Yesway Shares Soar 14% On Nasdaq Debut — CEO Touts Market Share Gains From Fast Food Chains

• Yesway CEO Tom Trkla told CNBC that customers visit Yesway stores for more than just fuel, noting strong demand for its food offerings as shoppers increasingly view the chain as a value destination.
• Fuel accounts for about two-thirds of Yesway’s revenue, while one-third comes from merchandise sales and food.
• Despite the rise in fuel prices due to the war in Iran, Trkla added that Yesway is seeing an increase in merchandise sales, with the company offering meals starting at $4.

Shares of Yesway Inc. (YSWY) gained nearly 14% on debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, joining a flurry of recent initial public offerings (IPOs) as equity markets hover near new all-time highs.

At the time of writing, Yesway shares were hovering nearly 11% higher at $22.2, compared to an issue price of $20 per share.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based convenience store operator raised $280 million through the offering, issuing 14 million shares of its common stock. The company also stated that the underwriters have an option to purchase up to an additional 2.1 million shares within 30 days from the date of issue.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Yesway trended in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.

Yesway CEO Touts Market Share Gains

Yesway CEO Tom Trkla told CNBC that the company is gaining market share at the expense of rivals.

“A lot of the data that we get from our data providers show that our sales are up and some of their competitors’ sales are down. We infer that we are taking some market share, both from other c-store chains and from other [quick-service restaurant chains] that sell food and compete with our burrito platform,” Trkla said.

Fuel accounts for about two-thirds of Yesway’s revenue, while one-third comes from merchandise sales and food.

Trkla added that customers visit Yesway stores for more than just fuel, noting strong demand for its food offerings as shoppers increasingly view the chain as a value destination.

Despite rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, Trkla added that Yesway is seeing an increase in merchandise sales, with the company offering meals starting at $4.

What Does Yesway Do?

Yesway is a convenience store operator that was founded by Brookwood Financial Partners, a private equity firm focused on real estate, in 2015. The company also operates the Allsup’s brand, known for its deep-fried burritos, after it acquired the firm in 2019.

Yesway currently operates 449 stores across nine states in the U.S.

The company stated that it intends to use $249.3 million from the IPO proceeds to fully redeem the outstanding redeemable senior preferred membership Interests. Yesway stated that it intends to use the remaining net proceeds to pay down existing debt and for other corporate purposes.

The Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) is up 39% over the past year.

Also See: GME Stock On Track For Best Intraday Gains In 10 Weeks — Why Are Retail Traders Excited?

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