Murphy USA Income Falls 11% in Q3, Still Tops Wall Street Forecasts

The corporate headquarters of Murphy USA in El Dorado at 200 E. Peach St. (Maggie McLemore)

Murphy USA of El Dorado (NYSE: MUSA) reported third-quarter net income of $149.2 million on Wednesday.

The profit, $7.20 per share, beat Wall Street expectations for the fuel and convenience store chain. But the earnings were down 11% compared to the same quarter last year, when the retailer had $167.7 million in income.

CEO Andrew Clyde said core strengths paid off for the company, which beat the consensus estimate of Zacks Investment Research. The stock research company had predicted earnings of $6.64 per share, adjusted for non-recurring items.

Clyde hailed Murphy USA’s “innovation and business improvement initiatives” along with a growing network, for the strong performance.

“We continue to take share in key categories, we are well-positioned to compete and win with our value-conscious customer,” Clyde said in a company-issued statement.

Murphy USA reported $5.24 billion in revenue, down from $5.8 billion a year earlier, and fuel sales of $4.12 billion. That, too, was down from the third quarter of 2023’s $1.08 billion.

Clyde said the company’s fuel margins were 3 cents per gallon higher than they were at the same time last year, and that per-store volumes increased 1.1%.

“Within Murphy branded stores, total merchandise margin dollars were up 5.9% reflecting strength in both nicotine and non-nicotine categories…” 

He noted “continued headwinds” in the company’s QuickChek markets in the Northeast. Murphy USA spent $645 million for nearly 160 QuickChek locations in New Jersey and nearby in a deal that closed in January 2021.

Building New Stores

Murphy USA is accelerating its new store building this year and next, Clyde said. The initiative “is generating strong returns and remains the primary growth driver of the business over the next five to ten years,” he said.

The chain built four new Murphy USA/Express stores in the third quarter, the report said. The company also reopened 16 stores that it had razed and rebuilt. It had 50 new stores under construction as of Sept. 30. 

The company’s total store count at quarter’s end was 1,740, comprising 1,586 Murphy-branded stores and 154 QuickCheks.

Murphy USA’s stock has outperformed the market this year. Its stock and was trading at $472.68 per share on Wednesday, up 31.67% from $358.96 a year ago.