Murphy USA (NYSE: MUSA) reported Q2 EPS of $1.58, $0.39 better than the analyst estimate of $1.19. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.83 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion.

Key Highlights:

• Net income was $51.8 million, or $1.58 per diluted share in Q2 2018 compared to a net income of $55.5 million, or $1.51 per diluted share, in Q2 2017
• Total fuel contribution (retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale ("PS&W") results including RINs) for Q2 2018 was 16.7 cpg compared to 18.1 cpg in Q2 2017
• Total retail gallons increased 1.6% to 1.1 billion gallons for the network during Q2 2018 while volumes on a same store sales ("SSS") basis declined 1.5% versus prior year quarter
• Merchandise contribution dollars grew 4.6% during the current year quarter to $102.3 million on average unit margins of 16.6%, a new quarterly record, versus 16.1% average unit margins in the prior year quarter
• Six new stores opened and nine raze-and-rebuild sites re-opened in the second quarter and construction is ongoing as of today at 37 locations, including 17 raze-and-rebuild sites
• Repurchased 1.1 million common shares during the second quarter for approximately $72.7 million at an average price of $68.22 per share
• Effective income tax rate of 25.0% in Q2 2018, a 13.2% lower effective rate than Q2 2017 due to Federal tax reform favorably impacting 2018

"Second quarter financial results showed improvement across all major parts of the business," said President and CEO Andrew Clyde. "Customer traffic was solid as retail fuel volumes moderated year-over-year declines, PS&W activities continued to deliver strong results reducing fuel margin volatility, merchandising efforts exhibited robust comps against prior year results, and store-level operations demonstrated further cost saving improvements. We increased our competitive advantage, reducing our fuel break-even requirement by 42 basis points per gallon, with line of sight to additional top and bottom line improvements, further demonstrating tangible proof of our ongoing commitment towards operational excellence." Clyde concluded, "We continued to allocate capital in a disciplined manner repurchasing an additional 1.1 million shares, further leveraging the future earnings potential of the business for the benefit of long-term investors."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Murphy USA (MUSA) click here.