ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
IN GENERAL
You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision concerning our securities.
If any of the following risks materialize, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline substantially. This Annual Report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report. See “Forward-Looking Statements” under Item 7 of this report for a discussion of forward-looking statements.
RISK FACTORS RELATED TO THE WHOLESALE BUSINESS
Our cigarette, tobacco and tobacco-related products are subject to extensive regulation at the federal, state and local levels. In 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law, which granted the FDA the authority to regulate the production, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products in the United States. Specifically, the legislation established an FDA office to regulate changes to nicotine yields, chemicals, flavors, ingredients, and the labeling used to produce and market tobacco products. The FDA office is financed through user fees paid by tobacco companies, which is passed on to wholesale distributors and end consumers in the form of higher costs.
To date, most of the regulatory and compliance burden related to this legislation has fallen upon product manufacturers. However, if the FDA were to impose new regulations impacting wholesale distributors that we are not able to comply with, we could face remedial actions such as fines, suspension of product distribution rights, and/or termination of operations. Further, if the FDA were to issue product bans or product restrictions on cigarettes, tobacco or other nicotine delivery devices, our future revenue stream could materially decrease.
The current trend is toward increasing regulation of the tobacco industry and vapor products alike, which differ across the various U.S. states in which we conduct business. Extensive and inconsistent regulation by multiple states and at different governmental levels could prove to be particularly disruptive to our business. There can be no assurance that we or the manufacturers we rely on as suppliers will be in compliance with all of these regulations. A failure by us or our manufacturers to comply with these laws and regulations could negatively impact our results from operations, cash flow, business, and overall financial condition.
7
Table of Contents
The regulation of vaping product categories by federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as potential litigation against product manufacturers and/or entities which distribute or sell such products, may negatively impact our sales, costs, results of operations, and cash flows should the current regulatory environment persist or expand, or if related litigation should arise.
The distribution of cigarettes represents a significant portion of our business. During fiscal 2025, approximately 61% of our consolidated revenues came from the distribution of cigarettes, which generated approximately 17% of our consolidated gross profit. Due to manufacturer price increases, restrictions on advertising and promotions, regulation, higher excise and other taxes, health concerns, smoking bans, and other factors, the demand for cigarettes may continue to decline. If this occurs, our results from operations, cash flow, business, and overall financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Cigarette and tobacco products (including vaping products) are subject to substantial excise taxes and future legislation could significantly increase such taxes. Significant increases in cigarette and tobacco-related taxes and fees have been proposed and enacted by city, state, and federal governments in recent years. Further, the evolving regulatory responsibilities of the FDA are being funded by fees imposed on tobacco companies. These fees have been passed on to wholesale distributors and end consumers in the form of higher prices for cigarette and tobacco products.
Increases in excise taxes and other tobacco-related taxes and fees imposed by the FDA and other governmental authorities may reduce the long-term demand for cigarette and tobacco products and/or result in a sales shift from higher margin premium cigarette and tobacco products to lower margin deep-discount brands, while at the same time increasing the Company’s accounts receivable risk and inventory carrying costs. If any of these events were to occur, our results from operations, cash flow, liquidity position, and overall financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Divestitures and consolidations within the convenience store industry reflect trends that may result in customer attrition if the acquiring entity is served by another wholesale distributor and we are unable to retain the business. If we were to lose a substantial volume of business because of these trends, our results from operations, cash flow, business, and overall financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Increases or decreases in fuel prices impact our profit margins. Inflation can also impact fuel prices. If we are not able to meaningfully pass on these costs to customers, it could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flow, and financial condition.
We are subject to changes in pricing strategies utilized by manufacturers of the products we distribute. We also receive payments from these manufacturers including allowances, discounts, volume rebates, and other merchandising incentives in connection with various incentive programs. In addition, we receive discounts from states in connection with the purchase of excise stamps for cigarettes. If the pricing strategies of the manufacturers change or the manufacturers or states change or discontinue these promotional programs or we are unable to maintain the volume of our sales, our results of
8
Table of Contents
operations, business, cash flow, and financial condition could be negatively affected. There are no assurances that the manufacturers or states will maintain these promotional programs.
The wholesale distribution industry is highly competitive. There are many distribution companies operating in the same geographical regions as our Company. Our Company’s principal competitors are national and regional wholesalers, along with a host of smaller grocery and tobacco wholesalers. We also face competition from Whole Foods Market and/or its parent company AmazonTM, which pose a threat to the supply chains of food and grocery retailers as well as convenience stores served by wholesale distribution companies as they continue to pursue a vertical, multi-channel sales strategy targeting both retail consumers and business level customers. Most of our wholesale distribution competitors generally offer a wide range of products at prices comparable to those we offer. Some of our competitors have substantial financial resources and long-standing customer relationships. This competition may reduce our margins and/or cause a loss in market share, adversely impacting our results of operations, cash flow, and financial condition.
In November 1998, the major U.S. tobacco product manufacturers entered into the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) with 46 U.S. states and certain U.S. territories concerning the advertising, marketing and promotion of tobacco products and to settle asserted and unasserted health care cost recovery and other claims related to use of, or exposure to, tobacco use. Certain of the major U.S. tobacco product manufacturers had previously entered into agreements to settle similar claims brought by Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Minnesota. The payments required under the MSA resulted in the products sold by the participating manufacturers being priced at higher levels than the products sold by non-MSA manufacturers.
In order to limit our potential tobacco-related liabilities, we try to limit our purchases of cigarettes from non-MSA manufacturers for sale in states covered by the MSA. The benefits of liability limitations and indemnities we are entitled to under the MSA do not apply to sales of cigarettes manufactured by non-MSA manufacturers. From time-to-time, however, we find it necessary to purchase a limited amount of cigarettes from non-MSA manufacturers. For example, during a transition period while integrating distribution operations from an acquisition we may need to purchase and distribute cigarettes manufactured by non-MSA manufacturers to satisfy the demands of customers of the acquired business. With respect to sales of such non-MSA cigarettes, we could be subject to litigation that could expose us to liabilities for which we would not be indemnified.
In connection with the MSA, we are indemnified by many of the tobacco product manufacturers from whom we purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products for liabilities arising from the sale of the tobacco products that they supply to us. However, if litigation challenging the validity of the MSA were to be successful and all or part of the MSA is invalidated, we could be subject to substantial litigation due to the sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and we may not be indemnified for such costs by the tobacco product manufacturers in the future. In addition, even if we continue to be indemnified by cigarette manufacturers that are parties to the MSA, future litigation awards against such cigarette manufacturers could be so large as to lessen or eliminate the ability of the manufacturers to satisfy their indemnification obligations. Our results of operations, business, cash flow, and overall financial condition could be negatively impacted due to increased litigation costs and potential adverse rulings against us.
9
Table of Contents
Increased selling prices for cigarettes and higher cigarette taxes have resulted in the growth of deep-discount cigarette brands, which may be sold by our competitors or other retailers. Deep-discount cigarette brands are brands generally manufactured by companies that are not original participants to the MSA, and accordingly, do not have cost structures burdened by the MSA. Since the MSA was signed, the category of deep-discount brands manufactured by smaller manufacturers or supplied by importers has grown substantially. If this growth continues, our business, results of operations, cash flows, and overall financial condition would be negatively impacted.
RISK FACTORS RELATED TO THE RETAIL BUSINESS
In our retail health food business, we compete with a wide range of well-financed regional and national competitors such as Whole Foods Markets, Sprouts Farmers Market, Natural Grocers, General Nutrition Centers, Vitamin Shoppe, and other online competitors such as AmazonTM who all have embarked on aggressive expansion strategies. Additionally, we compete with specialty supermarkets, other independent natural foods store chains, small specialty stores, and restaurants. Conventional supermarkets and mass market outlets such as Kroger, Albertsons, Walmart, Trader Joe’s and Costco have also significantly increased their offerings of organic and natural products providing another layer of competition.
In addition, if online shopping, direct-to-consumer, and home delivery models continue to grow in popularity thereby further disrupting traditional sales channels, it may present a significant direct risk to brick and mortar retailers like the Company. We also face competition from Whole Foods Market and/or its parent company AmazonTM, which pose a threat to the supply chains of the grocery and natural foods business as they continue to pursue a vertical, multi-channel sales strategy targeting both retail consumers and business level customers. Most of these competitors may have greater financial and marketing resources than the Company and may be able to devote greater resources to sourcing, promoting, and selling their products. In response to heightened competition, the Company is continuing to implement a repositioning strategy for its retail business. This repositioning strategy calls for a wide range of initiatives including the possible addition of one or more of our new retail store prototypes per year into the foreseeable future. The opening of new retail stores inherently brings additional risk to the business. Further, if our repositioning strategy in response to this increase in competition is not successful, it may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, cash flow, and financial condition, and could potentially result in the impairment of assets within this business segment.
There is no assurance that quality natural and organic products including dietary supplements, fresh and processed foods and vitamins will be available to meet our stores’ future needs. If conventional supermarkets increase their natural and organic product offerings or if new laws require the reformulation of certain products to meet tougher standards, the supply of these products may be constrained. Any significant disruption in the supply of quality natural and organic products could have a material adverse impact on our overall sales and product costs.
● Perishable Food Product Losses Could Materially Impact Our Results.
Our retail stores carry many perishable products which may result in significant product inventory losses in the event of extended power outages, natural disasters, or other catastrophic occurrences.
Many of our stores are located in close proximity to shopping areas that also accommodate other well-known anchor stores. Sales at our stores are derived, in part, from the volume of traffic generated by the other anchor stores in these shopping areas. Customer traffic may be adversely affected by local and regional economic downturns in the areas where our stores are located, long-term nearby road construction projects, the closing of nearby anchor stores or other nearby stores or the
10
Table of Contents
decline of the shopping environment in a particular shopping area. Any of these events could reduce our sales and leave us with excess inventory, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In response to such events, we may be required to increase markdowns or initiate marketing promotions to reduce excess inventory, which would further decrease our gross profits and net income.
We believe our success depends, in substantial part, on our ability to:
If we are unable to anticipate and satisfy consumer merchandise preferences in the regions where we operate, our sales may decrease, and we may be forced to increase markdowns of slow-moving merchandise, either of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flow, and financial condition.
If we or our third-party suppliers, including suppliers of our private label products, fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements or to meet our specifications for quality, we could be required to take costly corrective action and our reputation could be negatively impacted. We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities, and therefore depend upon independent third-party vendors to produce our private label branded products, such as vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements, body care products, food products and bottled water. Third-party suppliers of our private label products may not maintain adequate controls with respect to product specifications and quality. Such suppliers may be unable to produce products on a timely basis or in a manner consistent with regulatory requirements. Additionally, there are no assurances that we would be successful in finding new third-party suppliers that meet our quality guidelines if needed. If any of these events were to occur, our results from operations, cash flow, liquidity position, and overall financial condition could be negatively impacted.
RISK FACTORS RELATED TO ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES
Interest rates have a direct impact on our business based on the amount of variable debt the Company utilizes in its operations. Prolonged periods of high interest rates may have a negative impact on the Company’s results of operations, balance sheet, and cash flows.
Our results of operations and financial condition are particularly sensitive to changes in the overall economy, including the level of consumer discretionary spending. Consumer discretionary spending may be negatively impacted by inflation, rising interest rates, tariffs and trade restrictions, job losses as a result of increasing automation (AI), recessions or other general economic uncertainties or downturns. Changes in discretionary spending patterns may decrease demand from our convenience store customers and/or impact the demand for natural food products in our retail health food stores as customers purchase less expensive product alternatives.
11
Table of Contents
Additionally, many of our Wholesale Segment customers are thinly capitalized and their access to credit may be impacted by changes in economic conditions, systemic pressures in the banking system, including disruptions in the credit markets, rising interest rates or other factors, which may affect their ability to operate as a going concern, presenting additional credit risk for the Company. A period of economic downturn or economic deterioration could result in lower sales and profitability as well as an increased probability of customer credit defaults.
Volatile product costs have a direct impact on our business. Prolonged periods of product cost inflation may have a negative impact on our profit margins and earnings to the extent that we are unable to pass on all or a portion of such product cost increases to our customers, which may have a negative impact on our business and our profitability. In addition, product cost inflation may negatively impact consumer discretionary spending, which could adversely impact our sales. Conversely, our business may be adversely impacted by periods of prolonged product cost deflation because we make a significant portion of our sales at prices that are based on the cost of products we sell plus a percentage markup. As a result, our profit levels may be negatively impacted during periods of product cost deflation, even though our gross profit percentage may remain relatively constant.
● We May Be Subject to Risks Associated with Trade Tariffs or Trade Policies.
The Company purchases products from a wide range of vendors in both of its business segments. Some of our vendors may import certain products as part of their manufacturing processes and could be impacted by higher costs resulting from increases or fluctuations in trade tariffs and/or changes to trade policies. Further, the impact of higher costs at the retail level may negatively impact consumer discretionary spending and demand. In the event that our product purchase costs from our vendors increase and we cannot pass on those price increases to our customers, or if the retail level demand for the products we sell decreases, the Company’s results of operations, balance sheet, and cash flows could be negatively impacted.
● We May Be Impacted by Acts of Civil Unrest or Violence.
Our business operations could be negatively impacted by acts of civil unrest or violence, or any restrictions, regulations, or security measures implemented by governmental bodies in response to such acts, which are beyond our control. Such acts or any responsive governmental action could threaten or disrupt our supply chain, may result in property damage and/or insurance claims to the facilities of the Company or our customers, impact the safety of our workforce or the workforces of our customers, and may also have indirect impacts on customer demand for the products we sell, or our ability to collect on accounts receivable or finance our operations.
Both of our operating segments rely on distribution and transportation networks, which includes our drivers, our distribution center employees, and the networks of our suppliers and retail store delivery partners, to deliver products to us and our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner. Any unanticipated or significant disruption or operational failure related to this process could negatively affect our operations or the operations of our retail partners, including but not limited to, our inability, or that of our delivery partners, to hire and/or retain qualified drivers and distribution center employees to meet demand, product shortages, financial or other difficulties of suppliers, cyber-related events, social unrest, inclement weather or other economic conditions.
The emergence and spread of a major epidemic or pandemic (such as COVID-19) or other widespread public health issue could affect our employees, suppliers and/or customers and cause disruption in our operations including, but not limited to, travel restrictions, temporary closing of one or more of our distribution warehouses or retail stores, labor shortages, supply chain interruptions, business shutdowns, or regional quarantines. These disruptions could negatively affect our
12
Table of Contents
ability to service our customers, could contribute to adverse economic conditions including decreases in demand for the products we distribute, resulting in lower sales and profitability, or could present increased credit risk to the Company from customer credit defaults resulting from an economic downturn. In addition to the potential operational risks described above, disruptions caused by a widespread public health issue could present increased reputational risk to the Company or result in legal claims or costly response measures.
Any instances of, or reports linking products we sell, related to foodborne illnesses, food tampering, contamination, mislabeling or other food-safety issues could damage the value of our brand and may lead to product liability and personal injury claims, litigation, government investigations and damages. In addition, customer preferences and store traffic could be adversely impacted by food-safety issues, health concerns or negative publicity about the consumption of products we sell, which could damage our reputation and cause a decline in demand for those products and adversely impact our sales. In addition, a failure by any of our suppliers to use quality ingredients and products and/or to comply with applicable food and food-safety laws and industry standards could disrupt our supply chain, damage our reputation and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operation.
From time to time, one or both of the Company’s business segments may acquire assets from other businesses, all or a portion of the ownership of another business, or make an equity investment in another business through the purchase of equity or other means. The purchase of assets, of all or a portion of a business, or an equity investment in another business can bring significant risks to the Company in a number of areas including purchase price, amount of equity investment, business valuation and recording risks, customer retention risks, risks associated with the assumption of liabilities or obligations, integration risks, information technology and cybersecurity risks, risks associated with the addition of new employees such as health care costs, and a wide range of other risks and considerations. While the Company strives to minimize the risks associated with its acquisition or equity investment activities, issues may arise which could have a material negative impact on the Company’s results of operations, balance sheet, and cash flows.
Healthcare represents a significant expense item for our Company and there is a general upward trend in healthcare costs nationwide. While we strive to control these costs through modifications to insurance coverage, including co-pays and deductibles, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully control such costs in the future. Continued increases in healthcare costs, as well as changes in laws, regulations, and assumptions used to calculate health and benefit expenses, may adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.
We may face exposure to product liability claims if the use of any product we sell is alleged to cause injury or illness. However, product liability insurance may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost, or, if available, may not be adequate to cover all of our liabilities. We generally seek contractual indemnification and insurance coverage from parties supplying the products we sell, but this indemnification or insurance coverage is limited, as a practical matter, to the creditworthiness of the indemnifying party and the insurance limits of any insurance provided by suppliers. If we do not have adequate insurance or if contractual indemnification is not available or if the counterparty cannot fulfill its indemnification obligation, product liability relating to allegedly defective products could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, cash flow, business, and overall financial condition.
13
Table of Contents
● We May Be Subject to Risks Associated with Insurance Plans Claims.
The Company uses a combination of insurance and self-insurance plans to provide for the potential liabilities for workers’ compensation, general liability, property insurance, director and officers’ liability insurance, vehicle liability, and employee health care benefits. Liabilities associated with these risks are estimated by the Company, in part, by considering historical claims experience, demographic factors, severity factors, and other assumptions. Our results could be materially impacted by claims and other expenses related to such insurance plans if future occurrences and claims differ from these assumptions and historical trends.
● We May Be Subject to Risks Associated with Insurance Renewals.
The Company uses a combination of insurance and self-insurance plans to provide for the potential liabilities for workers’ compensation, general liability, property insurance, director and officers’ liability insurance, vehicle liability, and employee health care benefits. The Company may not be able to renew various forms of insurance with adequate levels of coverage, at favorable rates, or obtain insurance at all based upon market conditions within the insurance industry and/or because of the industry in which the Company operates.
We rely extensively on our information technology systems and those of third parties to operate our business. Our information technology systems may be subject to damage or interruption from a number of factors, including but not limited to, electricity outages, equipment failure, telecommunications failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks, computer viruses, malware or other methods and causes. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, may also increase the frequency and magnitude of cyber-attacks. Although we make efforts to maintain the security, integrity and redundancy of our systems and have implemented various measures to manage the risk of system disruptions or failures, there can be no assurance that our efforts and measures will be effective. If any of our information technology systems or those of third parties on which we rely are damaged or made unavailable to us, it could have a material negative impact on our operations and profits.
We are subject to laws, rules and regulations that restrict the collection, use and security of personal information of consumers, employees or others. Regulatory actions seeking to impose significant financial penalties for noncompliance and/or legal actions (including those pursuant to laws providing for private rights of action by consumers) could be brought against the Company in the event that data or consumer information is compromised and/or misused, or from perceived or actual non-compliance with data protection, privacy or artificial intelligence requirements. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify these risks. Further, any unauthorized release of personal information could harm our reputation, disrupt our business, cause us to expend significant resources and lead to a loss of consumer confidence resulting in an adverse impact on our business.
Maintaining a good reputation and public confidence in the products we distribute is critical to our business. Anything that damages that reputation or the public’s confidence in the products we carry, whether or not justified, including adverse publicity about the quality, safety or integrity of our products, could quickly and adversely affect our revenues and profits. In addition, such adverse publicity may result in product liability claims, a loss of reputation, and product recalls which could have a material adverse effect on our sales and operations.
14
Table of Contents
We annually test goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives to determine if impairment has occurred. Additionally, we perform interim reviews whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. If our testing indicates that impairment has occurred, we are required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value of the goodwill or other intangible assets and the implied fair value of the goodwill or other intangible assets in the period the determination is made.
The testing of goodwill and other intangible assets for impairment requires management to make significant estimates about our future performance and cash flows, as well as other assumptions. These estimates can be affected by numerous factors, including potential changes in economic, industry or market conditions, changes in business operations, changes in competition or changes in our stock price and market capitalization. Changes in these factors, or changes in actual performance compared with estimates of our future performance, may affect the fair value of goodwill or other intangible assets, which may result in impairment charges. Additionally, we may not be able to accurately predict the amount and timing of any impairment of assets. Should the value of goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
● Capital Needed for Expansion May Not Be Available.
Acquiring other distributors or existing retail stores, developing and opening new retail stores and distribution facilities, and expanding existing distribution facilities requires significant amounts of capital. Historically, our growth has been funded primarily through proceeds from bank debt, private placements of equity and debt and internally generated cash flow. These and other sources of capital may not be available to us on satisfactory terms, or at all, in the future, particularly in light of current economic conditions, including systemic pressures in the banking system, disruptions in the credit markets and rising interest rates, which could impair our ability to further expand our business.
Our revolving credit facilities and other debt agreements impose certain restrictions on us that could increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions by limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and industry. Specifically, these restrictions limit our ability, among other things, to incur additional indebtedness, make distributions, pay dividends, issue stock of subsidiaries, make investments, repurchase stock, create liens, enter into transactions with affiliates, merge or consolidate, or transfer and sell our assets.
Under our credit facilities, we are required to maintain a minimum debt service ratio if our excess availability falls below 10% of the maximum loan limit as defined in our revolving credit agreements. Our ability to comply with this covenant may be affected by factors beyond our control. If we breach, or if our lender contends that we have breached this covenant or any other restrictions, it could result in an event of default under our revolving credit facilities, which would permit our lenders to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be immediately due and payable, and our lenders under our revolving credit facilities could terminate their commitments to make further extensions of credit under our revolving credit facilities and foreclose on collateral securing those loans. In such an event, there can be no assurances that we would be able to obtain waivers for any such breach or default, refinance such indebtedness or obtain alternative financing on satisfactory terms or at all.
15
Table of Contents
We expect that our principal sources of funds will be cash generated from our operations and, if necessary, borrowings under our revolving credit facilities or other debt financing arrangements. However, the current and future conditions in the credit markets, including systemic pressures in the banking system, disruptions in the credit markets and rising interest rates may impact the availability of capital resources required to meet our future financial obligations, or to provide funds for our working capital, capital expenditures and other needs for the foreseeable future. We may require additional equity or debt financing to meet our working capital requirements or to fund our capital expenditures. We may not be able to obtain financing on terms satisfactory to us, or at all.
We do not have any significant long-term contracts with suppliers in our wholesale business committing them to provide products to us. Although our purchasing volume can provide leverage when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not provide the products we sell in the quantities we request or on favorable terms. Because we do not control the actual production of the products we sell, we are also subject to delays caused by interruption in production based on conditions beyond our control. These conditions include but are not limited to labor disputes (strikes), labor shortages, supply chain and transportation disruptions, inclement weather, drought, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics or other widespread public health issues, or other catastrophic events and the adverse effects of climate change. Our inability to obtain adequate supplies of the products we sell, as a result of any of the foregoing factors or otherwise, could cause us to fail to meet our obligations to our customers.
Historically, some large manufacturers of the products we carry have decided to engage in direct distribution of their products and eliminate distributors such as the Company. If other manufacturers make similar product distribution decisions in the future, our revenues and profits could be adversely affected and there can be no assurance that we will be able to take action to compensate for such losses.
● We Depend on Our Senior Management and Key Personnel.
We depend on the continued services and performance of our senior management and other key personnel. While we have employment agreements with certain key personnel, the loss of service from any of our executive officers or key employees could harm our business.
We compete with other businesses in each of our markets with respect to attracting and retaining qualified employees, particularly in the area of truck drivers and warehouse workers. A shortage of qualified employees could require us to enhance our wage and benefits packages to compete effectively in the hiring and retention of qualified employees or to hire more expensive temporary employees.
In addition, at September 2025, approximately 30 of our delivery drivers in our Wholesale Segment are covered by a collective bargaining agreement with a labor organization, which expires in November 2026. Strikes, work stoppages, or other business interruptions could occur if we are unable to renew these agreements on satisfactory terms or enter into new agreements on satisfactory terms, which could impair distribution of our products or result in a loss of sales, which could adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations. The terms and conditions of existing, renegotiated or new collective bargaining agreements could also increase our costs or otherwise affect our ability to fully implement future operational changes to enhance our efficiency or to adapt to changing business needs or strategy.
16
Table of Contents
As a distributor and retailer of food products, we are subject to regulation by the FDA. Our operations are also subject to regulation by the USDA, OSHA, ATF, DOT and other federal, state and local agencies. Each of these regulatory authorities has broad administrative powers with respect to our operations. If we fail to adequately comply with government regulations or regulations become more stringent, we could experience increased inspections, regulatory authorities could take remedial action including imposing fines or shutting down our operations or we could be subject to increased audit and compliance costs. If any of these events were to occur, our results of operations, business, cash flow, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
The Company operates in a highly regulated environment and conducts its business in accordance with the regulatory framework currently in place. We cannot predict how any changes to any of these governmental or regulatory frameworks, or changes in laws, regulations, administrative orders or the interpretation or application of such items, may impact our business. Any changes in the current regulatory environment may change, restrict, or discontinue which products the Company may sell. Additionally, certain products we sell may require reformulation to meet new standards or comply with new regulations or administrative orders. As such, any related product recalls or product reformulations could result in additional record keeping costs, expanded documentation and tracking costs, and expanded or changed product labeling and/or scientific substantiation. Any such changes in our regulatory schemes could disrupt our supply chain and sales and have an adverse impact on our results of operations, business, cash flow, and financial condition.
RISK FACTORS RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK
If the number of owners of record (including direct participants in the Depository Trust Company) of our common stock remains below 300, as was the case as of September 30, 2025, our obligation to file reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 could be suspended. While the Company currently has no intention to cease reporting, if we take advantage of this right we will likely reduce administrative costs of complying with public company rules, but periodic and current information updates about the Company would not be available to investors. In addition, the common stock of the Company would be removed from listing on NYSE American. This would likely impact investors’ ability to trade in our common stock.
Various provisions of our bylaws and of corporate law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control or takeover attempt of the Company by a third party that is opposed by our management and Board of Directors. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of public stockholders to benefit from a change of control or change in our management and Board of Directors. These provisions include:
● non-cumulative voting for directors;
● control by our Board of Directors of the size of our Board of Directors;
17
Table of Contents
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
In the ordinary course of our business, the Company is subject to cybersecurity threats and risks which it manages as an important component of its overall enterprise risk management strategy. To identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity threats and risks to our business, the Company has made significant investments in its processes, control environment, and technology solutions to help prevent and mitigate the impact of any such threats and risks. These processes include the use of sophisticated third-party software for continuous monitoring, the use of expert outside consultants, ongoing training and educational programs, regular and periodic updates on new cybersecurity threats and risks, incident response procedures, and the implementation of other cybersecurity best practices wherever possible. These processes also cover risks from cybersecurity threats associated with our use of information technology systems of third-parties upon which we rely.
The day-to-day management of the Company’s cybersecurity framework is managed by the Company’s information technology team while operational oversight of its design and function are managed by the Company’s management teamincluding, but not limited to, its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Vice President Implementation and Launch, and Director of Information Technology, all of whom have substantial experience managing enterprise risk, including cybersecurity risks.Our management team is informed about and monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents in accordance with our incident response procedures.
Governance
The Company’s Board of Directors, working in conjunction with its Audit and Corporate Governance Committees, oversees the Company’s overall enterprise risk management program, including the evaluation of cybersecurity related risks. Our Board receives periodic updates from the Company’s management team regarding technology matters including its cybersecurity framework, and the notification of any material cybersecurity events and/or risks.
While the Company believes it has adequate processes and technology in place to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats, the Company is continually at risk given an ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. Accordingly, the Company can provide no assurances that a future cyber-attack would not impact the Company's business in a material manner. At the effective date of this report filing, however, the Company is not aware of any current or past cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. For more information on risks related to the Company's information technology systems, including cybersecurity threats that may materially affect the Company's business, see the risk factors included under Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“We Rely Heavily on Information Technology Systems to Operate Our Business and Any Disruptions to or Data Breach of These Technology Systems or if These Systems were Made Unavailable for Use, May Have a Material Adverse Effect on Our Business”).
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
The location and approximate square footage of the Company’s 14 distribution centers and 15 retail stores at September 2025 are set forth below:
Location Square Feet
Distribution—CO, ID, IL, IN, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD, TN & WV 1,732,000
The Company leases certain distribution facilities, retail stores, offices, and certain equipment under operating leases. As further described in Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, certain of our distribution facilities in Quincy, Illinois,
18
Table of Contents
Strafford, Missouri, Bismarck, North Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, Colorado City, Colorado, East Peoria, Illinois, Fairview Heights, Illinois and Boise, Idaho are owned by the Company and are included as collateral under AMCON’s credit facility (“the AMCON Facility”). Henry’s distribution center in Alexandria, Minnesota is owned by the Company and is included as collateral under Henry’s credit facility (“the Henry’s Facility”). Team Sledd’s principal office and warehouse in Wheeling, West Virginia are collateral against two separate notes payable and Team Sledd’s credit facility (the “Team Sledd Facility”). Management believes that its existing facilities are adequate for the Company’s current level of operations, however, larger facilities and/or additional cross-dock facilities and retail stores may be required if the Company experiences growth in certain market areas.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
None.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
Executive officers of our Company are appointed by the Board of Directors and serve at the discretion of the Board. The following table sets forth certain information with respect to all executive officers of our Company.
Name Age Position
Andrew C. Plummer 51 President, Chief Operating Officer, Director
Charles J. Schmaderer 56 Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary
CHRISTOPHER H. ATAYAN has served in various senior executive positions with the Company since 2006, including his service as Chairman of the Board since 2008 and Chief Executive Officer since 2006, and has been a director of the Company since 2004. Mr. Atayan served as Senior Managing Director of Slusser Associates, Inc., a private equity and investment banking firm, from 1988 to 2020, and had been engaged in private equity and investment banking since 1982. He also serves on the Board of Eastek Holdings, LLC, a contract manufacturing company.
ANDREW C. PLUMMER has served as our President and Chief Operating Officer since October 2018, as our Chief Financial Officer from January 2007 to October 2020, and as our Secretary from January 2007 to October 2018. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Plummer served our company in various roles including Acting Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Controller, and Manager of SEC Compliance. Prior to joining our company in 2004, Mr. Plummer practiced public accounting, primarily with the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche, LLP (now Deloitte).
CHARLES J. SCHMADERER has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since October 2020, as Vice President since April 2018, as Secretary since October 2018 and as Corporate Controller from April 2018 to October 2020. From 2006 to 2018, Mr. Schmaderer served the Company in various roles including as the Vice President of Financial Reporting and Assistant Secretary, and as the Director of Financial and SEC Reporting. Prior to joining AMCON in 2006, Mr. Schmaderer held financial management roles with Hewlett Packard (HP) and before that practiced public accounting, primarily with the accounting firm Grant Thornton, LLP. Mr. Schmaderer also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
19
Table of Contents
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
MARKET FOR COMMON STOCK
The Company’s common stock trades on NYSE American under the trading symbol “DIT”. As of November 5, 2025, the closing price of our common stock on NYSE American was $116.54 and there were 650,709 common shares outstanding. As of that date, the Company had approximately 756 persons holding common shares beneficially of which approximately 130 are shareholders of record (including direct participants in the Depository Trust Company).
DIVIDEND POLICY
On a quarterly basis, the Company’s Board of Directors evaluates the potential declaration of dividend payments on the Company’s common stock. Our dividend policy is intended to return capital to shareholders when it is most appropriate. The AMCON Facility described in Note 7 of Part II, Item 8 provides that the Company may not pay dividends on its common shares in excess of $7.0 million on an annual basis in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, and $5.0 million on an annual basis thereafter. There is no limit on dividend payments provided that certain excess availability measurements have been maintained for the 30-day period immediately prior to the payment of any such dividends or distributions, and immediately after giving effect to any such dividend or distribution payments, the Company has a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.0 to 1.0 as defined in the AMCON Facility agreement.
Our Board of Directors could decide to alter our dividend policy or not pay quarterly dividends at any time in the future. Such an action by the Board of Directors could result from, among other reasons, changes in the marketplace, changes in our performance or capital needs, changes in federal income tax laws, disruptions in the capital markets, or other events affecting our business, liquidity or financial position. The Company paid cash dividends of approximately $0.6 million, or $1.00 per common share, in each of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively.
During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2024, the Company did not sell any unregistered securities. The Company issued unregistered securities to certain members of the Company’s management team in relation to the granting of restricted stock awards as described in Note 12 of Part II, Item 8. These issuances were exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.
20
Table of Contents
REPURCHASE OF COMPANY SHARES
During fiscal 2025, the Company repurchased a total of 9,853 shares of its common stock for cash totaling approximately $1.1 million. All repurchased shares were recorded in treasury stock at cost. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its common stock during fiscal 2024. At September 2025, 65,147 shares of the Company’s common shares remained authorized for repurchase in either the open market or privately negotiated transactions, as previously approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. In October 2025, the Board of Directors renewed the repurchase authorization for up to 75,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company repurchased shares of its common stock for cash totaling approximately $1.1 million. The following table summarizes these repurchases made by or on behalf of the Company or certain affiliated purchasers of shares of our common stock for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2025:
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION
We refer you to Item 12 of this report for the information required by Item 201(d) of SEC Regulation S-K.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
21
Table of Contents
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements under Item 8 and other information in this report, including Critical Accounting Estimates and Cautionary Information included at the end of this Item 7. The following discussion and analysis includes the results of operations for the twelve month periods ended September 2025 and September 2024. For more information regarding our business segments, see Item 1 “Business” of this Annual Report.
Business Update
Similar to other retail formats, the convenience retailing sector we service continues to operate in a challenging operating environment, impacted in part by weaker consumer spending. At the same time, the cost structures for wholesale distributors such as our Company have been impacted by the cumulative impact of inflation over a multi-year period. These inflationary pressures have increased operating costs in all areas of our business such as product costs, labor and employee benefits, equipment, and insurance.
We continue to monitor the impact that changes in tariff rates may have on our operations. Additionally, we remain focused on proposals from regulatory bodies, including the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), which is evaluating potential limitations and/or prohibitions on the sale of certain products sold by our Company such as cigarettes (including menthol cigarettes), e-cigarettes, tobacco, and vaping products.
In response to this operating environment, the Company has undertaken a number of strategic initiatives including efforts to optimize its organizational structure, continued investments in higher margin growth categories such as foodservice, and the ongoing development of proprietary technology solutions which help differentiate the Company from its competitors. Additionally, the Company has expanded to targeted geographic regions to accommodate customer growth in those areas. This expanded footprint has also created new business development opportunities for the Company as it is now viewed as a viable alternative to other national distributors.
In this regard, during fiscal 2025, the Company acquired Davis-Jones, Inc. d/b/a Arrowrock Supply (“Arrowrock”), a wholesale distributor based in Boise, Idaho, and also opened a new distribution center in Colorado City, Colorado. AMCON now ranks as the third largest Convenience Distributor in the United States as measured by territory covered. We believe this new, expanded geographic footprint will provide an attractive platform for growth in the coming years.
22
Table of Contents
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth an analysis of various components of the Company’s Statement of Operations as a percentage of sales for fiscal years 2025 and 2024:
Fiscal Years
Gross profit 6.7 6.7
Selling, general and administrative expenses 5.9 5.7
Depreciation and amortization 0.3 0.3
Operating income 0.5 0.7
Interest expense 0.4 0.4
Other (income), net 0.0 0.0
Income from operations before income taxes 0.1 0.3
Income tax expense 0.1 0.1
Net income available to common shareholders 0.0 % 0.2 %
The following table presents selected statement of operations data for fiscal years 2025 and 2024:
CONSOLIDATED:
Gross profit percentage 6.7 % 6.7 %
Operating income 12.6 18.0 (5.4)
Interest expense 10.4 10.4 —
Income tax expense 1.0 3.1 (2.1)
Net income available to common shareholders 0.6 4.3 (3.7)
BUSINESS SEGMENTS:
Wholesale
Gross profit percentage 6.2 % 6.3 %
Retail
Gross profit percentage 36.9 % 36.7 %
(2) Calculated based on rounded numbers as presented in the table.
23
Table of Contents
SALES
Changes in sales are primarily driven by:
(iii) acquisitions
SALES—Fiscal 2025 vs. Fiscal 2024
Sales in our Wholesale Segment increased $103.7 million during fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. Significant items impacting sales during fiscal 2025 included a $120.8 million increase in comparative sales related to the combined acquisitions of Burklund and Richmond Master during Q3 2024, a $23.2 million increase in sales related to the Arrowrock acquisition during fiscal 2025, a $115.2 million increase in sales related to price increases implemented by cigarette manufacturers, and a $20.8 million increase in sales related to the volume and mix of products in our tobacco, confectionary, foodservice, and other categories (“Other Products”), partially offset by a $176.3 million decrease in sales related to the volume and mix of cigarette cartons sold.
Sales in our Retail Segment increased approximately $2.0 million in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. Of this change, approximately $3.1 million related to the combined impact of higher sales volumes in our existing stores and the opening of one new retail store. These increases were partially offset by a $1.1 million decrease related to the closure of three stores between the comparative periods.
GROSS PROFIT—Fiscal 2025 vs. Fiscal 2024
Our gross profit does not include fulfillment costs and costs related to the distribution network which are included in selling, general and administrative costs, and may not be comparable to those of other entities. Some entities may classify such costs as a component of cost of sales. Cost of sales, a component used in determining gross profit, for the Wholesale and Retail Segments includes the cost of products purchased from manufacturers, less incentives we receive which are netted against such costs.
Gross profit in our Wholesale Segment increased $5.0 million during fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. Significant items impacting gross profit during fiscal 2025 included an $6.8 million increase in comparative gross profit related to the combined acquisitions of Burklund and Richmond Master in Q3 2024, a $1.2 million increase in gross profit related to the Arrowrock acquisition during fiscal 2025, and a $1.6 million increase in gross profit related to the mix of volumes and promotions in our Other Products category, partially offset by a $3.6 million decrease in gross profit related to the volume and mix of cigarette cartons sold between the comparative periods, and a $1.0 million decrease in gross profit due to the timing and related benefits of cigarette manufacturer price increases. Gross profit in our Retail Segment increased approximately $0.8 million in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. This change was primarily related to a $1.2 million increase in gross profit related to the combined impact of higher sales in our existing stores and the opening of one new retail store, partially offset by a $0.4 million decrease in gross profit related to the closure of three stores between the comparative periods.
24
Table of Contents
OPERATING EXPENSE—Fiscal 2025 vs. Fiscal 2024
Operating expense includes selling, general and administrative expenses and depreciation and amortization. Selling, general, and administrative expenses primarily consist of costs related to our sales, warehouse, delivery and administrative departments, including purchasing and receiving costs, warehousing costs and costs of picking and loading customer orders. Our most significant expenses relate to costs associated with employees, facility and equipment leases, transportation, fuel, and insurance.
Our fiscal 2025 consolidated operating expenses increased $11.3 million as compared to fiscal 2024. Significant items impacting operating expenses during fiscal 2025 included a $6.5 million increase in operating expenses related to the combined acquisitions of Burklund and Richmond Master during Q3 2024, a $1.4 million increase related to the Arrowrock acquisition during fiscal 2025, a $2.3 million increase in health and other insurance costs, a $2.3 million increase in other Wholesale Segment operating costs, and a $0.8 million increase in operating expense costs in our Retail Segment. These increases were partially offset by a $1.5 million reduction in the Company’s contingent consideration liability and a $0.5 million reduction in employee compensation and benefit costs. The change in our Retail Segment’s operating costs was primarily related to the opening of one new retail store and higher costs in our existing stores, partially offset by the closure of three stores between the comparative periods.
INTEREST EXPENSE — Fiscal 2025 vs. Fiscal 2024
During fiscal 2025, interest expense was impacted by higher outstanding debt balances related to the acquisitions of Arrowrock in fiscal 2025 and Burklund and Richmond Master in fiscal 2024, substantially offset by lower interest rates in the current period.
INCOME TAX EXPENSE — Fiscal 2025 vs. Fiscal 2024
The change in the Company’s effective tax rate during fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024 was primarily related to non-deductible compensation expense in relation to the amount of income from operations before income tax expense and variances in the average effective state income tax rates between the comparative periods.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company’s variability in cash flows from operating activities is dependent on the timing of inventory purchases and seasonal fluctuations. For example, periodically we have inventory “buy-in” opportunities which offer more favorable pricing terms. As a result, we may have to hold inventory for a period longer than the payment terms. This generates a cash outflow from operating activities that we expect to reverse in later periods. Additionally, during our peak time of operations in the warm weather months, we generally carry higher amounts of inventory to ensure high fill rates and customer satisfaction.
The Company primarily finances its operations through three credit facility agreements (a) a facility that is an obligation of AMCON Distributing Company (the “AMCON Facility”), (b) a facility that is an obligation of Team Sledd (“Team Sledd” and, the “Team Sledd Facility”) and (c) a facility that is the obligation of Henry’s (the “Henry’s Facility”) (collectively, the “Facilities”) and long-term debt agreements with banks. The Team Sledd Facility and the Henry’s Facility are non- recourse to AMCON Distributing Company, are not guaranteed by AMCON Distributing Company and have no cross default provisions applicable to AMCON Distributing Company.
At September 2025, the Facilities have a total combined borrowing capacity of $305.0 million, which includes provisions for up to $30.0 million in credit advances for certain inventory purchases, which are limited by accounts receivable and inventory qualifications, and the value of certain real estate collateral. The AMCON Facility matures in June 2027, the Henry’s Facility matures in February 2028, and the Team Sledd Facility matures in March 2028, each without a penalty for prepayment. Obligations under the Facilities are collateralized by substantially all of the Company’s respective equipment, intangibles, inventories, accounts receivable, and certain real estate. The Facilities each feature an unused commitment fee and springing financial covenants. Borrowings under the Facilities bear interest at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), plus any applicable spreads.
25
Table of Contents
The amount available for use from the Facilities at any given time is subject to a number of factors, including eligible accounts receivable and inventory balances that fluctuate day-to-day, as well as the value of certain real estate collateral. Based on the collateral and loan limits as defined in the Facility agreements, the credit limit of the combined Facilities at September 2025 was $230.3 million, of which $126.8 million was outstanding, leaving $103.5 million available.
The average interest rate of the Facilities was 5.73% at September 2025. During fiscal 2025, the peak borrowings under the Facilities was $197.1 million, and the average borrowings and average availability under the Facilities was $159.4 million and $77.4 million, respectively.
Cross Default and Co-Terminus Provisions
The Team Sledd Facility and Team Sledd’s two notes payable contain cross default provisions. The Henry’s Facility and the Henry’s note payable also contain cross default provisions. There were no such cross defaults for either Team Sledd or Henry’s at September 2025. Additionally, the Team Sledd Facility and the Henry’s Facility are non-recourse to AMCON Distributing Company, are not guaranteed by AMCON Distributing Company and have no cross default provisions applicable to AMCON Distributing Company. The Company and its subsidiaries, including Team Sledd and Henry’s, were in compliance with all of the financial covenants under the Facilities at September 2025.
Dividend Payments
The Company paid cash dividends of $0.6 million, or $1.00 per common share, in each of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024.
Other
The Company has issued letters of credit to its workers’ compensation insurance carriers as part of its self-insured loss control program totaling $3.1 million and $2.4 million as of September 2025 and September 2024, respectively.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Liquidity Risk
The Company’s liquidity position is significantly influenced by its ability to maintain sufficient levels of working capital. For our Company and our industry in general, customer credit risk and ongoing access to bank credit heavily influence liquidity positions.
The Company does not currently hedge its exposure to interest rate risk or fuel costs. Accordingly, significant price movements in these areas can and do impact the Company’s profitability.
While the Company believes its liquidity position going forward will be adequate to sustain operations in both the short- and long-term, a precipitous change in the operating environment could materially impact the Company’s future revenue streams as well as its ability to collect on customer accounts receivable or secure bank credit.
OTHER MATTERS—Critical Accounting Estimates
GENERAL
The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which require the Company to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The Company believes that the accounting estimates employed
26
Table of Contents
and the resulting balances are reasonable; however, actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
The Company utilizes numerous critical accounting policies, estimates and assumptions in the preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements, the most significant of which is set forth below.
ALLOWANCE FOR EXPECTED CREDIT LOSSES
NATURE OF ESTIMATES REQUIRED. The allowance for expected credit losses represents our estimate of uncollectible accounts receivable at the balance sheet date. We monitor our credit exposure on a daily basis and regularly assess the adequacy of our allowance for expected credit losses. Because credit losses can vary significantly over time, estimating the required allowance requires a number of assumptions that are uncertain.
ASSUMPTIONS AND APPROACH USED. We estimate our required allowance for expected credit losses using the following key assumptions:
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
Accounting Pronouncements Adopted
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280) – Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures”, which improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This ASU also expands disclosure requirements to enable users of financial statements to better understand the entity’s measurement and assessment of segment performance and resource allocation. The Company adopted ASU 2023-07 on September 30, 2025. The adoption of ASU 2023-07 did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures”, which enhances the transparency, effectiveness and comparability of income tax disclosures by requiring consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information related to income tax rate reconciliations and the jurisdictions in which income taxes are paid. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 (fiscal 2026 for the Company), with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently reviewing this ASU and its potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, “Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures”, which improves disclosure requirements and provides more detailed information about an entity’s expenses, specifically amounts related to purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, intangible asset amortization, and selling expenses, along with qualitative descriptions of certain other types of expenses. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 (fiscal 2028 for the Company), and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027 (fiscal 2029 for the Company), with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently reviewing this ASU and its potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
27
Table of Contents
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and other sections, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and which reflect management’s current beliefs and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and financial results. Forward-looking statements include information concerning the possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company and those statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “future,” “position,” “anticipate(s),” “expect(s),” “believe(s),” “see,” “plan,” “further improve,” “outlook,” “should” or similar expressions. For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
It should be understood that the following important factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in this document, could affect the future results of the Company and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements:
28
Table of Contents
● risks associated with opening new, or closing unprofitable, retail stores,
● increases in inventory carrying costs and customer credit risks,
29
Table of Contents
● domestic regulatory and legislative risks,
Changes in these factors could result in significantly different results. Consequently, future results may differ from management’s expectations. Moreover, past financial performance should not be considered a reliable indicator of future performance. Any forward-looking statement contained herein is made as of the date of this document. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or correct any of these forward-looking statements in the future to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of material events or changes in future operating results, financial conditions or business over time.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable.
30
Table of Contents
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Index to 2025 and 2024 Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID# 49) 32
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 2025 and September 2024 34
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 38
31
Table of Contents
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of AMCON Distributing Company
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of AMCON Distributing Company and its subsidiaries (the Company) as of September 30, 2025 and 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively, the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 30, 2025 and 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Revenue Recognition
As reported on the consolidated statements of operations, the Company reported sales of approximately $2.8 billion for the year ended September 30, 2025. Also as disclosed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenues when the performance obligation is satisfied, which is the point where control of the promised goods or services is transferred to its customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
We identified the occurrence and cutoff of revenue transactions as a critical audit matter due to the significant audit effort required in performing procedures related to testing these assertions given the significance of net sales and the large volume of transactions.
32
Table of Contents
Our audit procedures related to evaluating the occurrence and cutoff of revenue transactions included the following, among others:
/s/ RSM US LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2006.
Omaha, Nebraska
November 7, 2025
33
Table of Contents
AMCON Distributing Company and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
September September
ASSETS
Current assets:
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Shareholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $.01 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized — —
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
34
Table of Contents
AMCON Distributing Company and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Fiscal Years Ended September
Other expense (income):
Net income available to common shareholders $ 568,739 $ 4,336,489
Basic earnings per share available to common shareholders $ 0.93 $ 7.24
Diluted earnings per share available to common shareholders $ 0.92 $ 7.15
Basic weighted average shares outstanding 613,188 599,020
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 616,486 606,782
Dividends paid per common share $ 1.00 $ 1.00
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
35
Table of Contents
AMCON Distributing Company and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Additional
Common Stock Treasury Stock Paid-in Retained
Shares Amount Shares Amount Capital Earnings Total
Net income available to common shareholders — — — — — 568,739 568,739
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
36
Table of Contents
AMCON Distributing Company and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
September September
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income available to common shareholders $ 568,739 $ 4,336,489
(Gain) loss on sales of property and equipment (90,237) (177,467)
Provision for credit losses 53,549 (64,705)
Change in fair value of contingent consideration (1,453,452) (124,992)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from sales of property and equipment 113,214 416,546
Acquisition of Arrowrock Supply (See Note 2) (6,131,527) —
Acquisition of Burklund (See Note 2) — (15,464,397)
Acquisition of Richmond Master (See Note 2) — (6,631,039)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Repurchase of common stock (1,133,095) —
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash information:
Equipment acquisitions classified in accounts payable $ 41,384 $ 1,016,948
Purchase of property financed with promissory note — 8,000,000
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
37
Table of Contents
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:
(a) Company Operations:
AMCON Distributing Company and Subsidiaries (“AMCON” or “the Company”) serves customers in 34 states and is primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of consumer products in the Central, Rocky Mountain, Great Lakes, Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
AMCON’s wholesale distribution business which includes our Team Sledd, LLC (“Team Sledd”) and Henry’s Foods, Inc. (“Henry’s) subsidiaries (“Wholesale Segment”), operates 14 distribution centers that sell over 20,000 different consumer products, including cigarettes and tobacco products, candy and other confectionery products, beverages, groceries, paper products, health and beauty care products, frozen and refrigerated products and institutional foodservice products. The Company distributes products primarily to retailers such as convenience stores, discount and general merchandise stores, grocery stores, drug stores, tobacco shops and gas stations. In addition, the Company services institutional customers, including restaurants and bars, schools, sports complexes, as well as other wholesalers.
AMCON, through its Healthy Edge Inc. subsidiary, operates 15 retail health food stores as Chamberlin’s Natural Foods, Akin’s Natural Foods, and Earth Origins Market (“Retail Segment”). These stores carry natural supplements, organic and natural groceries, health and beauty care products, and other food items.
The Company’s operations are subject to a number of factors which are beyond the control of management, such as changes in manufacturers’ cigarette pricing, state excise tax increases, or the opening of competing retail stores in close proximity to the Company’s retail stores. While the Company sells a diversified product line, it remains dependent upon the sale of cigarettes which accounted for approximately 61% and 62% of the Company’s consolidated revenue during fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively, and 17% and 18% of the Company’s consolidated gross profit during fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, respectively.
(b) Accounting Period:
The Company’s fiscal year ends on September 30th, and the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2024 have been included herein.
(c) Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation:
The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of AMCON and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and its non-wholly-owned equity investment in Team Sledd. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
(d) Cash and Accounts Payable:
AMCON utilizes a cash management system under which an overdraft is the normal book balance in the primary disbursing accounts. Overdrafts included in accounts payable at September 2025 and September 2024 totaled approximately $2.5 million and $3.9 million, respectively, and reflect checks drawn on the disbursing accounts that have been issued but have not yet cleared through the banking system. The Company’s policy has been to fund these outstanding checks as they clear with borrowings under its revolving credit facilities (see Note 7). These outstanding checks (book overdrafts) are classified as cash flows from operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
(e) Accounts Receivable:
Accounts receivable primarily consists of customer trade receivables arising in the ordinary course of business and other receivables primarily related to various rebate and promotional incentives with the Company’s suppliers. These receivables are recorded net of an allowance for expected credit losses. The Company evaluates the expected uncollectibility of
38
Table of Contents
accounts receivable based on a combination of factors, including but not limited to, past collection history, customer credit terms, industry, regulatory and economic conditions, and any customer specific risks, including credit concentration risks. The Company determines the past due status of trade receivables based on our payment terms with each customer. If the Company becomes aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations, such as bankruptcy filings or deterioration in the customer’s operating results or financial position, the Company may record a specific reserve for expected credit losses to reduce the related receivable to the amount it reasonably believes is collectible. Account balances are charged off against the allowance for credit losses when collection efforts have been exhausted and the account receivable is deemed worthless. Any subsequent recoveries of charged off account balances are recorded as income in the period received. As of September 2025 and September 2024, receivables from transactions with customers, less allowance for expected credit losses were $70.4 million and $68.1 million, respectively.
(f) Inventories:
At September 2025 and September 2024, inventories in our Wholesale Segment consisted of finished goods and are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, utilizing FIFO and average cost methods. Inventories in our Retail Segment consisted of finished goods and are stated at the lower of cost or market using the retail method. The wholesale distribution and retail health food segment inventories consist of finished products purchased in bulk quantities to be redistributed to the Company’s customers or sold at retail. Finished goods included total reserves of approximately $0.9 million and $1.2 million at September 2025 and September 2024, respectively. These reserves include the Company’s obsolescence allowance, which reflects estimated unsaleable or non-refundable inventory based upon an evaluation of slow moving and discontinued products.
(g) Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets:
A summary of prepaid expenses and other current assets is as follows (in millions):
Prepaid expenses $ 5.8 $ 5.5
Prepaid inventory 6.4 7.3
Prepaid inventory represents inventory in-transit that has been paid for but not received.
(h) Property and Equipment:
Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation or amortization. Major renewals and improvements are capitalized and charged to expense over their useful lives through depreciation or amortization charges. Repairs and maintenance are charged to expense in the period incurred. The straight-line method of depreciation is used to depreciate assets over the estimated useful lives as follows:
Years
Land improvements 9 - 15
Buildings and improvements 5 - 40
Warehouse equipment 2 - 20
Furniture, fixtures and leasehold improvements 1 - 12
Vehicles 1 - 10
Costs and accumulated depreciation applicable to assets retired or sold are eliminated from the accounts, and the resulting gains or losses are reported as a component of operating income.
The Company reviews property and equipment for indicators of impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group are estimated over the asset’s useful life of the primary asset and based on updated projections on an undiscounted basis. If the evaluation indicates that the carrying value of the asset group may not be recoverable, the potential impairment is
39
Table of Contents
determined based on the amount by which the carrying value of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the asset group. There was no impairment of any property and equipment during either fiscal 2025 or fiscal 2024.
(i) Leases:
Lease liabilities are equal to the present value of the remaining fixed lease payments. Right-of-use (“ROU”) assets are determined based on the amount of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs incurred less lease incentives. The Company determines its incremental borrowing rates based on information available at the lease commencement date in calculating the present value of its lease payments. The Company does not recognize assets or liabilities for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less and these short-term lease payments are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company elected the practical expedient to account for non-lease components as part of the lease for all asset classes. The Company reviews its ROU lease assets for indicators of impairment in the same manner as its other property and equipment as described above in (h) Property and Equipment.
(j) Goodwill and Intangible Assets:
Goodwill consists of the excess purchase price paid in certain business combinations over the fair value of assets acquired and generally represents synergies and economies of scale generated through reductions in selling, general, and administrative expenses. Intangible assets consist of trademarks, tradenames, and customer relationships acquired as part of acquisitions in addition to certain non-competition agreements. Goodwill and the trademarks and tradenames for our Retail Segment are considered to have indefinite lives.
Goodwill and intangible assets having indefinite useful lives are not amortized into the results of operations, but instead are reviewed annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets might be impaired, to assess whether their fair value exceeds their carrying value. The Company performs its annual goodwill and intangible asset impairment assessment during the fourth fiscal quarter of each year.
When evaluating the potential impairment of non-amortizable indefinite lived assets and goodwill, the Company first assesses a range of qualitative factors, including but not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for the Company’s products and services, market prices, regulatory and political developments, entity specific factors such as strategy and changes in key personnel, and the overall financial performance for each of the Company’s reporting units. If after completing this assessment, the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative evaluation is performed using the income approach (discounted cash flow method).
A discounted cash flow methodology requires the estimation of a wide range of factors including but not limited to: (i) forecasting future earnings and cash flows, (ii) determining the discount rate applicable to the earnings stream being discounted, and (iii) computing a terminal value at some point in the future. These estimations require significant judgment and include making assumptions such as sales growth rates including the addition of new retail stores, future store profitability, planned capital expenditures, our ability to control costs, the successful implementation of initiatives designed to enhance sales and improve inventory management, gross profit estimates, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for the Company’s products and services, regulatory and political developments, entity specific factors such as strategy and changes in key personnel, working capital requirements, weighted average cost of capital, and current and anticipated operating conditions. The use of different assumptions or estimates for future cash flows could produce different results.
For goodwill impairment testing, the Company utilizes the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350 - Intangibles - Goodwill and Other whereby a reporting unit’s carrying value is compared to its fair value and impairment charges are recognized for an amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value.
The Company’s identifiable intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives and are assessed for impairment whenever events or circumstances change which may indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. Identifiable intangible assets which are subject to amortization are evaluated for impairment
40
Table of Contents
using a process similar to that used in evaluating the elements of property and equipment. If impaired, the related assets are written down to their estimated fair value.
(k) Equity Method Investment:
The Company uses the equity method to account for its investment in an investee if the investment provides the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over operating and financial policies of the investee. The Company’s proportionate share of the net income or loss (net of income taxes) of the investee is included in consolidated net earnings.
Judgment regarding the level of influence over its equity method investment includes considering key factors such as the Company’s ownership interest, representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material intercompany transactions. The Company evaluates its equity method investment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investment might not be recoverable. Factors considered by the Company when reviewing its equity method investment for impairment include the length of time (duration) and the extent (severity) to which the fair value of the equity method investment has been less than cost, the investee’s financial condition and future prospects, and the intent and ability to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for anticipated recovery. An impairment that is other-than-temporary is recognized in the period identified.
(l) Revenue Recognition:
The Company recognizes revenues when the performance obligation is satisfied, which is the point where control of the promised goods or services is transferred to its customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services. For the majority of the Company’s customer arrangements, control transfers to customers at a point-in-time when goods have been delivered, as that is generally when legal title, physical possession and risks and rewards of goods/services transfers to the customer. The timing of satisfaction of the performance obligation is not subject to significant judgment due to the simultaneous nature of the Company’s customer arrangements (same day creation and fulfillment). After the completion of its performance obligations, the Company has an unconditional right of payment from customers with varying collection and payment terms based on region, credit risk, and other situational factors. Customer receivables are included on the consolidated balance sheets less an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company has elected the practical expedient permitting it to disregard financing components which may be deemed to be part of its transaction price as its customary payments terms are less than one year. See Note 13 “Business Segments” for the disaggregation of net sales for each of our business segments.
(m) Insurance:
The Company’s insurance for employee-related health care benefits, workers’ compensation, and general liability is provided through high-deductible or self-insured programs. The Company accrues for employee-related health care costs utilizing a claims reserve methodology and prepays insurance carriers for all workers’ compensation and general liability coverage as part of its insurance program. The Company accrues for employee-related health care claims based upon a reserve analysis for claims incurred, but not reported, utilizing the Company’s historical claims experience rate, plus specific reserves for large claims. The reserves associated with the exposure to these liabilities are reviewed by management for adequacy at the end of each reporting period. The Company has issued letters of credit to insurance carriers as part of its loss control program totaling $3.1 million and $2.4 million as of September 2025 and September 2024, respectively.
(n) Income Taxes:
The Company uses the asset and liability method to calculate deferred income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized on temporary differences between financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates. The effect of tax rate changes on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income during the period that includes the enactment date. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when we do not consider it more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law. The Company is evaluating any impacts the legislation may have on its consolidated financial statements.
41
Table of Contents
(o) Share-Based Compensation:
The Company recognizes expense for its share-based compensation based on the fair value of the awards that are granted. The fair value of stock options are estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Option pricing methods require the input of highly subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility. The fair value of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards is based on the period ending closing price of the Company’s common stock. Measured compensation cost is recognized ratably over the vesting period of the related share-based compensation award and is reflected in our Consolidated Statement of Operations under “Selling, general and administrative expenses.”
(p) Customer Sales Incentives:
The Company provides consideration to customers, such as sales allowances or discounts on a regular basis. In accordance with ASC 606, the Company estimates customer sales incentives due as sales are made and records them as a reduction of net sales.
(q) Excise Taxes:
Under ASC 606, the Company is primarily responsible for excise taxes levied on cigarette and other tobacco products and presents excise taxes as a component of revenue.
(r) Contract Costs:
Under ASC 606, the Company expenses as incurred any incremental costs to obtain and fulfill customer contracts as the related amortization period would be one year or less.
(s) Per-share Results:
Basic earnings or loss per share data are based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Diluted earnings or loss per share data are based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding and the effect of all dilutive potential common shares including stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards.
(t) Use of Estimates:
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
(u) Fair Value Measurements:
The Company’s financial assets and liabilities are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. The carrying amount of trade accounts receivable, other receivables, accounts payable and other accrued liabilities approximates fair value because of the short maturity of these financial instruments. The carrying amount of the Company’s variable and fixed rate debt also approximates fair value.
(v) Mandatorily Redeemable Non-Controlling Interest:
Mandatorily redeemable non-controlling interest (“MRNCI”) recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets represents the fair value of the non-controlling interest in the Company’s strategic investment in Team Sledd. The Company has elected to present the MRNCI liability at fair value under ASC 825 – Financial Instruments (“ASC 825”) as it believes this best represents the potential future liability and cash flows. The Company calculates the estimated fair value of the MRNCI based on a discounted cash flow valuation technique using the best information available at the
42
Table of Contents
reporting date, and records changes in the fair value of the MRNCI as a component of other expense (income) in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company estimates the probability and timing of future redemptions and earnings of Team Sledd based on management’s knowledge and assumptions of certain events as of each reporting date, including the timing of any future redemptions and an appropriate discount rate. The MRNCI is classified as Level 3 because of the Company’s reliance on unobservable assumptions.
(w) Contingent Consideration:
Contingent consideration recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets represents the fair value of a portion of the consideration paid in the acquisition of Burklund Distributors, Inc. (“Burklund”) (see Note 2). In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 805 – Business Combinations (“ASC 805”), the Company recorded the contingent consideration at fair value as of the acquisition date and re-measures the liability at each reporting period. The Company calculates the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration based on a discounted cash flow valuation technique using the best information available at the reporting date, and records changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. The short-term and long-term portions of the contingent consideration are recorded in accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities, respectively, on the consolidated balance sheets. At each reporting date, the Company reviews certain inputs, including sales thresholds and an appropriate discount rate, based on management’s knowledge and assumptions of certain events. The contingent consideration liability is classified as Level 3 because of the Company’s reliance on unobservable assumptions.
(x) Business Combinations:
The acquisition method of accounting for business combinations under ASC 805 requires management to use significant estimates and assumptions, including fair value estimates, as of the business combination date and to refine those estimates as necessary during the measurement period (defined as the period, not to exceed one year, in which the Company is allowed to adjust the provisional amounts recognized for a business combination).
(y) Accounting Pronouncements:
Accounting Pronouncements Adopted
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280) – Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures” (“ASU 2023-07”), which improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This ASU also expands disclosure requirements to enable users of financial statements to better understand the entity’s measurement and assessment of segment performance and resource allocation. The Company adopted ASU 2023-07 in September 2025. The adoption of ASU 2023-07 did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures”, which enhances the transparency, effectiveness and comparability of income tax disclosures by requiring consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information related to income tax rate reconciliations and the jurisdictions in which income taxes are paid. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 (fiscal 2026 for the Company), with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently reviewing this ASU and its potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, “Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures”, which improves disclosure requirements and provides more detailed information about an entity’s expenses, specifically amounts related to purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, intangible asset amortization, and selling expenses, along with qualitative descriptions of certain other types of expenses. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026 (fiscal 2028 for the Company), and interim
43
Table of Contents
periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027 (fiscal 2029 for the Company), with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently reviewing this ASU and its potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
2. ACQUISITIONS
Arrowrock Supply
On January 17, 2025, the Company acquired substantially all of the operating assets of Davis-Jones, Inc. d/b/a Arrowrock Supply (“Arrowrock”), for approximately $6.1 million in cash. Costs to effectuate the acquisition were not significant and were expensed as incurred. The transaction was funded with borrowings from the Company’s existing bank group. The acquisition of Arrowrock provides access to new markets and improved service capability for accounts in our existing service area.
The Company paid cash consideration for the acquired assets and their related values as of the acquisition date, measured in accordance with ASC 805. No value was assigned to any identifiable intangible assets or goodwill in conjunction with the acquisition. Arrowrock is reported as part of the Company’s Wholesale Segment.
Identifiable assets acquired are as follows:
Accounts receivable $ 12,375
Prepaid and other assets 1,789
Property and equipment - Land 597,700
Property and equipment - Building 2,466,364
Property and equipment - Vehicles 55,000
Total identifiable net assets $ 6,131,527
Accounts receivable was recorded at its fair value representing the amount we expect to collect, which also approximated the gross contractual value of such receivables at the acquisition date.
The following table sets forth the supplemental financial data for Arrowrock from the acquisition date through September 2025, which is included in the Company’s consolidated results for fiscal 2025.
Net loss available to common shareholders $ (119,609)
Burklund Distributors, Inc.
On April 5, 2024, the Company acquired substantially all of the net operating assets of Burklund, a wholesale distributor to convenience stores operating in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Iowa, for approximately $20.9 million, consisting of $15.4 million in cash, a $3.9 million promissory note payable in quarterly installments over five years at an annual rate of 5.75%, and additional contingent consideration with an acquisition date fair value of $1.6 million. Pursuant to the transaction, contingent consideration of up to $3.0 million in cash could be payable in two installments on the one-year and two-year anniversaries of the acquisition date based on certain sales thresholds. The short-term and long-term portions of the contingent consideration are recorded in accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities, respectively, on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and are re-measured to fair value at each reporting period. The periodic change in fair value is recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. In addition, the Company also assumed certain operating liabilities totaling approximately $0.3 million. The cash portion of the transaction was funded with borrowings from the Company’s existing bank group. Costs to effectuate the acquisition were not significant and were expensed as incurred. The acquisition of Burklund aligns with the Company’s long-term growth strategy by expanding its regional footprint and will provide customers with an enhanced range of products and services over time.
44
Table of Contents
Richmond Master Distributors, Inc.
On June 21, 2024, the Company acquired substantially all of the net operating assets of Richmond Master, a wholesale distributor to convenience stores operating in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, for approximately $6.6 million in cash. In connection with the transaction, the Company assumed certain operating liabilities totaling approximately $0.6 million, including approximately $0.5 million of operating leases. The transaction was funded with borrowings from the Company’s existing bank group. Costs to effectuate the acquisition were not significant and were expensed as incurred. The acquisition of Richmond Master provides access to new markets and improved service capability for accounts in our existing service area.
For the Burklund and Richmond Master transactions described above, the Company paid consideration in the forms of cash, debt and contingent consideration for the net acquired assets and their related values as of the respective acquisition dates, measured in accordance with ASC 805. In valuing any potential identifiable intangible assets, the Company estimated the fair value using a discounted cash flows methodology with the assistance of an independent valuation advisor. Inputs and projections used to measure the fair value as of the acquisition dates included, but were not limited to, sales growth, gross profit estimates, economic and industry conditions, working capital requirements and various other operational considerations. As a result of the valuation process, no value was assigned to any identifiable intangible assets and no value was assigned to goodwill in either transaction. Burklund and Richmond Master will both be reported as part of the Company’s Wholesale Segment.
The consideration paid for each transaction is as follows: