Latest news with #smallTowns
TechCrunch
a day ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Amazon to spend over $4B to expand Prime delivery to rural communities in the US
Amazon announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its Same-Day and Next-Day delivery services to over 4,000 small cities and towns across rural U.S. This expansion will bring its fast Prime delivery service to millions of customers in places such as Asbury, Iowa; Fort Seneca, Ohio; Lewes, Delaware; North Padre Island, Texas; and Sharptown, Maryland. The e-commerce giant plans to invest more than $4 billion to triple the size of its delivery network by 2026. Amazon has recognized a growing demand for faster delivery from rural customers, who often have limited options when shopping online. By increasing its investment in Same-Day and Next-Day delivery, the company aims to create more jobs in rural communities, with an estimated 170 positions at delivery stations, along with additional driving opportunities. Amazon also reported that the number of items delivered the same day or the next day in the U.S. has increased by over 30% compared to the same period last year. In 2024 alone, the company delivered more than 9 billion items using the faster delivery services. This announcement comes as Amazon prepares for its Prime Day event, which will last 96 hours from July 8 to July 11.
The Verge
a day ago
- Business
- The Verge
Amazon bringing same-day delivery to ‘millions' of rural customers
Amazon announced its intention to bring same-day and next-day delivery to 'tens of millions' of people who live in live in smaller towns by the end of 2026. Speedier deliveries will be available to residents 'in more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities,' the company said in a press release Tuesday. Items categorized as 'everyday essentials,' including groceries, beauty products, household goods, or pet food, will now be available to small town or rural customers for same-day or next-day delivery. If they are Prime subscribers (currently $14.99 a month or $139 annually), they get unlimited free same-day delivery when spending over $25 at checkout. Items categorized as 'everyday essentials' will now be available to small town or rural customers for same-day or next-day delivery. Amazon has already expanded its speedy delivery options to customers in over 1,000 small or rural communities, and people are buying these essential items at a higher rate than before. Amazon says over 90 percent of the top 50 items purchased for same-day delivery are 'everyday essentials items.' The company was able to accomplish this massive expansion by spending a lot of money — $4 billion, according to Amazon — on building new facilities and hiring new delivery drivers. Its also transforming existing delivery hubs in these smaller communities into hybrid facilities where Amazon packages can be prepped for final delivery. And the company is using machine learning to better predict what items each communities buys in large quantities, so it can make sure to have those items in stock for faster delivery. This includes 'the most-popular and frequently purchased items like wireless headphones, coffee pods, crackers, paper towels, and diapers, and products curated to fit local preferences like wild bird food in Dubuque, Iowa, travel backpacks in Findlay, Ohio, and after sun body butter in Sharptown, Maryland,' Amazon says. While many residents of small towns may delight in faster Amazon deliveries, local business owners may have a different reaction. Amazon has long been a threat to local Mom-and-Pop shops that struggle to compete with the convenience of online shopping, while also laboring under high rents and other costs of doing business. Amazon argues that it provides opportunities for small businesses to reach new customers, but critics claim that the company exploits its dominance in the economy to squeeze out local entrepreneurs.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY): A Bull Case Theory
We came across a bullish thesis on Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) on Substack by Two Natural Capital. In this article, we will summarize the bulls' thesis on CASY. Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY)'s share was trading at $465.96 as of May 7th. CASY's trailing and forward P/E were 32.47 and 29.50 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. A truck parked at a gas station, its fuel tank being filled from a pump. Casey's General Stores represents a compelling and unconventional growth story within the convenience retail and foodservice landscape, particularly due to its dominance in rural America. Operating in a traditionally uninspiring business—gas stations reliant on declining tobacco and fuel sales—Casey's has defied the odds by leaning heavily into high-margin food offerings. Its strategy to focus on low-competition regions, with 72% of stores in towns under 20,000 people, has positioned it to not only survive but thrive by offering made-from-scratch pizza and a robust bakery lineup. This food-first approach, dating back to at least 1984, has helped transform Casey's into the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S. by number of kitchens, and its food program is now central to the company's identity and economics. Not only does this offering improve unit economics in low-traffic areas, but it also attracts customer loyalty, sometimes turning Casey's into a dinner destination rather than just a gas stop. The management transition in 2019, bringing in leadership with backgrounds at IHOP and 7-Eleven, has injected fresh strategy and operational discipline. Under CEO Darren Rebelez, Casey's launched a three-year strategic plan focused on expanding store count, modernizing food offerings, and boosting operational efficiency, including reducing employee hours. Menu experimentation, like the introduction of thin crust pizza and chicken wings, aims to capture greater wallet share while avoiding food margin cannibalization—a risk that so far hasn't materialized. The company's growth-by-acquisition strategy has rapidly accelerated, adding 154 stores in FY24, most via M&A, capped by its largest acquisition ever: Fikes Wholesale (CEFCO), with 198 locations, many in Texas. This acquisition not only pushes Casey's into new geographies but also offers synergy potential as 125 of the CEFCO stores already have kitchens ready for pizza rollouts and margin improvement. Despite these strengths, skeptics question whether Casey's acquisitive streak may be overreaching. However, the company's manageable leverage (~2x EBITDA), long growth runway (it is a fraction the size of Couche-Tard or 7-Eleven), and embedded operational advantage in fresh food make that fear seem overstated. In fact, Casey's rural legacy has become a competitive strength as it enters denser markets where competitors like Murphy USA don't offer prepared food. Casey's unique combination of fuel, convenience, and compelling food gives it a durable edge that's difficult for other chains to replicate quickly, making it one of the more differentiated retail growth stories in the market today. Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held CASY at the end of the fourth quarter which was 34 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of CASY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CASY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
