FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Consolidated Comparable sales were down 1.0%, with growth at SportChek and Mark’s offset by a decline at CTR.
- CTR Comparable sales1 were down 2.3%. Fixing categories grew, while Seasonal and Gardening led the decline. Western Canada outperformed, with seasonal weakness impacting Ontario and Quebec. Automotive retail sales were up for the 23rd consecutive quarter.
- SportChek Comparable sales1 were up 3.3%, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of sales growth. The quarter saw strong performance from fanwear, athletic footwear and hard goods.
- Mark’s Comparable sales1 were up 1.2% on higher casualwear sales. New-concept Bigger Bolder Better (BBB) stores remained a key driver.
- Loyalty sales outpaced non-loyalty sales, reflecting growth in active Triangle Rewards members, including increasing contributions from the Company’s loyalty partnerships with RBC and WestJet launched in Q1.
- Retail Revenue growth was strong, up 2.9% or 5.0% excluding Petroleum, reflecting higher shipments to support the Q2 spring/summer season and replenishment at CTR.
- Consolidated Income before income taxes (IBT) was $169.1 million, up $117.5 million, mainly reflecting prior year restructuring expense, and up $3.4 million on a normalized basis1. Retail IBT1 of $50.9 million was stable year-on-year on a normalized basis; Retail gross margin dollars increased on higher Retail Revenue, offset by higher IT and variable compensation expenses.
Earnings Call Summary
Q4 2025
Earnings Call Date:Feb 18, 2026| % Change Since:-6.78%|
Earnings Call Sentiment | Positive
The call presented a majority of positive operational and financial developments: healthy sales growth, strong margin expansion, substantial EPS and IBT gains, meaningful loyalty and partnership traction, disciplined capital allocation and clear strategic investments (AI/MOSaiC, store refreshes). The principal cautions relate to a 53rd week that materially boosted results, elevated inventory, bank-level investment pressures and some banner/category-specific softness (CTR living, discretionary). Management articulated concrete plans to sustain momentum (loyalty, partnerships, DaiVID rollout, MOSaiC commercialization) and quantified savings and capital priorities. On balance, the highlights are stronger and more numerous than the lowlights, and the business appears to be executing through transformation while acknowledging near-term modeling caveats.
Company Guidance
Management reiterated True North long-term goals of annual retail sales growth of 3–5% with earnings growing faster than sales and a “North Star” retail gross margin rate of 35%+, while flagging 2026-specific expectations: operating CapEx of $500–$550 million (2025 OpEx was $502 million), continued share repurchases after >$440 million bought in 2025 (share count down ~5%), and a push to realize $100 million of restructuring savings (with $30 million recognized in Q4). They warned of tough weather and patriotic‑purchasing comps in H1 2026, said Q1 had started well but noted the bank will face some SG&A/headwind in H1 from ongoing investments (although not the same profitability hit as 2025), and signaled key program timing—DaiVID rollout to SportChek/Mark’s in late 2026 and MOSaiC commercialization in H2 2026—while pointing to 2025 metrics that underpin guidance (ROIC up to 11%, extra retail week in 2025 added ~$287M sales ex‑Petroleum and ~$40M IBT, and loyalty/partnership momentum such as 9.8M active members and eCTM issuance of $329M).
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