Store review limits net growth
Mexico's largest convenience-store chain finished September with 24,759 locations. Its net expansion during July through September was 71.8% smaller than in the same period a year earlier, according to Femsa's results released October 28.
Femsa management told analysts that roughly 250 stores were included in the review. The closures primarily involved older locations with weak performance.
Across the first nine months of 2026, Oxxo Mexico opened 734 stores and shut 272, Chief Financial Officer Martín Arias said on the October 28 earnings call. Those changes left the network with 462 more stores than at the start of the year.
Sales rise, but margins narrow
Oxxo's existing locations continued to report sales growth. Sales at stores open for more than 12 months increased 9.2% from a year earlier. Customer traffic rose 3.5%, its strongest growth in more than two years, while average spending per visit increased 5.5%. Taxes that raised drink and cigarette prices contributed to the higher spending.
Revenue at Oxxo Mexico increased 10.3%, outpacing the 5.8% rise in operating profit. Management estimated that store closures reduced operating margin by about 20 basis points, or 0.2 percentage points. Without those costs, it said, operating profit would have grown about 8%.
The reported operating margin was 9.3% of revenue, down 40 basis points from a year earlier. Gross margin fell 120 basis points to 44.8%. Femsa attributed part of the gross-margin decline to the unusually high concentration of commercial income in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusting for that comparison, the company said the decline would have been in line with the second quarter of 2026's 70-basis-point contraction.
Femsa also reported growth in its digital services. At quarter-end, the Spin by OXXO wallet had 11.7 million active users, a 17.3% annual increase, and the Spin Premia loyalty program had 30.0 million, up 8.3%. The reported average tender at Oxxo Mexico was 52.1%, compared with 48.2% a year earlier.
Bara expands its discount network
While Oxxo's net openings slowed, Femsa's Bara discount chain added 112 stores during the third quarter, bringing its total to 898 on September 30. Bara had expanded by 325 net stores over the preceding 12 months, increasing its network by 56.7%.
Bara's quarterly revenue grew 44.1% from a year earlier, reflecting average same-store sales growth of 10.3%.
On the earnings call, Investor Relations Director Juan Fonseca said Bara's store base could grow more than 30% in 2027 and that Femsa planned to open more Bara locations that year than in 2026. CEO José Antonio Fernández Garza said the company had "promised a store a day" for Bara and would probably exceed that commitment.
Femsa's broader results
Monterrey-based Femsa, formally Fomento Económico Mexicano, reported consolidated quarterly revenue of MXN 235.6 billion, up 9.8%. Operating income rose 9.9% to MXN 19.9 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 12.9% to MXN 34.8 billion. Consolidated net income reached MXN 10.6 billion, an 81.0% increase.
At its Coca-Cola Femsa bottling business, revenue rose 10.9% and operating income increased 15.4%. Arias said a one-time insurance-claim benefit contributed to the operating result; excluding it, operating income would have grown 7.4%.
Femsa also trades in New York through American depositary receipts, securities that represent shares in a foreign company. The figures and management comments were published in Femsa's October 28 results report and earnings call, with additional call coverage from MarketBeat.
Expansion target remains for 2027
Arias said Oxxo would probably finish 2026 somewhat below its usual pace of 1,000 net new stores, but Femsa retained that annual target for 2027 and beyond. It did not provide a revised figure for 2026.
The available disclosures do not break down the closures by city or state or specify how many of the roughly 250 stores under review remain to be closed. Management expects the closure program's effects to continue during the fourth quarter.
