Murphy USA Leans Into New Store Openings Following 'Disappointing' 2024
EL DORADO, Ark. — Murphy USA Inc. reported mixed results for its fourth quarter and full year 2024, with President and CEO Andrew Clyde noting that although the more than $1 billion of EBITDA for the year demonstrated sustainability of the business' earnings potential, 2024 "was a disappointing year" for several reasons.
Clyde pointed to rising prices and severe weather that hindered transactions across most of the Murphy USA network at the start of the year, as well as continued pressure on food inflation and value competition from quick-service restaurants pressuring its QuickChek markets, among other challenges.
Store openings also fell short despite year-over-year improvement. "Although we finished the year with more new stores than the prior year, we underdelivered against our internal schedule targets, which also impacted fuel gallons and merchandise sales due to fewer store months in operation," he said.
Murphy USA 2024 Earnings
Bright spots for Murphy USA included growing per-store merchandise sales by 3.5% and margin dollars by 5.9% for the full year, plus significant fourth-quarter momentum across center store categories, which saw non-nicotine margin growth of 7.2% compared to Q4 2023, reflecting the impact of key company initiatives, according to Clyde.
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"We plan to grow the base of sustainable earnings in the years to come as we accelerate our new store program, remain laser-focused on improving store performance across the network, and relentlessly challenge ourselves to innovate and better serve our customers," he said.
Store Plans
Murphy USA followed through on its real estate goals for the year, having completed 32 new-to-industry stores, meeting its goal of 30 to 35 new sites in 2024. Additionally, the company completed 47 raze-and-rebuild projects.
Since the end of the year, it has opened four additional stores and has 17 currently under construction, making for a "great head start" to its 2025 build program, according to Galagher Jeff, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
The company is targeting up to 50 new stores in 2025, with its pipeline setting Murphy USA up well for continued delivery in 2026 and beyond, he said.
Jeff noted that although the company's construction schedule allowed it to take a faster pace on raze-and-rebuild activity last year, it plans to take a more measured approach in 2025, with plans for no more than 30 raze-and-rebuild projects to ensure the retailer is appropriately supporting its new store development.
"Our primary focus remains adding more highly productive 2,800-square-foot stores to the network as part of our long-term goal of adding around 500 new stores over the next decade," Jeff said.
Murphy USA reported net income of $142.5 million for Q4 2024, down from $150 million during the same quarter a year ago. For the full year, net income was $502.5 million, compared to $556.8 million in 2023.
Total retail gallons decreased 1% and volumes on a same-store sales basis fell 2.8% during Q4 compared to the same quarter a year ago. For the full year, total retail gallons saw no change, but same-store sales volumes for the year decreased 1.1%.
El Dorado-based Murphy USA has more than 1,500 stores located primarily in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and Northeast United States. The company and its team of nearly 15,000 employees serve an estimated 2 million customers each day through its retail network in 27 states. The majority of Murphy USA's stores are located in close proximity to Walmart Supercenters. The company also markets gasoline and other products at standalone stores under the Murphy Express and QuickChek brands.
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