Star Group L.P. - Unit Stock price
Is Star Group L.P. - Unit a Top Scorer Stock based on the Dividend, High-Growth-Investing or Leverman Strategy?
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Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = $423.26m | Revenue (TTM) = $1.91b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = $568.83m | Revenue (TTM) = $1.91b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF compares a company’s enterprise value with its free cash flow. The metric therefore shows the multiple of current free cash flow at which a company is valued. EV/FCF ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted version.
🧮 How is it calculated?
EV/FCF ex SBC = Enterprise Value ÷ (Free Cash Flow (TTM) − SBC)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV/FCF provides a valuation based on free cash flow and therefore complements earnings-based valuation metrics such as the P/E ratio. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and provides a more conservative view from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF means that enterprise value is low relative to current free cash flow. The reasons should always be considered in the context of the company and its industry.
- A high EV/FCF means that enterprise value is high relative to current free cash flow. This can, for example, reflect high growth expectations or temporarily weak cash generation.
- When SBC is positive and adjusted free cash flow remains positive, EV/FCF ex SBC is generally higher than the standard EV/FCF.
- The metric is particularly useful for companies with relatively stable and predictable cash flows.
- If free cash flow is negative or very low, EV/FCF has limited usefulness and should not be interpreted like a standard valuation multiple.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Dividend per Share (DPS)
📈 What is it?
Dividend per Share shows how much cash a company pays out to shareholders for each share they own – usually on an annual or quarterly basis.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
DPS is the absolute value of the payout per share – crucial for income-focused investors and dividend strategies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable or growing DPS often signals a strong, shareholder-friendly business.
- DPS alone doesn’t tell you how attractive the payout is – the stock price also matters (→ see Dividend Yield).
- Long-term dividend growth is often a hallmark of high-quality companies – like the dividend aristocrats.
📘 Dividend Yield
📈 What is it?
Dividend yield shows how large a company’s dividend is in relation to its current share price.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It allows investors to compare dividend payouts across stocks, regardless of price or payout size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable yield can reflect reliable distributions.
- Comparing 1Y and 5Y yield shows whether dividend growth keeps pace with stock price appreciation.
- A low yield isn’t always negative – it can signal strong past performance or growth focus.
📘 Dividend Growth
📈 What is it?
Dividend growth shows how much a company has increased its dividend per share over time.
🧮 How is it calculated?
5Y: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
🏛️ Why is it important?
Consistently rising dividends are often a sign of financial strength and shareholder orientation – especially relevant for long-term investors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stable dividend growth is a sign of sustainable earning power.
- High dividend growth can significantly boost your total return:
- If a company pays $1 in dividends and increases it by 15% annually over 5 years, you’ll receive $2 per share in year 5 – twice as much as at the start!
📘 Payout Ratio
📈 What is it?
The payout ratio shows what percentage of a company’s earnings (per share) is distributed to shareholders as dividends.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess whether the dividend is sustainable – especially in relation to the company’s profitability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low payout ratio means the company retains more earnings for reinvestment – typical for growth companies.
- A moderate payout (e.g. 25–50%) indicates a healthy balance between returns and reinvestment.
- High payout ratios may seem attractive but can carry risk if earnings decline.
📘 Consecutive Dividend Increases
📈 What is it?
This metric shows how many consecutive years a company has raised its dividend per share – without any cuts or pauses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(Special dividends are not considered.)
🏛️ Why is it important?
A long track record of increases reflects financial strength, consistency, and shareholder commitment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A long dividend increase streak builds confidence – especially in volatile markets.
- Such companies are seen as reliable and income-friendly investments.
- The longer the streak, the stronger the company’s dividend discipline.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow shows how much cash remains after a company has covered its operating and capital expenditures. FCF ex SBC additionally deducts stock-based compensation (SBC) to adjust the cash flow for the effect of non-cash SBC.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow ex SBC = Operating Cash Flow − SBC − Capital Expenditures (CAPEX)
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s actual financial strength – independent of reported accounting earnings. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction. FCF ex SBC also deducts stock-based compensation and shows how much cash generation remains after SBC.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow indicates that a company has strong financial strength – independent of reported earnings.
- It is often a solid basis for sustainable dividends and share buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be a warning sign, even if reported earnings remain stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net Margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free Cash Flow Margin | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how much free cash flow a company generates relative to its revenue. In simplified terms, free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted metric.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC = (Free Cash Flow − SBC) ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how efficiently a company converts its revenue into free cash flow. Strong free cash flow can provide financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or further investments. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and therefore provides a more conservative view of cash generation from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high Free Cash Flow Margin shows that a company converts a high proportion of its revenue into free cash flow.
- This can provide greater financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or investments.
- The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for potential shareholder dilution from stock-based compensation.
- The long-term trend is particularly important. Declining margins can, for example, result from higher investments, changes in working capital, or weaker operating performance.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Revenue per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
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Star Group L.P. - Unit Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
5 Analysts have issued a Star Group L.P. - Unit forecast:
Analyst Opinions
5 Analysts have issued a Star Group L.P. - Unit forecast:
Star Group L.P. - Unit Events
Past Events
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AUG
6
Q3 2026 Earnings Call
2 months ago
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MAY
7
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
5 months ago
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FEB
5
Q1 2026 Earnings Call
8 months ago
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DEC
9
Q4 2025 Earnings Call
10 months ago
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Star Group L.P. - Unit — Q3 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good day and welcome to the Star Group Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Witty, Investor Relations Advisor. Please go ahead.
Thank you and good morning. With me on the call today are Jeff Woosnam, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Rich Ambury, Chief Financial Officer.
I would now like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This conference call may include forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties. It may cause the company's actual performance to be materially different than the performance indicated or implied by such statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call are forward-looking statements.
Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations are disclosed in this conference call, the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and the company's other filings with the SEC.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date of this conference call.
I now need to turn the call over to Jeff Woosnam. Jeff?
Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our third quarter and fiscal year-to-date results. The results this quarter in non-heating period largely reflected seasonal factors in net customer attrition, which was in line with prior year periods. While temperatures were moderately colder than last year, the volume of home heating oil and propane sold was actually lower given the more muted impact of additional degree days in the shoulder months of April and May.
Operating costs were elevated in the period primarily due to higher insurance expense, which related to some adverse developments regarding certain claims. We continue to be encouraged by the ongoing improvement of our service and installation business, which delivered gross profit of $15.6 million in the quarter, or $1.4 million higher than the prior year period.
Our strategy of selling more value-added products and services to our existing clients while expanding our HVAC offering in select markets beyond our traditional customer base is beginning to take shape. It's exciting to see our employees, particularly our frontline service technicians and sales teams, truly embrace and become energized by these efforts.
While we did not complete any acquisitions within the quarter, we recently closed on a small heating oil dealer after the end of the period. We are actively assessing several attractive businesses and remain very well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities as they are presented. As we've done in years past, we're utilizing the summer to strengthen our operations, streamline where appropriate, and prepare for the coming winter months.
At the same time, we continue to invest in our service and installation business, where we see further room for revenue growth. And we believe Star remains in great shape and on track for strong financial performance in fiscal 2026.
With that, I'll turn the call to Rich to provide additional comments on the quarter's results. Rich?
Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. For the third quarter, our home heating oil and propane volume decreased by 3.4 million gallons, or 9.4%, to 33 million gallons, as the additional volume provided from acquisitions was more than offset by net customer attrition and other factors. In terms of weather conditions, degree days for the fiscal 2026 third quarter were 16% colder than last year but 6% warmer than normal. But please keep in mind that the temperatures during this non-heating season period are not as impactful as during the winter season.
Our product gross profit was virtually unchanged at $72 million as an increase in home heating oil and propane per gallon margins and a higher gross profit from other petroleum products was offset by the lower home heating oil and propane volume sold. As Jeff stated, we realized the combined gross profit from service and installation of $15.6 million, or $1.4 million higher than the prior year's comparable period, as we continue to focus on improving revenue and controlling costs. Delivery, branch, and G&A expenses increased by $8.7 million year-over-year, primarily due to $6.2 million of higher insurance claims reflecting an adverse development.
We posted a net loss of $28 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, or $11.4 million more than the prior year period, reflecting a $7 million increase year-over-year in our adjusted EBITDA loss and an unfavorable non-cash change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $8.6 million, partially offset by a $3.4 million greater income tax benefit and lower depreciation and amortization expense of $900,000. The adjusted EBITDA loss increased by $7 million to $17.7 million as higher per gallon home heating oil and propane margins and improvement in service and installation profitability and the additional gross profit from other petroleum products was more than offset by higher operating expenses, including the insurance costs I just mentioned and lower home heating oil and propane volume sold.
Now turning to the results for the nine months of fiscal 2026, our home heating oil and propane volume increased by 8.6 million gallons, or 3.3%, to 271 million gallons, reflecting colder temperatures and the additional volume provided from acquisitions more than offsetting net customer attrition and other factors. Temperatures in Star's geographic areas of operations fiscal year-to-date were 11.5% colder than the prior year period and 3% colder than normal.
Our product gross profit increased by $48 million, or 10%, to $529 million, due to an increase in the volume of home heating oil and propane sold, higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins, and an increase in gross profit from other petroleum products. As previously mentioned on other calls, colder weather conditions and numerous snowstorms during the first half of fiscal 2026 increased the demand for service, which led to higher service-related expenses. While installation gross profit increased by $2.5 million, service gross loss increased by $5.7 million due to the increase in demand for service and an increase in propane tank sets.
Delivery, branch, and G&A expenses rose by $25 million year-over-year, of which $1.9 million was attributable to our weather hedging program. As I've previously mentioned, in fiscal 2026, we recorded an expense of $5 million under our weather hedge compared to an expense of $3.1 million recorded in fiscal 2025, reflecting weather conditions in both periods. Recent acquisitions accounted for an increase of $3.2 million to delivery, branch, and G&A expenses, while associated costs in the base business rose by $20 million, reflecting an increase in volume and the impact of severe weather conditions on operating expenses, including insurance claims.
We posted net income of $116 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2026, or $14 million higher than the prior year period as an increase in adjusted EBITDA of $20 million, $1.5 million, was somewhat offset by higher income tax expense of $7.6 million and other factors. Adjusted EBITDA rose by $20 million to $189 million due to an increase in home heating oil and propane volume sold in the base business, an increase from acquisitions, and higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins, which were more than offset by higher operating expenses.
And with that, I'd like to turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thanks, Rich. At this time, we'd be pleased to address any questions you may have. Michael, please open the phone lines for questions.
[Operator Instructions] And your first question today comes from Michael Prouting with 10K Capital. Please go ahead.
2. Question Answer
Jeff, by the way, congratulations on the well-deserved salary increase. Just a couple questions. One thing I'm curious about is assuming things continue as they are with vis-a-vis Iran, I'm just wondering what risks you might see in terms of product availability or competitive dynamics or customer behavior in terms of the upcoming heating season.
We don't see at this time any issues with product availability. I mean, we're in the process now of securing from our wholesalers contracts for next year. So we're well on our way for securing contracts for next year. And naturally, oil prices are up, so that will impact customer behavior somewhat. The question is when these customers will commit to either a ceiling or a fixed price. And some of our customers are on those products, and they might just want to wait for the market to come off. But come October, folks are going to need to sign up on a price-protected plan or remain on variable.
Okay. And I guess just a quick question on the acquisition pipeline. I can't help asking any potential for transformational acquisitions or any other way that you could characterize the acquisition pipeline process? And that's all the questions I have for this morning. Thanks.
Yes, obviously, Michael, we've completed two transactions so far this year, smaller deals. We are certainly continuing to work together and look at and assess several attractive businesses. I wouldn't categorize any of those as transformational, but we certainly have a full pipeline and the team is busy. And we haven't changed our approach at all. And sometimes these things kind of come in bunches and we'll just see how all that works out.
[Operator Instructions] Seeing no further questions in the queue, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Woosnam for any closing remarks.
Well, thank you for taking the time to join us today and your ongoing interest in Star Group. We look forward to sharing our 2026 fiscal fourth quarter results in December. Thanks, everyone.
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
Star Group L.P. - Unit — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good day, and welcome to the Star Group Fiscal 2026 Second Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Witty, the Investor Relations Adviser. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning. With me on the call today are Jeff Woosnam, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rich Ambury, Chief Financial Officer. I would now like to provide a brief safe harbor statement.
This conference call may include forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties and may cause the company's actual performance to be materially different from the performance indicated or implied by such statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations are disclosed in this conference call, the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and the company's other filings with the SEC.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this conference call.
I'd now like to turn the call over to Jeff Woosnam. Jeff?
Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter and fiscal year-to-date results. The second quarter was, in many ways, a continuation of conditions experienced in the first. Temperatures across our operating footprint were 6.4% colder than last year and 2.8% colder than normal resulting in slightly higher volumes of products sold. However, the severe weather, including several very large snow events at times impacted our field productivity, thereby raising operating expenses. That said, we were still able to post adjusted EBITDA of $139 million, which represents a year-over-year improvement of $10.5 million. At the same time, we kept net customer attrition to 0.6% both of which are meaningful accomplishments for the company. Lastly, we closed on one small heating oil acquisition during the quarter and have several other opportunities under various stages of review.
I've often talked on this call about the hard work and dedication of our loyal employees. Never has there been a more appropriate time to reflect on their value to our organization. With the added demand brought on by periods of near record low temperatures combined with significant snowfall, our team worked tirelessly, often through very difficult conditions to provide our customers with the level of service and responsiveness they have come to expect. I simply could not be more proud and appreciative of their efforts.
We are also working to contain the impact from recent increases in wholesale product costs through the use of effective inventory controls, supply chain initiatives and active margin management. While higher prices can create certain challenges for us, the immediate impact of this current escalation has been somewhat muted by the fact that we are coming out of the heating season.
Although there is still much work to be done, I'm very pleased with how Star has performed as we crossed the midpoint of the year. We believe we are well positioned for the remainder of fiscal 2026 and look forward to the opportunities that summer brings to further invest in our people and business development initiatives.
With that, I'll turn the call over to Rich to provide additional comments on the quarter's results. Rich?
Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. In analyzing our results for the 3- and 6-month periods of fiscal 2026, please keep in mind that service costs and operating expenses were impacted by extreme weather conditions, including at times temperatures that were 25% colder than expected for a 3-week period and in some areas, experienced over 60 inches of snow, which obviously negatively affected our overall operational efficiency.
For the second quarter, our home heating oil and propane volume rose by 600,000 gallons or [ 0.004% ] to 144.5 million gallons as the additional volume provided from acquisitions and colder weather more than offset the impact of net customer attrition and other factors. Temperatures for the fiscal 2026 second quarter were 6.4% colder than last year and 2.8% colder than normal.
Our product gross profit increased by $19 million or 7% to $277 million due to a slight increase in home heating oil and propane volumes sold and higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins. Colder weather conditions and numerous snowstorms increases the demand for service which led to higher service-related expenses, including greater labor and other costs, which increased our service loss by $3.4 million. Delivery, branch and G&A expenses increased by $5.4 million year-over-year. Delivery-related expenses rose by $4 million, largely due to the extreme weather conditions while insurance expense increased by $4 million as well as claims rose due to the severe weather.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the company did not recognize any benefit or expense under its weather hedge versus a $3.1 million expense recorded for the 3 months ending March 31, 2025. We have previously expensed a cap of about $5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 due to the cold weather. We posted net income of $108 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 or $22 million more than the prior year period reflecting a $10.5 million increase in adjusted EBITDA and the impact of a noncash favorable change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $21 million more than offsetting higher income tax expense of about $10 million and certain other factors. Adjusted EBITDA rose by $10.5 million to $139 million as an increase in home heating oil and propane per gallon margins more than offset higher operating expenses I just discussed.
Now turning to the results for the first half of fiscal 2026. Our home heating oil and propane volume increased by 12 million gallons or 5.3% to 238 million gallons, again, reflecting colder temperatures and the additional volume provided from acquisitions, again, more than offsetting net customer attrition and other factors. Temperatures in Star's geographic areas of operations fiscal year-to-date were 11% colder than the prior year comparable period and 4.1% colder than normal.
Our product gross profit increased by $48 million or 12% to $457 million due to an increase in the volume of home heating oil and propane sold and higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins. As previously mentioned, colder weather conditions and numerous snow storms in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased the demand for service, which led to higher service-related expenses while installation gross profit increased by $1.5 million, the service gross loss rose by $6.1 million, again due to higher expenses and an increased demand for service as well as an increase in propane tank sets.
Delivery, branch and G&A expenses rose by a little over $16 million year-over-year, of which $1.9 million was attributable to our weather hedging program. As I previously mentioned, in fiscal 2026, we recorded an expense of $5 million under our weather hedge compared to $3.1 million recorded in fiscal 2025, again, reflecting weather conditions in both periods. Recent acquisitions accounted for an increase of $3 million to delivery, branch and G&A expenses while costs associated with the base business rose by $11.3 million, reflecting a 2.7% increase in volume and the impact of the severe weather conditions on operating expenses, including insurance claims.
We posted net income of $144 million for the first 6 months of fiscal 2026 or $25 million in the prior year period as an increase in adjusted EBITDA of $27 million and the impact of a favorable change in the fair value of derivatives of $10 million, more than offset higher income tax expense of $11 million and other factors. Adjusted EBITDA rose by $27 million to $207 million due to an increase in home heating oil and propane volumes sold in the base business and increase in adjusted EBITDA from acquisitions and higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins, which more than offset higher operating expenses. Note that for fiscal 2027, we have put in place a $12.5 million weather hedge.
And now I'll turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thanks, Rich. At this time, we're pleased to address any questions you may have. Operator, please open the phone lines for questions.
[Operator Instructions] At this point, there appear to be no callers in the queue, so I'll hand it back to Mr. Woosnam for any closing remarks.
Okay. Thank you for taking the time to join us today and your ongoing interest in Star Group. We look forward to sharing our 2026 fiscal third quarter results in August. Have a great summer.
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may all disconnect.
Star Group L.P. - Unit — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good day, and welcome to the Star Group Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Witty, Investor Relations Adviser. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning. With me on the call today are Jeff Woosnam, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rich Ambury, Chief Financial Officer.
I would now like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This conference call may include forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties and may cause the company's actual performance to be materially different from the performance indicated or implied by such statements.
All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations are disclosed in this conference call, the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and the company's other filings with the SEC.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this conference call.
I'd now like to turn the call over to Jeff Woosnam. Jeff?
Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter results. Fiscal 2026 has started off very well as our performance benefited from recent acquisitions, physical supply and per gallon margin management, the continued focus on service and installation profitability and last but not least, temperatures that were almost 19% colder than last year and 6% colder than normal.
The confluences of these factors, even given the operational challenges associated with persistent cold temperatures resulted in an increase of adjusted EBITDA of $16.5 million or 32% year-over-year, net of a $5 million charge to our weather hedge program. At the same time, net customer attrition was modest during the period. Improvement efficiency and operational execution have been specific areas of focus for us, so it's quite rewarding to see our work have a meaningful impact on bottom line results.
The cold weather has continued thus far into the second quarter and, in fact, January finished 2% colder than last year and 9% colder than normal. I'm very proud of the way our employees have responded to the added demand and the challenges of making deliveries in snow and ice conditions. They've worked tirelessly at times through difficult conditions to provide our customers with the level of service and responsiveness they have come to expect.
While we did not close on any acquisitions in the first quarter, we did complete one purchase of a small heating oil business just a few days ago. It's not at all unusual to experience a slight lull in prospect activity, during a busy heating season, but we still have several opportunities under various stages of review. And I anticipate that we will see new ones presented as we get closer to spring.
Although it's too early to say how fiscal 2026 will play out, we remain vigilant in providing excellent customer service, keeping costs down and growing our service and installation profitability. I believe we are well prepared to address whatever challenges or opportunities might present themselves over the remainder of the heating season.
With that, I'll turn the call over to Rich to provide additional comments on the quarter's financial results. Rich?
Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. For the quarter, our home heating oil and propane volume rose by 11.5 million gallons or 14% to approximately 94 million gallons as the additional volume provided from acquisitions and colder temperatures was reduced by net customer attrition and other factors. Temperatures in our geographic areas of operations for the 3 months ending December 31, 2025, were 19% colder than the 3 months ending December 31, 2024, and 6% colder than normal.
Our product gross profit increased by $29 million or 19% to approximately 179 million gallons due to an increase in home heating oil and propane volumes sold and higher per gallon margins. We realized a combined gross profit from service and installations of $5.6 million for the 3 months ending December 31, 2025, compared to gross profit of $6.9 million for the 3 months ending December 31, 2024. While installation gross profit increased by $1.4 million, the service gross profit loss did increase by $2.7 million due to the high demand for service relating to the 19% colder temperatures and the additional costs attributable to an increase in our propane tank sets.
Delivery, branch and G&A expenses rose by $11 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 versus the prior year period. The company's weather hedge contracts accounted for $5 million of the increase as temperatures experienced from November through December of 2025 were colder than the contract strike price. In addition, delivery expenses rose by $3.8 million or 13%, largely due to the 14% increase in home heating oil and propane volumes sold.
The remaining operating costs increased by just $2.2 million or approximately 2%. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we recorded a $5 million noncash charge related to the change in the fair value of our derivative instruments. By comparison, in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, we recorded a $5 million credit. Net income increased by $3 million in the quarter to $36 million as an increase in adjusted EBITDA of $16.5 million was reduced by the unfavorable noncash change in the fair value of derivative instruments, as I just mentioned, was $10 million year-over-year.
In addition, net income was also negatively impacted by higher depreciation and amortization expenses and net interest expense due solely to our higher acquisition program and that totaled $1.7 million in aggregate, along with higher income tax expense of $1.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $16.5 million to $68 million, primarily due to a $16.8 million increase in adjusted EBITDA in the base business and a $4.8 million increase in adjusted EBITDA from recent acquisitions which was partially offset by the $5 million increase in expense relating to the company's weather hedge contracts.
And with that, I'll turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thanks, Rich. At this time, we're pleased to address any questions you may have. Operator, please open the phone lines for questions.
[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Tim Mullen with Laurelton Management.
2. Question Answer
Just wondering if you had any commentary given we're now a month in -- a little over a month into the second quarter for the fiscal year, given obviously this cold weather has persisted in terms of how it's going operationally or any other kind of general commentary you can provide?
Sure, Tim. Yes. I mean, obviously, January was colder than normal. February is starting off that way, and we've got a pretty strong forecast in front of us. And we've been dealing with some storms. So conditions have definitely been a challenge for us. But frankly, this is what we're built for as a full-service provider, and this is what we plan for. So I'm just always amazed at how our employees really just step up and get a lot of satisfaction out of taking care of our customers. So I feel very good about our current position right now, given some very difficult conditions.
Congrats on a good quarter.
[Operator Instructions] At this point, there are nobody in the queue. So I'll turn it back to Jeff Woosnam for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.
Well, thank you for taking the time to join us today and your ongoing interest in Star Group. We look forward to sharing our 2026 fiscal second quarter results in May. Thanks, everybody.
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
Star Group L.P. - Unit — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good day, and welcome to the Star Group Fiscal 2025 Fourth Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Witty, Investor Relations Adviser. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning. With me on the call today are Jeff Woosnam, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rich Ambury, Chief Financial Officer.
I would now like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This conference call may include forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations and beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties and may cause the company's actual performance to be materially different from the performance indicated or implied by such statements.
All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations are disclosed in this conference call, the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and the company's other filings with the SEC.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this conference call.
I'd now like to turn the call over to Jeff Woosnam. Jeff?
Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fourth quarter conference call.
It's an exciting time for us as we conclude another fiscal year and begin a new heating season. As we close out 2025, it's a great opportunity to reflect on Star's performance over the past 12 months. Most notably, temperatures were 8% warmer than normal this year, but 8% colder than in fiscal 2024. The lower temperatures, coupled with recent acquisitions, resulted in a $29 million gallon or 12% year-over-year increase in heating oil and propane volume.
At the same time, we kept overhead expenses largely in check, maintain disciplined margin management and continued to invest in installation and service as a complementary service offering, which posted revenue growth of over -- of nearly 10% or over fiscal 2024. The resulting bottom line impact on these efforts, along with cooler temperatures, fueled a year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA of $24.8 million or 22.2%.
While net customer attrition rose modestly. We believe we are taking the necessary steps to manage through this with our ongoing focus on customer service across our operating footprint. Our internal customer satisfaction indicators and loss rates continue to improve, although we observed a lower level of overall real estate activity in the marketplace, which in part impacted new customer additions.
Our acquisition program remains an important component of our overall business strategy. And in total, we completed 4 separate transactions during fiscal 2025, adding just under 12 million gallons of heating oil and propane volume annually. We continue to have many additional opportunities in various stages of review.
In terms of overall capital allocation in fiscal 2025, we invested approximately $81 million towards acquisitions and $16 million in unit repurchases and paid $26 million in distributions. We believe all of these activities serve to increase shareholder value. A recap of our results would not be complete without mentioning how proud I am of our talented team of employees who have not only supported but taken genuine ownership and effectively executing our strategy of differentiating Star from the competition through providing outstanding service and value to our customers.
We are steadfast in our mission to grow and -- the company by continuing to make both heating oil and propane acquisitions, keeping net attrition as low as possible and maximizing installation and service profitability over time. We look forward to taking advantage of further opportunities to improve the organization and its performance in fiscal 2026.
So with that, I'll turn the call over to Rich to provide additional comments on the quarter and year-end results. Rich?
Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. For the fourth quarter, our home heating oil and propane volume increased by 1.5 million gallons or 8% to 20 million gallons as the additional volume provided from acquisitions more than offset net customer attrition and other factors. Our product gross profit increased by $2.5 million or 6% to $45 million as the positive impact from higher home heating oil and propane volume was only offset by slightly lower per gallon margins, driven in part by the mix of volume associated with recent acquisitions.
Delivery, branch and G&A expenses increased by $5 million year-over-year, largely reflecting the additional operating costs attributable to acquisitions of $4.2 million.
Operating costs in the base business rose by just $800,000 or less than 1%. Depreciation and amortization rose by $0.3 million and net interest expense increased by $1.4 million year-over-year. These changes were largely attributable to the impact from recent acquisitions.
We posted a net loss of $28.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 or $6.4 million less than the prior year period reflecting a noncash favorable change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $12.2 million and a $3.8 million benefit from the sale of certain real estate.
The impacts of these positive items were largely offset by a $3.6 million lower income tax benefit, a $3.3 million increase in our adjusted EBITDA loss again, higher depreciation and amortization expense and higher acquisition-related financing costs along with other factors.
The adjusted EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter increased by $3.3 million to $33 million as the impact from an increase in volumes sold was more than offset by slightly lower home heating oil and propane per gallon margins and an increase in operating expenses of $5 million, again, of which $4.2 million was due to recent acquisitions.
Now turning to the results of fiscal 2025. Our home heating oil and propane volume increased by 29 million gallons or 12% to 283 million gallons, again, reflecting colder temperatures and the additional volume provided from acquisitions more than offsetting net customer attrition and other factors.
Temperatures in Star's geographic areas of operations for the full year were 8% colder than the prior year period, but 8% warmer than normal. Our product gross profit rose by $57 million or 12% to $525 million due to an increase in home heating oil and propane volumes sold and higher home heating oil and propane per gallon margins and a slight increase in gross profit from other petroleum products.
In addition, as previously mentioned on prior calls, we've improved our service and installation profitability, which contributed to an increase in gross profit of $3.8 million year-to-date. Delivery, branch and G&A expenses rose by $36.6 million, of which $10.6 million was attributable to our weather hedging program. As a reminder, in fiscal 2025, we recorded an expense of $3.1 million under our weather hedges compared to a benefit of $7.5 million recorded in fiscal 2024, reflecting weather conditions in both periods.
Aside from this, recent acquisitions accounted for an increase in expenses of $23 million year-over-year, while related costs in the base business rose again by just $3 million or [indiscernible]. Depreciation and amortization rose by $3.9 million and net interest expense increased by $2.8 million. These changes, again, were largely attributable to the impact from recent acquisitions.
We posted net income of $73.5 million for fiscal 2025 or $38.2 million higher in the prior year period, largely due to an increase in adjusted EBITDA of $24.8 million and a noncash favorable change in the fair value of derivative instruments of $32 million which more than offset higher income tax expense of $16 million in other factors.
Adjusted EBITDA rose by $24.8 million to $136.4 million, reflecting an $18.5 million increase in adjusted EBITDA in the base business and $17 million increase in adjusted EBITDA from recent acquisitions, partially offset by a $10.6 million change in expenses relating to the company's weather hedge contracts.
And with that, I'll turn the call back to Jeff.
Thanks, Rich. At this time, we'll be pleased to address any questions you may have. Clover, can you please open the phone lines for questions? .
[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Tim Mullen with Lyrilton Management.
2. Question Answer
I'm just curious if you guys could share any thoughts on the regulatory environment, specifically in New York and what impact in the years ahead, do you think it could have on Star gas, things like the fossil fuel band and some of the other regulatory items.
It's really very difficult for us to try to predict how that regulatory environment is going to impact us as a business. A lot of that is still in flux and some of those plans are still trying to being determined. So again, it's just -- it's really difficult to comment on how that might impact us going forward.
[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Michael Prouting with 10K Capital.
Jeff, on the customer attrition. I just happen to notice. So looking just the fourth quarter, it looked like customer gains were down, customer losses were up and then also, if you just look at the last few years, if you look at the net attrition for the year. It does seem like things are trending in the wrong direction. Was there anything specifically you think that affected attrition in fourth quarter? And what are your thoughts about attrition going forward for the coming year?
We're just generally seeing a low level of prospect activity in the marketplace, Michael. I would say for the full year, because some of this is timing, but certainly for the full year, the encouraging part of it is that -- you can see that our loss rates as a percentage of our customer base are down and continue to come down each year, and I think they're really at a historical low points and all of our I've mentioned, all of our customer -- like internal customer satisfaction indexes are pointing in the right direction.
So the overall impact of that is it's lower churn on the business. The challenge has been new customer gains. And that's something we're constantly reviewing. There's in part, as I mentioned in my remarks, we've seen a lower level of activity, real estate activity, which just takes fewer prospects out of the market. And I would also note that while fiscal '25 was colder than '24, it was still 8% warmer than normal, and we really didn't have a lot of disruptive weather in that period, which tends to attract prospects to our high-quality brands. So we're just constantly reviewing our sales and marketing structure and activities and to attract more customers to our brands.
Okay. And then I had just actually 2 other questions. Jeff, one for you on the acquisition front. Just wanted to get your color on how the pipeline looks at this point? And will you see the effect of any significantly large deals?
And I also had question for Rich. So in terms of free cash flow, the K was not filed last night, although I have been going through it this morning, but I did happen to notice that free cash flow was lower than I would have expected in the fourth quarter. And it looks like that could be attributed to a combination of working capital tied up in receivables and inventory. And I was just wondering, especially with the inventory if there was anything there like you guys got a really good deal on heating oil or just what it might have driven the lower-than-expected free cash flow in the quarter.
Sure. Related to acquisitions, our pipeline is. It remains active. We have a number of different opportunities currently under review. Nothing significantly sizable, several tuck-in opportunities, some smaller stand-alones, but we'll have to see how all of that kind of transpires and comes to fruition. But I'm very pleased with just the overall level of activities and transactions that we've been able to complete this past year. And really, when you think about it, 4 quality deals in 2025 and 4 in '24, so 9 completed acquisitions that we're very proud of over the last 2 years. But hopefully, we can continue that trend.
Yes, if you look at our receivables, I think we have the same -- relatively same day sales outstanding this year versus last year on our accounts receivable. Now I don't really see any big difference between our free cash flow this year versus last year. We're paying the same taxes. EBITDA was $3.3 million less this year versus last year. Interest is up a little bit.
The timing of income taxes is -- could be possibly impacting free cash flow. But it all depends, too, on the timing of some inventory coming in barges this year versus last year. And the way the cash flows work, it's a change versus the change in the prior year, but I don't see anything really impacting free cash flow or leading to possibly a distributable cash flow calculation because interest expense is up a little bit.
Our cash taxes are not really all that much different. And interest expense is up a bit as well. And we didn't have any tremendous fourth quarter capital purchases this year versus last year, Michael.
[Operator Instructions] This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Jeff Woosnam, CEO for any closing remarks.
Well, thank you for taking the time to join us today and your ongoing interest in Star Group. We look forward to sharing our 2026 fiscal first quarter results in February. Happy holidays, everyone. .
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.
Financial data from Star Group L.P. - Unit
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 1,912 1,912 |
8%
8%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 1,304 1,304 |
7%
7%
68%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 608 608 |
8%
8%
32%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 457 457 |
7%
7%
24%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | - - |
-
-
|
|
| EBITDA | 156 156 |
12%
12%
8%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 35 35 |
2%
2%
2%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | 122 122 |
15%
15%
6%
|
|
| Net Profit | 67 67 |
27%
27%
4%
|
|
In millions USD.
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Star Group L.P. - Unit Stock News
Company Profile
Star Group LP engages in the provision of home heating and air conditioning products and services to residential and commercial customers. It also sells diesel, gasoline, and home heating oil on a delivery only basis. The company was founded on October 16, 1995 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | United States |
| CEO | Mr. Woosnam |
| Employees | 3,024 |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Website | www.stargrouplp.com |
