 2% and 1.1%, respectively.

• Retail Margins: Increased by over $0.03 compared to the prior year.

• All-in Fuel Margins: About $0.02 lower than the previous year.

• Nicotine Market Share: Eclipsed 20% share in Murphy markets.

• Packaged Beverage Sales and Margin Growth: 2.9% and 6.2%, respectively.

• Non-Nicotine Total Sales and Margin Growth: 2.7% and 4.8%, respectively.

• QuickChek Fuel Volumes: Up 2.9% in the Northeast.

• QuickChek Fuel Margin Dollars: Increased by 9.2%.

• Operating Expense: Average per store month OpEx up 4% in Q3.

• Store Openings: Four new stores opened in Q3, totaling 10 year-to-date.

• Raze-and-Rebuild Projects: 16 completed in Q3, 27 year-to-date.

• Capital Expenditure Guidance: Increased to $500 million to $525 million for 2024.

• Share Repurchase: 244,000 shares bought back in Q2, nearly 700,000 shares for $320 million year-to-date.

• SG&A Guidance: Reduced to $240 million to $250 million.

Release Date: October 31, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

• Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) delivered strong third-quarter results, benefiting from its everyday low price positioning and attracting value-focused consumers.

• The company is experiencing acceleration in organic growth with numerous construction projects underway, setting a strong foundation for new store openings and earnings growth in 2025.

• Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) has seen continued outperformance in core nondiscretionary categories, including fuel and nicotine, with increased fuel volumes and retail margins.

• The company is expanding its store network with up to 40 new stores and 47 raze-and-rebuilds scheduled for completion in 2024, demonstrating strong organic growth.

• Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) is implementing process improvements and leveraging analytics-driven pricing strategies to optimize its offerings and drive sales growth.

• QuickChek stores faced competition from QSR value pricing, which continued to pressure food and beverage traffic and margins.

• Operating expenses per store month increased by 4% in the third quarter, partly due to a higher mix of larger new stores and raze-and-rebuild stores.

• The company expects same-store costs to increase at about a 3% clip, translating into network-wide per store cost growth in the 5% to 6% range going forward.

• Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) experienced a modest 50 basis points increase in same-store fuel volumes, despite an easy year-over-year comparison.

• The company is facing persistent inflation and competitive price wars in the QuickChek food and beverage segment, impacting sales and margins.

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