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Couche-Tard Says Inflation and Fuel Are Curbing the Basket

Canada same-store fuel volumes still rose 1.1%. Snacks and sweets softer. Q1 fuel sales US$16.7 billion.

TIC Staff · September 2, 2026 · 1 min read

A Couche-Tard convenience store and fuel pumps on Avenue Atwater in Montreal
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Alex Miller, Couche-Tard’s CEO: “Elevated living costs and fuel prices continue to weigh on discretionary spending in certain markets.” Same-store fuel volumes still rose 1.1% in Canada in the quarter ended July 19. They fell 1.6% in the United States and 4.3% in Europe and other regions. “What we are seeing today is a consumer who is increasingly intentional about where they spend.”

Road transportation fuel revenues were US$16.7 billion, up 33%. In Canada the average pump at company stores was 157.99 cents a litre, against 125.55 cents a year earlier. The Canadian fuel margin was 16.79 cents a litre, up 2.58 cents. Higher price, thinner fill, fatter margin.

Same-store merchandise was flat in Canada and up 1.7% in the U.S. Packaged soft drinks, salty snacks and sweets stayed softer than history, Miller said, “as consumers become more deliberate in what they put in their baskets.” Canadian merchandise and service revenues were US$600 million, down 2.6%.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders were US$828.5 million, or US$0.90 a share. Adjusted EPS was up 15.4%. The litre still prints. The basket is where the cost of living shows up.

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