Seven & i raises guidance after gas earnings surge at North America unit

Net profit climbs 24% on fuel margins; IPO of North America unit postponed

Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese owner of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, reported net profit of 60.60 billion yen ($372.7 million) for the three months ended May, beating the 42.00 billion yen average estimate from analysts polled by Visible Alpha. Revenue fell 14% to 2.38 trillion yen.

The earnings beat was driven by a sharp improvement in fuel margins at the company’s North American business. Operating profit for the overseas convenience-store segment surged more than sevenfold to 65.59 billion yen, even as gasoline sales volumes declined. By contrast, operating profit at the domestic Japanese convenience-store business slipped 4.2% to 52.24 billion yen.

Citing higher-than-expected gasoline earnings from its North American operations and a weaker yen, the company boosted its full-year projections. For the fiscal year that began in March, Seven & i now expects revenue to be flat at 10.43 trillion yen and net profit to decline 5.0% to 278.00 billion yen. It previously forecast revenue of 9.45 trillion yen and net profit of 270.00 billion yen.

The company in April delayed the initial public offering of its North American business to the year starting March 2027 at the earliest, after the Middle East conflict drove up oil prices, clouding the outlook for gasoline demand. The IPO had originally been planned for the end of 2026.

The listing of the North American unit was a key element of a series of measures Seven & i announced in March 2025 to boost shareholder value, as it sought to fend off a $47 billion takeover attempt by Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian owner of Circle K. Couche-Tard abandoned its bid in July 2025.

Seven & i is also closing unprofitable stores in North America as part of its strategy to improve earnings. The company has been working to enhance its offerings of proprietary and freshly made food products.

The stock has fallen nearly 10% year to date, weighed by concerns about the strength of consumer spending amid the Middle East conflict and higher fuel prices.