Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited announced Thursday results for its fourth quarter (14 weeks) and full-year (53 weeks) ended January 3, 2026, noting that automotive was up for the 22nd consecutive quarter, with Automotive Service reaching record annual sales of $1 billion in Q4.
For the year, retail sales were $18.986.9 billion, up $809.2 million, or 4.5% over the prior year.
“Our standout fourth quarter capped a year of strong sales growth and market share gains,” said Greg Hicks, President and CEO, Canadian Tire Corporation. “Customers visited us in greater numbers and we had one of the best holiday seasons in recent memory, a tribute to our retail readiness and the resilience of Canadian consumers in a year of economic uncertainty.
“As we advance True North, we are strengthening our competitive differentiation. Our retail system brings together an enhanced retail network, supplemented by the power of partnerships, tied tightly with Triangle Rewards and in service of customer value. Our modernization will accelerate in 2026, advancing our progress towards our True North vision: stronger connections with customers, higher retail performance, and accelerated shareholder value.”
FOURTH-QUARTER CONTINUING OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Consolidated comparable sales were up 4.2%, with strong December sales driven by weather and in-stock positions contributing to higher visits and sales growth at all major banners and in all regions.
- CTR comparable sales were up 2.7%, with Seasonal and Gardening the standout with double digit growth on strong sales of winter and holiday products. Automotive was up for the 22nd consecutive quarter, with Automotive Service reaching record annual sales of $1 billion in Q4.
- SportChek comparable sales grew for the sixth consecutive quarter, up 9.5%, with outerwear and fanwear growth alongside growth in strategic categories such as footwear and hard goods.
- Mark’s comparable sales were up 7.2%. Weather and Black Friday sales contributed to a record-breaking quarter for sales. Growth at new-concept Bigger Bolder Better (BBB) stores also remained a key driver.
- Retail Sales and Revenue were up 8.9% and 8.8%, respectively; Excluding Petroleum, Retail Sales and Retail Revenue were up 10.2% and 10.7% respectively, benefiting from growth across all major banners and an extra week compared to the prior year.
- Normalized income before income taxes (IBT) was up 32.5% to $349.6 million, driven by strong Retail performance. Normalized Diluted EPS was $4.47, up 38.0%.
- IBT was $318.7 million, down 32.0% from Q4 2024, due to this year’s True North restructuring and impairment expenses, compared to a property sale gain recorded in the prior year. Diluted EPS was $3.96, compared to $6.54 in Q4 2024.
FULL-YEAR CONTINUING OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Consolidated comparable sales were up 4.1%, with strong performance across all major banners; CTR was up 3.7%, SportChek was up 6.2% and Mark’s was up 3.9% on a comparable 52-week basis.
- Strong retail sell-through as a result of being in-stock, combined with improving customer demand, and the benefit of an extra week in Q4 contributed to Retail Sales and Retail Revenue growth, up 4.5% and 5.4% respectively. Excluding Petroleum, Retail Revenue was up 7.5% for the year, outpacing Retail Sales, up 5.9%.
- Continuing to leverage margin management tools and streamline the organization led to improved retail operational performance; Normalized Retail Gross Margin rate excluding Petroleum was up 27 bps to 35.5%. Normalized retail EBITDA was up 8.1%, representing a normalized Retail EBITDA as a percentage of retail revenue (excluding Petroleum) of 14.6%. Retail Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) was up 119 bps to 11.0%.
- Normalized Diluted EPS was $13.77, up 18.6%. Normalized IBT was $1,109.0 million, up 14.3% compared to $970.3 million last year. Favourable normalized Retail IBT1 more than offset a decline in Financial Services IBT, primarily reflecting previously communicated investments in the business.
- Diluted EPS was $10.57, compared to $14.91 in the prior year.
In March 2025, CTC said it launched a four-year transformative growth strategy called True North.
“True North upholds CTC’s Brand Purpose and is designed to drive core retail growth through four strategic cornerstones, putting customers at the core of the strategy, enhancing the Triangle Rewards loyalty program, and applying privileged data, enabled by technology and AI, to deliver enhanced digital and store experiences. The strategy is being delivered by a newly constituted senior leadership team and organizational structure, supporting CTC’s transition from a holding company structure to a more integrated operating model that is agile, can operate with scale, and deliver customer value,” said the company.
2025 was a key foundational year for CTC’s True North transformative growth strategy, with the implementation of a more agile, tech-driven and efficient operating model in place, contributing to new ways of working, and significant achievements delivered on a number of fronts, it noted:
- Triangle Rewards came to life for more Canadians. 9.8 million are now active registered members of the program, representing a 6% increase on 2024. By early 2026, CTC had activated two loyalty partnerships and almost 100,000 RBC Avion members and 600,000 Petro-Canada Petro Points members had linked to Triangle. The Company’s partnership with WestJet (WestJet Rewards) is scheduled to launch during Q2 of 2026, with the Tim Hortons partnership (Tim’s Rewards) to follow in the second half of 2026.
- Refreshed stores continue to drive growth. Fifty-two store projects were completed in 2025: Thirty-one CTR refreshed, expanded or replacement stores including new CTR stores in Kelowna, British Columbia, and Kingston, Ontario; and twenty-one new or refreshed stores at other banners, including compelling new format stores at Mark’s and SportChek, in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
- New capabilities around in-stock optimization, and a new AI tool (DaiVID) that optimizes pricing and margin, provided customer value and contributed to growth. Increasing awareness of same-day delivery across all banners contributed to eCommerce sales growth outpacing bricks and mortar.
- HBC’s Stripes became the newest Owned Brand to launch to customers, with a holiday capsule collection released in Q4 of 2025 that generated strong customer response and sell-through. A more comprehensive product set will come to market in the summer of 2026.
- CTC’s True North organizational model established clearly delineated responsibilities for the following: go-to-market strategy (under Chief Commercial Officer Matt Moore), retail execution (under Chief Operating Officer TJ Flood), performance management and capital discipline (under Chief Financial Officer Darren Myers) and transformation initiative management and value creation (under Chief Transformation Officer Susan O’Brien in a newly created role).
- With the True North restructuring completed in the third quarter of 2025, the Company is now benefiting from the associated run-rate savings, with approximately $30 million of savings reflected in operating expense in the fourth quarter of 2025. 2026 savings will continue to be balanced with focused investments to support growth and advance the True North strategy, including through investments in AI deployment.
- During the third quarter of 2025, CTC negotiated amendments to its contracts with CTR Dealers, strengthening joint alignment on the True North strategic priorities.
- At the end of the year, there were five percent fewer Class A Non-Voting (CTC.A) Shares outstanding compared to the prior year, as the Company continued to execute against its existing share buyback program. CTC had repurchased a total of $442.4 million, in excess of the amount required for anti-dilutive purposes, of its CTC.A shares during the fiscal year under its 2025 and 2026 Share Repurchase Intentions.
More from Retail Insider:
I sure hope they work on making their Canadian tire stores more enjoyable. The inside of their stores are a total mess. So much clutter and junk shoved everywhere. Cannot find anything. They are trying to sell way too much junk. Every shelf is packed and isle with more crap. They need to seriously improve their store image. I really hate shopping at CT.