Item 1. BUSINESS

The Company

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (“Casey’s”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries (Casey’s, together with its subsidiaries, are referred to herein as the “Company” or “we”) operate convenience stores under the name “Casey’s General Store” (hereinafter referred to as “Casey’s Store” or “Stores”) in 14 Midwestern states, primarily in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. The Company also operates two stores selling primarily tobacco products. The stores carry a broad selection of food (including freshly prepared foods such as pizza, donuts, and sandwiches), beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other nonfood items. In addition, all but two Casey’s stores offer fuel for sale on a self-service basis. Our fiscal year runs from May 1 through April 30 of each year. On April 30, 2016 there were a total of 1,931 stores in operation. There were 51 stores newly constructed in fiscal 2016. We closed three stores in fiscal 2016. We also acquired five additional stores in fiscal 2016; four of those stores were opened in fiscal 2016, and one will be opened during the 2017 fiscal year. We opened our second distribution center in Terre Haute, Indiana in February, 2016, from which, combined with our existing distribution center adjacent to our corporate headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa, we supply grocery and general merchandise items to our stores.

Approximately 57% of all our stores are located in areas with populations of fewer than 5,000 persons, while approximately 18% of our stores are located in communities with populations exceeding 20,000 persons. The Company competes on the basis of price as well as on the basis of traditional features of convenience store operations such as location, extended hours, and quality of service.

Casey’s, with executive offices at One Convenience Blvd., Ankeny, Iowa 50021-8045 (telephone 515-965-6100), was incorporated in Iowa in 1967. One of our subsidiaries, Casey’s Marketing Company (Marketing Company), was incorporated in Iowa in March 1995. A second subsidiary, Casey’s Services Company (Services Company), operates from a nearby facility in Ankeny and was also incorporated in Iowa in March 1995. A third subsidiary, Casey’s Retail Company, was incorporated in Iowa in 2004 and a fourth subsidiary, CGS Sales Corp., was incorporated in 2008. A fifth subsidiary, Tobacco City Inc., was incorporated in Iowa in 2014. All subsidiaries other than Services Company operate from the Corporate Headquarters.

The Company’s internet address is www.caseys.com. Each year we make available through our website all of our SEC filings, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our annual report on Form 10-K, and amendments to those reports, free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been electronically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, you can go to our website to read our Financial Code of Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct, and committee charters. We intend to post disclosure of any waivers to the Code of Conduct on our website.

General

We seek to meet the needs of residents of smaller towns by combining features of both general store and convenience store operations. Smaller communities often are not served by national-chain convenience stores. We have succeeded at operating Casey’s General Stores in smaller towns by offering, at competitive prices, a broader selection of products than does a typical convenience store. We have also succeeded in meeting the needs of residents in larger communities with these offerings. We currently own most of our real estate, including substantially all of our stores, both distribution centers, the Services Company facility, and the Corporate Headquarters facility.

The Company derives its revenue primarily from the retail sale of fuel and the products offered in our stores. Our sales historically have been strongest during the first and second fiscal quarters (May through October) relative to the third and fourth (November through April). In warmer weather, customers tend to purchase greater quantities of fuel and certain convenience items such as beer, pop, and ice.

Corporate Subsidiaries

The Marketing Company and the Services Company were organized as Iowa corporations in March 1995, and both are wholly owned subsidiaries of Casey’s. Casey’s Retail Company was organized as an Iowa corporation in April 2004, CGS Sales Corp. was organized as an Iowa corporation in 2008, and Tobacco City, Inc. was organized as an Iowa corporation in 2014. All such entities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Casey’s.

Casey’s Retail Company operates stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota; it also holds the rights to the Casey’s trademark and trade name. The Marketing Company owns and has responsibility for the

operation of stores in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The Marketing Company also has responsibility for all of our wholesale operations, including both distribution centers. The Services Company provides a variety of construction and transportation services for all stores. CGS Sales Corp. operates one store in Iowa and one in Nebraska. Tobacco City Inc. operates two stores in North Dakota.

Store Operations

Products Offered

Each Casey’s General Store typically carries over 3,000 food and nonfood items. Many of the products offered are those generally found in a supermarket. The selection is generally limited to one or two well-known brands of each item stocked. Most of our staple foodstuffs are nationally advertised brands. Stores sell regional brands of dairy and bakery products, and approximately 88% of the stores offer beer. Our nonfood items include tobacco products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, housewares, pet supplies, and automotive products.

All but two Casey’s General Stores offer gasoline or diesel fuel for sale on a self-service basis. Gasoline and diesel fuel are sold under the Casey’s name.

It is our policy to continually make additions to the Company’s product line, especially products with higher gross profit margins. As a result, we have added various prepared food items to our product line over the years, facilitated by the installation of snack centers, which now are in the majority of stores. The snack centers sell sandwiches, fountain drinks, and other items that have gross profit margins higher than those of general staple goods. As of April 30, 2016, the Company was selling donuts prepared on store premises in approximately 99% of our stores in addition to cookies, brownies, and other bakery items. The Company installs donut-making equipment in all newly constructed stores.

We began marketing made-from-scratch pizza in 1984, and it was available in 1,905 stores (99%) as of April 30, 2016. Although pizza is our most popular prepared food offering, we continue to expand our prepared food product line, which now includes ham and cheese sandwiches, pork and chicken fritters, sausage sandwiches, chicken tenders, pizza rolls, popcorn chicken, breakfast croissants and biscuits, breakfast pizza, hash browns, quarter-pound hamburgers and cheeseburgers, and potato cheese bites and other seasonal items. The newly constructed stores and many of the remodeled stores now offer made-to-order sub sandwiches.

The growth in our proprietary prepared food program reflects management’s strategy to promote high-margin products that are compatible with convenience store operations. In the last three fiscal years, retail sales of nonfuel items have generated about 34% of our total revenue, but they have resulted in approximately 77% of our gross profit. Gross profit margins on prepared food items averaged approximately 61% during the three fiscal years ended April 30, 2016—substantially higher than the gross profit margin on retail sales of fuel, which averaged approximately 7%.

Store Design

Casey’s General Stores are primarily freestanding and, with a few exceptions to accommodate local conditions, conform to standard construction specifications. The current larger store design measures 39 feet by 103 feet with approximately 2,500 square feet devoted to sales area, 500 square feet to kitchen space, 400 square feet to storage, and 2 large public restrooms. There is also a smaller store design that is generally designated for smaller communities that measures 43 feet by 75 feet, with approximately 1,600 square feet devoted to sales area with the remaining areas similar in size. Store lots have sufficient frontage and depth to permit adequate drive-in parking facilities on one or more sides of each store. Each new store typically includes 4 to 10 islands of fuel dispensers and storage tanks with capacity for 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of fuel. The merchandising display follows a standard layout designed to encourage a flow of customer traffic through all sections of every store. All stores are air-conditioned and have modern refrigeration equipment. Nearly all the store locations feature our bright red and yellow sign which displays Casey’s name and service mark.

All Casey’s General Stores remain open at least sixteen hours per day, seven days a week. Hours of operation may be adjusted on a store-by-store basis to accommodate customer traffic patterns. As of April 30, 2016, we operate approximately 950 stores on a 24-hour basis. All stores maintain a bright, clean interior and provide prompt checkout service.

Store Locations

The Company traditionally has located its stores in smaller towns not served by national-chain convenience stores. Management believes that a Casey’s General Store provides a service not otherwise available in small towns and that a convenience store in an area with limited population can be profitable if it stresses sales volume and competitive prices. Our

store-site selection criteria emphasize the population of the immediate area and daily highway traffic volume. We can operate effectively at a highway location in a community with a population of as few as 400.

Fuel Operations

Fuel sales are an important part of our revenue and earnings. Approximately 59% of Casey’s total revenue for the year ended April 30, 2016 was derived from the retail sale of fuel. The following table summarizes (dollars and gallons in thousands) fuel sales for the three fiscal years ended April 30, 2016:

Retail prices of fuel decreased significantly during the year ended April 30, 2016. The total number of gallons we sold during this period increased, primarily because of the higher number of stores in operation, our continued efforts to price our retail fuel to compete in local market areas, the lower retail prices, and the growth in expanded hour stores. Gross profit percentage represents the fuel gross profit divided by the gross fuel sales dollars, so as retail fuel prices fluctuate in a period of consistent gross margin per gallon, the gross profit percentage will also fluctuate in an inverse relationship to fuel price. For additional information concerning the Company’s fuel operations, see Item 7 herein.

Distribution and Wholesale Arrangements

The Marketing Company supplies all stores with groceries, food, health and beauty aids, and general merchandise from our distribution centers. The stores place orders for merchandise electronically to our headquarters in Ankeny, and we fill the orders with weekly shipments in Company-owned delivery trucks from one of the distribution centers, depending on geographic proximity to the store. All of our existing and most of our proposed stores are within our two distribution centers' optimum efficiency range—a radius of approximately 500 miles around each center.

In fiscal 2016, we purchased directly from manufacturers a majority of the food and nonfood items supplied to stores from our distribution centers. It is our practice, with few exceptions, not to enter into long-term supply contracts with any of the suppliers of products sold by Casey’s General Stores. We believe the practice enables us to respond flexibly to changing market conditions with minimal impact on margins.

Personnel

On April 30, 2016, we had 14,451 full-time employees and 20,546 part-time employees. We have not experienced any work stoppages. There are no collective bargaining agreements between the Company and any of its employees.

Competition

Our business is highly competitive. Food, including prepared foods, and nonfood items similar or identical to those sold by the Company are generally available from various competitors in the communities served by Casey’s General Stores. We believe our stores located in smaller towns compete principally with other local grocery and convenience stores, similar retail outlets, and, to a lesser extent, prepared food outlets, restaurants, and expanded fuel stations offering a more limited selection of grocery and food items for sale. Stores located in more heavily populated communities may compete with local and national grocery and drug store chains, expanded fuel stations, supermarkets, discount food stores, and traditional convenience stores. Convenience store chains competing in the larger towns served by Casey’s General Stores include Quik Trip, Kwik Trip, Kum & Go, and other regional chains. Some of the Company’s competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do. These competitive factors are discussed further in Item 7 of this Form 10-K.

Trademarks and Service Marks

The names "Casey's" and “Casey’s General Store” and the marks consisting of the Casey’s design logos (with the words “Casey’s General Store”) and the weathervane are registered trademarks and service marks under federal law. We believe these marks are of material importance in promoting and advertising the Company’s business. The Company has a number of other registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks that are significant to the Company from an operational and branding perspective (e.g. "Casey's Pizza", "Casey's Famous for Pizza", etc.).

Government Regulation (dollars in thousands)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and several states, including Iowa, have established requirements for owners and operators of underground fuel storage tanks (USTs) with regard to (i) maintenance of leak detection, corrosion protection, and overfill/spill protection systems; (ii) upgrade of existing tanks; (iii) actions required in the event of a detected leak; (iv) prevention of leakage through tank closings; and (v) required fuel inventory record keeping. Since 1984, our new stores have been equipped with noncorroding fiberglass USTs, including some with double-wall construction, overfill protection, and electronic tank monitoring. We currently have 4,360 USTs, 3,462 of which are fiberglass and 898 are steel, and we believe that all capital expenditures for electronic monitoring, cathodic protection, and overfill/spill protection to comply with the existing UST regulations have been completed. Additional regulations or amendments to the existing UST regulations could result in future expenditures.

Several states in which we do business have trust fund programs with provisions for sharing or reimbursing corrective action or remediation costs incurred by UST owners, including the Company. In the years ended April 30, 2016 and 2015, we spent approximately $1,621 and $1,387, respectively, for assessments and remediation. Substantially all of these expenditures were submitted for reimbursement from state-sponsored trust fund programs. As of April 30, 2016, approximately $19,414 has been received from such programs since inception. The payments are typically subject to statutory provisions requiring repayment of the reimbursed funds for noncompliance with upgrade provisions or other applicable laws. None of the reimbursements received are currently expected to be repaid by the Company to the trust fund programs. At April 30, 2016, we had an accrued liability of approximately $341 for estimated expenses related to anticipated corrective actions or remediation efforts, including relevant legal and consulting costs. We believe we have no material joint and several environmental liability with other parties.