Valvoline Inc. is a prominent provider, involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and commercialization of a comprehensive range of engine and vehicle care ...
Valvoline Inc., headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, is a global automotive and industrial solutions provider with a rich heritage dating back to 1866 when Dr. John Ellis founded the company. The company operates through two primary segments: Retail Services and Global Products. Retail Services encompasses the company-owned and franchised quick-lube network, ...Valvoline Inc., headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, is a global automotive and industrial solutions provider with a rich heritage dating back to 1866 when Dr. John Ellis founded the company. The company operates through two primary segments: Retail Services and Global Products. Retail Services encompasses the company-owned and franchised quick-lube network, including Valvoline Instant Oil Change in the U.S. and Great Canadian Oil Change in Canada, offering preventive maintenance services such as oil changes, fluid replacements, and filter installations. Global Products focuses on manufacturing and distributing a broad portfolio of lubricants (for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty machinery), antifreeze and coolants, brake fluids, power steering fluids, coatings, and filters. These products are sold to OEMs, automotive dealerships, independent repair shops, and through distributors worldwide. With nearly 1,600 service centers as of September 2021, Valvoline leverages its brand strength and innovation to deliver high-performance solutions. Financially, the company reported revenue of US$1.71 billion (2025) and has a market cap of approximately $4.5 billion. Key leaders include CEO Lori Flees, who drives strategic growth, and CFO Mary Meixelsperger. Valvoline is committed to sustainability and innovation, continuously evolving to meet changing customer needs and market demands. Its global footprint spans North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, demonstrating its position as a trusted partner in the automotive care industry.
YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength.
QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes.
RevenueThe total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three).
$1.7B
+5.6%
+8.1%
Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day.
$210.7M
-0.4%
+44.0%
Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials.
+38.5%
+0.7%
+6.3%
Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on).
+22.8%
+0.5%
+17.5%
Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales.
+12.3%
-5.7%
+33.2%
Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock.
$38.0M
-6.6%
+79.0%
FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine.
+2.2%
-11.6%
+65.6%
Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe.
492.6%
-43.8%
-17.3%
Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking.
0.70x
-2.8%
-4.3%
Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground.
Operator: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to Valvoline's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Elizabeth Clevinger, Investor Relations. Elizabeth, please go ahead.
Elizabeth Clevinger: Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Valvoline's Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Conference Call and Webcast. This morning, Valvoline released results for the third quarter ended June 30, 2026. This presentation should be viewed in conjunction with that earnings release, a copy of which is available on our Investor Relations website at investors.valvoline.com. Please note that these results are preliminary until we file our Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On this morning's call is Lori Flees, our President and CEO; and Kevin Willis, our CFO. As shown in the accompanying presentation, any of our remarks today that are not statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions as of the date of this presentation and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Valvoline assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law. In this presentation and in our remarks, we will be discussing our results on an adjusted non-GAAP basis, unless otherwise noted. A reconciliation of our GAAP to adjusted non-GAAP results and a discussion of management's use of non-GAAP and key business measures is included in the presentation appendix. With that, I will turn it over to Lori.
Lori Flees: Thanks, Elizabeth, and thank you all for joining us this morning. We delivered another good quarter with sales and profit growth in line with our expectations. The team continues to manage the business effectively through the changing supply and macro environment. Our results demonstrate the strength, resilience and growth in our business. On the top line, system-wide store sales increased 19%, crossing the $1 billion mark for the first time in a quarter. System-wide same-store sales grew 8%. Across the system, we saw growth in both transactions and ticket, with ticket contributing more than 3/4 of the comp. All 3 components of ticket, net pricing, premiumization and NOCR service penetration contributed. Net price was the largest contributor, given the pricing actions that were taken. Similar to last quarter, franchise was above the system average. For the quarter, EBITDA grew faster than sales with SG&A leverage improving. Before Kevin talks through the financials, I want to spend a moment on the operating environment as it relates to supply. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the global oil supply chain. And specific to our category has constrained the supply of Group III base oil, a key component of full synthetic lubricants. We expect this industry-wide supply constraint to persist over …
