Global Partners (GLP) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

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DATE

Friday, May 8, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President and Chief Executive Officer — Eric S. Slifka
• Chief Financial Officer — Gregory B. Hanson
• Chief Operating Officer — Mark Romaine

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TAKEAWAYS

• Income -- $70.1 million, a significant increase from $18.7 million.
• EBITDA -- $142.1 million, up from $91.9 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- $140.4 million compared with $91.3 million.
• Distributable Cash Flow -- $96.4 million, doubling from $45.7 million.
• Adjusted Distributable Cash Flow -- $96.8 million, increasing from $46.5 million.
• Distribution Coverage Ratio -- 1.96x, or 1.9x after preferred distributions.
• Quarterly Cash Distribution -- $76.50 per unit, annualizing to $3.06, reflecting the eighteenth consecutive quarterly increase.
• GDSO Segment Product Margin -- $199.3 million, up $11.4 million.
• Gasoline Distribution Product Margin -- $136.7 million, increasing $10.9 million, primarily due to higher fuel margins.
• Fuel Margin Per Gallon -- 41¢ per gallon, up from 35¢ per gallon (a 6¢ rise).
• Wholesale Segment Product Margin -- $154.1 million, up $60.5 million.
• Gasoline & Blendstocks Product Margin (Wholesale) -- $101.2 million, up $44.1 million.
• Distillates & Other Oils Product Margin (Wholesale) -- $52.9 million, up $16.4 million.
• Commercial Segment Product Margin -- $11.7 million, $4.6 million higher year over year.
• Operating Expenses -- $129.2 million, an increase of $2.5 million, attributed to GDSO and terminal operations.
• SG&A Expense -- $99.3 million, up $25.6 million, mainly from higher incentive compensation; management expects normalization in subsequent quarters.
• Interest Expense -- $35.5 million, down from $36.0 million.
• Capital Expenditures -- $31.9 million, split between $10.0 million for maintenance and $21.9 million for expansion, focused on gasoline stations.
• Full-Year Maintenance CapEx Guidance -- $60 million to $70 million; Expansion CapEx Guidance -- $75 million to $85 million (excluding acquisitions), contingent on project execution and external factors.
• Leverage Ratio -- 3.1x funded debt to EBITDA with substantial unused credit facility capacity at period-end.
• Borrowings -- $408.3 million outstanding on the working capital revolver and $103.5 million on the revolving credit facility.
• GDSO Network Size -- 1,513 fueling and convenience sites, not counting 68 Spring Partners JV locations.
• Management Strategy -- Continues to emphasize disciplined execution, opportunistic inventory management, and participation in competitive acquisition processes.
• Inventory Management -- COO Mark Romaine stated, "we have drawn down inventories in this environment and will continue to manage them tightly."
• Fuel Demand Trends -- CEO Eric S. Slifka said, "You know, obviously, one thing we track is average fill-ups and average gallons per fill-up, and we have seen some decline in that through March and April. But overall, the consumer continues to be pretty healthy."
• Market Volatility Response -- CEO Eric S. Slifka noted, "The amount of price changes that we are making—somebody quoted me internally here—we have made the same amount of price changes already that we typically make in a year."

SUMMARY

Management disclosed a pronounced rise in all profitability metrics, with distributable cash flow, net income, and segment margins doubling or materially higher following a period of commodity price volatility and changes in market structure. Inventory strategies are being directly shaped by steep backwardation in the product pricing curve, leading to reductions in inventory levels and tighter management to limit carrying costs. Segment details confirmed outsized gains in both wholesale and GDSO product margins, attributed to both market conditions and internal discipline, but indicated that recent market dynamics and persistent backwardation could weigh on future quarters’ performance. Management cited competitive acquisition dynamics, steady cost discipline, and a focus on long-term value creation as key themes. Leverage remains moderate, with substantial unused credit lines and no reported short-term liquidity constraints.

• Management anticipates normalization in SG&A expenses following an abnormally high first quarter driven by performance-based compensation.
• Full-year capital expenditure guidance may shift based on project timing or further market disruptions, as indicated by current management commentary.
• COO Mark Romaine said, "are at a pretty low level heading into a key driving season," highlighting ongoing supply risk and possible impacts from global events.
• CEO Eric S. Slifka stated, "I do think, obviously, that higher gasoline prices will impact the share of wallet going forward. So it is something we continue to lean in on—promotions and loyalty in our C-store—to drive customers into our stores. But, depending on how long this prolonged period goes on, it could have a further impact on potential demand at the pump."
• Segment performance benefited from favorable pricing volatility, but management warned that continued backwardation increases the cost burden on future hedged inventory.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• GDSO: Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations — the segment covering gasoline sales, convenience store operations, and related services.
• PADD 1 / PADD 3: Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts; PADD 1 covers the U.S. East Coast, while PADD 3 covers the Gulf Coast region.
• Backwardation: A market condition in which near-term commodity prices are higher than future prices, raising the cost of holding inventory.
• Contango: The opposite of backwardation; a commodity market term where future prices are higher than spot prices, incentivizing inventory builds.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Eric S. Slifka: Reflect the conditions in front of us. That flexibility remains a core strength of Global Partners LP. Whether markets are volatile or more stable, our focus is the same: disciplined execution, prudent capital allocation, and maintaining a strong balance sheet to support long-term value creation for our unitholders. Turning briefly to our distribution, last month our board approved a quarterly cash distribution of $76.50 per common unit, or $3.06 on an annualized basis. This marks our eighteenth consecutive quarterly increase, supported by healthy coverage and the cash-generating capacity of our business. The distribution will be paid on May 15, 2026 to unitholders of record as of May 11, 2026. I will now turn the call over to Gregory B.

Hanson for the financial review.

Gregory B. Hanson: Thank you, Eric, and good morning, everyone. As we review the numbers, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons will be with 2025. Income in 2026 was $70.1 million versus $18.7 million. EBITDA was $142.1 million in the first quarter versus $91.9 million in 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was $140.4 million in 2026 compared with $91.3 million. Distributable cash flow was $96.4 million in 2026 compared with $45.7 million, and adjusted DCF was $96.8 million versus $46.5 million. We maintained healthy distribution coverage at quarter-end of 1.96x, or 1.9x after including distributions to our preferred unitholders. Moving to our segment details, GDSO segment product margin increased $11.4 million in the quarter to $199.3 million.

Product margin from gasoline distribution increased $10.9 million to $136.7 million, primarily reflecting higher fuel margins year-over-year. On a cents-per-gallon basis, fuel margin increased by 6¢ to 41¢ in Q1 2026 from 35¢ in Q1 2025. Sundries and rental income increased $0.5 million to $62.6 million in 2026. Station operations product margin includes convenience store and prepared food sales. At quarter-end, our GDSO portfolio of fueling stations and C-stores consisted of 1,513 sites, exclusive of the 68 sites under our Spring Partners retail joint venture. Turning to our wholesale segment, first-quarter product margin increased $60.5 million to $154.1 million.

Product margin from gasoline and gasoline blendstocks increased $44.1 million to $101.2 million, and product margin from distillates and other oils increased $16.4 million to $52.9 million. Increases in our wholesale segment product margin are primarily due to more favorable market conditions in gasoline and residual oil. We are pleased with the performance of the wholesale segment, which delivered strong results amid heightened commodity price volatility during the quarter. We do expect the current steep backwardation in the forward product pricing curve to increase the cost of carrying our hedged inventory in future periods, and we remain focused on disciplined inventory management.

In our commercial segment, product margin increased $4.6 million to $11.7 million, primarily due to more favorable market conditions. Operating expenses increased $2.5 million in the first quarter to $129.2 million, reflecting expenses associated with our GDSO and terminal operations. SG&A increased $25.6 million to $99.3 million, primarily reflecting higher performance-based incentive compensation expense. We expect SG&A expenses to normalize in the remaining 2026. Interest expense was $35.5 million compared with $36.0 million in the same period of 2025. CapEx in the first quarter was $31.9 million, consisting of maintenance CapEx of $10.0 million and expansion CapEx of $21.9 million, primarily related to investments in our gasoline station business.

For full-year 2026, we expect maintenance CapEx in the range of $60 million to $70 million and expansion CapEx, excluding acquisitions, in the range of $75 million to $85 million. Our current CapEx estimates depend in part on the timing of project completions, the availability of equipment and labor, weather, and any unforeseen events or opportunities that require additional maintenance or investment. Our balance sheet remains strong at March 31, 2026, with leverage, as defined in our credit agreement as funded debt to EBITDA, at 3.1x and ample excess capacity in our credit facilities. As of March 31, 2026, we had $408.3 million of borrowings outstanding on our working capital revolver and $103.5 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility.

On our IR calendar this month, we will be participating in the Twenty-Third Annual Energy and Infrastructure CEO and Investor Conference. For those of you participating, we look forward to seeing you. I will now turn the call back to Eric for his closing comments.

Eric S. Slifka: Thank you, Greg. We delivered an exceptional quarter, and the entire Global Partners LP team executed at a high level across all segments. We also recognize that a portion of these results reflect market conditions shaped by the ongoing conflict, which continues to drive volatility across global energy markets. We are managing the remainder of the year with the same discipline that drove this quarter while planning for a range of scenarios as the conflict evolves. We will now open the call for questions. Operator, please open the line for Q&A.

Operator: Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. Participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Selman Akyol with Stifel. Please proceed with your question.

Selman Akyol: Thank you. First of all, congratulations on very nice results. That was very impressive. Let me ask you this: are you seeing any changes in customer patterns? Any signs of demand destruction at all given the higher fuel prices yet?

Eric S. Slifka: I mean nothing noticeable in the quarter in March. You know, obviously, one thing we track is average fill-ups and average gallons per fill-up, and we have seen some decline in that through March and April. But overall, the consumer continues to be pretty healthy. I do think, obviously, that higher gasoline prices will impact the share of wallet going forward. So it is something we continue to lean in on—promotions and loyalty in our C-store—to drive customers into our stores. But, depending on how long this prolonged period goes on, it could have a further impact on potential demand at the pump.

Selman Akyol: Got it. And then, nice uptick year-over-year in your fuel gallon CPG. How is that going given the volatility? I am really thinking, in March you had one month of the volatility, but you have seen certainly more of that as we have gone into the second quarter. I am just wondering how CPG is holding up.

Eric S. Slifka: Yeah, Selman, it is Eric. Margins continue to show the same historic resiliency that they have, and if there is a decline in volume, historically margins have expanded. So I think that is going to hold true, and I think that is what we are seeing now. Generally, too, there is a lot of price volatility in the market, and some days product prices are moving 15, 20, 30¢. To me, that volatility represents an opportunity. The amount of price changes that we are making—somebody quoted me internally here—we have made the same amount of price changes already that we typically make in a year.

Selman Akyol: Wow. That is in the tens of thousands. That is quite a stat. Thank you for sharing that. So, in this environment, how do you think about acquisitions? Are they easier, or would you rather pause and see how things shake out? Is there anything that is changing there? Are you seeing sellers’ expectations come in at all?

Eric S. Slifka: We continue to look at everything that is out there. I would say the landscape is as competitive as it has ever been, but we are trying to be involved in every process that is out there, and it will be interesting to see what gets done or what gets sold. It is interesting—it is based more on cash flow, but multiples are still strong. It is competitive.

Selman Akyol: Gotcha. You referenced the higher carrying cost for inventories in wholesale, but in general, are there any thoughts of carrying lower inventories given the carrying costs, or is that just the cost of doing business, and since you are not having a problem getting any product you will keep inventories robust?

Mark Romaine: Yeah, hey, Selman, good morning. That is actually something that we have done historically. It is part of our playbook, and it highlights the value of the storage capacity that we have, as we can tailor our inventory levels based on market conditions. As you might expect, when markets get extremely backwardated, we are able to reduce inventories down significantly during that run-up, capture additional margin, and then mitigate some of the risk associated with holding inventory. So we are at a point now where we have drawn down inventories in this environment and will continue to manage them tightly. On the flip side, if a market is in contango, obviously we are building inventory.

That is a key risk mitigation lever that we are able to pull and really tailor to the market conditions of the current environment.

Selman Akyol: Got it. Thank you for that. Let me just ask you one macro question. We are getting ready to go into the driving season—summer peak demand. The U.S. has been selling down, and our exports are pretty robust. Do you think there is supply tightness out there as we get into the summer? Any thoughts on what that is going to look like this summer with everything going on?

Mark Romaine: Yeah, it is Mark again, Selman. I think, if you look at inventories—and we just had this conversation yesterday—they are pretty low. We have a lot of exports leaving the Gulf, maybe some leaving New York. Imports for gasoline into the PADD 1 have been very light. The U.S. has been drawing inventories pretty aggressively over the last, call it, six to eight weeks. So we are at a pretty low level heading into a key driving season.

Some of it will depend on how long the current situation goes on, but even if the conflict is resolved tomorrow, there has been a lot of damage done worldwide to production, and inventories are at a pretty low level across the board. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. I do not think an end to the war is going to solve the problem immediately. The system is going to take time to normalize—worldwide—but we are specifically focused on PADD 1 and to a lesser degree PADD 3. I think you are going to have some lasting impact, and we will see how it plays out.

There is some underlying fundamental strength in the market that I think we are going to see play out through at least the end of the year.

Eric S. Slifka: Selman, it is Eric. I want to add one other thing. It will be interesting to see how countries position themselves vis-à-vis inventory and storage for moments like this, and whether countries look at storing crude or products in caverns or throughout the country to make sure that they have product on hand, and how that plays out into price. Even if everything came back, it is not going to be the same as it was before; it will be different. If countries decide they want to build secure inventory that they can use in a market like this, that is going to put pressure on supply because it will show up as increased demand.

Selman Akyol: We have already seen comments coming out of Australia for that. Alright. Well, guys, again, very nice quarter, and I will leave it there. Thank you for your time.

Operator: Thank you. I will now turn the call back to Eric S. Slifka for closing comments.

Eric S. Slifka: Thank you for joining us this morning. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. Thanks, everyone.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

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