George Weston (WN) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue rose 4.0% year-over-year to $14,285 million, driven by strong performance at Loblaw and stable results at Choice Properties.

• Adjusted diluted net earnings per common share increased 12.2% to $2.58, while adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders grew 8.7% to $339 million.

• Net earnings available to common shareholders fell by $153 million to $83 million, mainly due to an unfavorable fair value adjustment of the Trust Unit liability from rising Choice Properties' unit price.

• The quarterly dividend was raised by 9.0% to $0.8938 per common share.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted EBITDA was $1,690 million, up 4.1% year-over-year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin steady at 11.8%.

• GWL Corporate free cash flow was $34 million for the quarter.

• Repurchased and cancelled 0.8 million common shares for $181 million under the NCIB.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 outlook unchanged: expects adjusted net earnings to increase, with excess cash used for share repurchases.

• Loblaw anticipates high single-digit adjusted net earnings per share growth (excluding the 53rd week), with retail earnings outpacing sales and $1.9 billion net capital investment planned.

• Choice Properties targets 2–3% year-over-year growth in same-asset NOI and FFO per unit diluted of $1.05–$1.06, maintaining leverage below 7.5x.