Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Casey's General Stores, Inc.

Updated on October 16, 2026 · accounts published on September 8, 2026

A growing retailer with record margins and moderate debt

Casey's General Stores trades at a P/E of 32.6, 83 % above its sector median over the last 12 months, while margins hit a 12-year high.

• Is Casey's General Stores expensive or cheap? Its P/E over the last 12 months is 83 % above the sector median and higher than in 85 % of the past decade.
• How is the business doing? The fiscal 2026 operating margin of 5.9 % was the highest in 12 years, against a 4.5 % average since 2015.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt was $64.27 per share in fiscal 2026, just 9.5 % of the share price and 1.7× EBITDA.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $5.86 on December 8, 2026; the company has beaten estimates in each of the last 8 quarters.
• Would the balance sheet hold up in a recession? The operating margin averaged 4.7 % over fiscal 2022-2026, below the 8 % the sector treats as healthy.

Is Casey's General Stores expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Casey's General Stores trades at a P/E of 32.6, 31 % above its ten-year median of 25.0 and far above the sector median of 17.9 across 209 companies. The decade range runs from 12.9 to 60.8, so today sits in the upper part without being extreme. EV/EBITDA stands at 18.7× and P/B at 6.0×. EV/sales of 1.9× in fiscal 2026 is more than double its ten-year average of 0.9×, the clearest sign the market is paying for the improved margins. The stock is up 28 % over 12 months, yet still 26 % below its 52-week high of $916.28.

How is the business doing?

Over the last 12 months revenue grew 10 % and EPS 31 %, so profits are rising three times faster than sales. That gap comes from margins: the 5.9 % operating margin is the best of the last 12 fiscal years and well above the 4.5 % average for 2015-2026. ROIC of 10.7 % sits 1.6 points above the sector median of 9.2 %, but it cleared 10 % in only one of the last ten fiscal years, with a low of 7.6 % in 2019. The business is clearly improving; the open question is whether this is a new level or a peak.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt is moderate. Net debt of 1.7× EBITDA in fiscal 2026 is well below the 3× level considered healthy for consumer cyclicals, and debt to equity stands at 0.71 over the last 12 months. An Altman Z of 6.0 places the company in the safe zone, and a Piotroski score of 8 out of 9 points to solid financial quality. The weak spot is liquidity: a current ratio of 1.02 falls short of the 1.5 the sector treats as healthy. The dividend yields only 0.4 %, but it has risen for 11 consecutive fiscal years with a payout of just 12 % of earnings.

What to expect from the next earnings?

The last report, on September 8, 2026, delivered EPS of $7.37 against $6.78 expected, an 8.7 % surprise and the eighth beat in a row. For fiscal 2027 the consensus EPS has barely moved in 30 days, from $21.35 to $21.36 across 13 analysts, while the revenue estimate rose 0.6 %. Of 26 analysts, 18 rate the stock a buy, 8 a hold and none a sell. With a P/E of 32.6 and a long beat streak, expectations are already high, so the margin in the next report will say more than the beat itself.

Would the balance sheet hold up in a recession?

In consumer cyclicals, sales and profits fall with the economy, so what matters is the cushion: margin, return on capital and debt. Peter Lynch warned that cyclicals look cheap at the peak and expensive at the bottom, which is why a single year's P/E misleads. Casey's General Stores has a thin margin cushion, and its five-year average ROIC of 9.3 % trails the 12 % benchmark. It compensates with inventory that turned 23.8× in fiscal 2026, far above the 4× minimum, and moderate net debt. Its P/E of 32.6 sits within range of the five-year average of 27.8.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.