Murphy USA, the El Dorado-based fuel and convenience store chain (NYSE: MUSA), reported slightly higher second-quarter profits of $145.65 million on slightly lower revenue of $5 billion after the market’s close on Wednesday.
Net income topped second-quarter 2024 earnings of $144.8 million, and this year’s numbers translate into $7.36 per share of stock, up from $6.92 a year ago.
Fuel sales, a major metric for the company, amounted to 32 cents per gallon, up a bit from 31.7 cents in 2024.
The income surpassed expectations of Wall Street analysts by 76 cents per share, but revenue fell short of predictions by about $170 million.
Clyde Sees ‘Resiliency’
Murphy USA President and CEO Andrew Clyde said in a statement that the results highlighted the “resiliency” of the company’s business model, which delivered strong results “despite relatively low fuel price volatility and slightly weaker customer traffic.”
“Supply margins improved modestly in the second quarter, driving all-in fuel margins of 32 cents per gallon, up 30 basis points versus the prior-year quarter,” he said. “We remain focused on store profitability, as evidenced by favorable sequential and [year-over-year] comparisons in store operating expenses and general and administrative costs.”
He said Murphy USA’s store growth program was gaining momentum, “poised to deliver 50 new stores over the next 12 month period, which will help drive EBITDA growth into 2026 and beyond.”
The reported revenue of $5.01 billion fell 8.55% short of the consensus of Zacks analysts, who foresaw revenue of $5.47 billion.
Merchandise sales grew slightly from $216.5 million to $218.7 million. Tobacco sales were up 1.4%.
A lag in fuel product sales was offset by a surge in other operating revenues. Those were $61.2 million, far above Wall Street expectations of $45.95 million.
New Stores
The company had 1,766 total stores in operation as of June 30, including 1,612 Murphy USA and Murphy Express locations and 154 QuickChek locations in the New York City region.
Five new Murphy USA stores opened in the quarter, along with a single QuickChek. The company also closed one QuickChek store. The company had 39 stores under construction at the end of June.
MUSA shares were trading at $408.03 per share when the markets closed Wednesday. The stock price has been as high as $561.08 and as low as $385.44 at various times over the past year.
Stockholders reaped a 50-cent-per-share quarterly cash dividend on June 2.
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