Casey's views Texas as "big opportunity" to expand

Casey's — Iowa's iconic gas station company — is eyeing larger horizons as it continues to add new stores, particularly in the Midwest and the South.

Why it matters: The publicly traded company is a major employer in Iowa with full-time employees across smaller, rural towns as well as corporate positions at its Ankeny headquarters.

Driving the news: CEO Darren Rebelez shared Casey's quarterly earnings on Wednesday and outlined what future growth and bumps are ahead.

Our key takeaways:

👆 Big growth: Expect Casey's to continue expanding its footprint after growing by 154 stores this last fiscal year.

• Over the next year, the company plans to acquire or build 100 more stores with the ultimate goal of 350 stores by FY 26.

⚡️ Electric vehicles: Casey's has chosen a conservative approach to EV chargers, installing them in only 40 of its 2,500 stores.

• Rebelez says the company has cautioned against investing too much in chargers before demand increases, to avoid having to replace them in the future with new technology.
• EVs only make up about 1% of total vehicles in the company's market area.
• "I think it's going to be a much slower evolution than perhaps what was being forecast a couple years ago," he told investors.

💵 Consumer spending: While casual and chain restaurants are buckling under inflationary pressures , Rebelez says Casey's has an advantage over franchises because the company's model is diversified.

• That's helped Casey's avoid "aggressive" price increases and has kept both low- and upper-income customers purchasing in stores.
• The company has also seen seen lower-income customers become more discerning with their money, opting for better value items like fountain pop over bottled drinks.

🤠 What we're watching: "Texas is a big opportunity," Rebelez told CNBC , noting that the company recently acquired 22 stores in the Lone Star State.