VALVOLINE INC
For the period ended Sep 30, 2025. Filed Nov 21, 2025.
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FY2025 · Filed Nov 21, 2025
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Business Overview
BUSINESS OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE
As the quick, easy, trusted leader in automotive preventive maintenance, Valvoline is creating shareholder value by driving the full potential of its core business, delivering sustainable network growth, and continuing to innovate to meet the evolving needs of customers and the car parc. With average customer ratings that indicate high levels of service satisfaction, Valvoline and the Company’s franchise partners simplify vehicle care so customers can do what drives them. This includes approximately 15-minute stay-in-your-car oil changes; battery, bulb and wiper replacements; tire rotations; and other manufacturer recommended maintenance services. The Company operates and franchises approximately 2,200 service center locations through its Valvoline Instant Oil Change SM (“VIOC”) and Valvoline Great Canadian Oil Change (“GCOC”) retail locations and supports over 240 locations through its Express Care TM platform.
Valvoline's fiscal year ends on September 30 of each year.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Refranchising
Valvoline sold 67 company-owned stores to existing and new franchise partners through the completion of three transactions that occurred in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (the “Refranchising Transactions”). These conversions, combined with executed development agreements, are expected to provide accelerated growth in the respective markets and deliver long-term value to shareholders. The Refranchising Transactions impact the comparability of financial results year-over-year as further discussed further below.
During October 2025, the Company entered into an agreement and completed the sale of 10 company-owned service center stores and related net assets to a franchisee. The Company will derecognize the related net assets and expects to recognize a gain on sale in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 to reflect the completion of this transaction.
Breeze Autocare
In February 2025, Valvoline signed a definitive agreement to acquire Breeze Autocare from Greenbriar. Breeze Autocare is an independent provider of automotive quick lube and other preventive maintenance services operating predominantly under the Oil Changers brand, with an extensive footprint in California, Texas, and the Midwest.
In November 2025, Valvoline received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to close the acquisition of Breeze Autocare subject to a Decision and Order from the FTC. Valvoline will acquire 207 Breeze Autocare stores, and consistent with the Decision and Order, Valvoline will divest 45 of those locations to
Mainstreet Auto, LLC (“Mainstreet”), for a net purchase price of $593 million, subject to (i) adjustments for store acquisitions and sale-leaseback transactions completed by Breeze Autocare since signing and (ii) customary closing adjustments. The Breeze Autocare acquisition is expected to close on December 1, 2025, with the divestiture to Mainstreet occurring shortly thereafter. The Company intends to fund the Breeze Autocare acquisition with a newly issued $740 million Term Loan B commensurate with the closing of the transaction with excess proceeds being used to pay down outstanding debt.
FISCAL 2025 OVERVIEW
Key operating highlights from continuing operations are presented below, each of which is discussed more fully in this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
| 6% | $389.9 million | 2% |
| Growth in Net revenues | Operating income from continuing operations | Growth in Diluted EPS |
| $3.5 billion | $59.8 million | $307.1 million |
| System-wide store sales (a) | Returned to shareholders through share repurchases | Cash flows from operations |
| 2,180 | 19 years | 5.5% |
| System-wide stores (a) with 8.5% annual growth | of consecutive system-wide same-store sales growth (b) | Growth in adjusted EBITDA (c) |
| (a) | Measures include Valvoline franchisees, which are independent legal entities. Valvoline does not consolidate the results of operations of its franchisees. |
|---|---|
| (b) | Valvoline determines SSS growth as the year-over-year change in net revenues of U.S. VIOC same stores (company-operated, franchised and the combination of these for system-wide SSS) with same stores defined as those that have been in operation within the system for at least 12 full months. |
| (c) | Represents a non-GAAP measure. Refer to “Use of Non-GAAP Measures” and the Appendix for additional details. |
Summarized below are Valvoline's trends in the results of its continuing operations Net revenues, Income from continuing operations, and Adjusted EBITDA over the last five fiscal years:
(a)Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure, further described and defined within the “Use of Non-GAAP Measures” section below. Also refer to the “Continuing operations EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA” section within “Results of Operations” belowfor a reconciliation of income from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA for each fiscal year presented.
(b)Includes the effects of certain unusual, infrequent or non-operational activity not directly attributable to the underlying business, which management believes impacts the comparability of operational results between periods (“key items,” as further described below).
Net revenues and Adjusted EBITDA trends have continued to increase over the past five fiscal years largely driven by strong system-wide same-store sales (“SSS”) growth, which benefited from higher average ticket, continued non-oil change penetration and increased transactions, in addition to acquisitions and overall store expansion. Income from continuing operations has also followed an upward trend due to strong top-line performance, with the exception of fiscal 2022, where the decrease was primarily driven by a loss due to the remeasurement of pension and other postretirement plans, as well as higher separation-related expenses in connection with the planning and evaluation of the separation of the Company’s businesses that ultimately culminated in the sale of Global Products.
Results for Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023
For comparisons of Valvoline's consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2024 to September 30, 2023, refer to Item 7 of Part II of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 22, 2024.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
To aid in the understanding of Valvoline’s ongoing business performance, certain items within this document are presented on an adjusted, non-GAAP basis. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the financial statements presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully evaluated.
The following are the non-GAAP measures management has included and how management defines them:
EBITDA - net income/loss, plus income tax expense/benefit, net interest and other financing expenses, and depreciation and amortization;
Adjusted EBITDA - EBITDA adjusted for the impacts of certain unusual, infrequent or non-operational activity not directly attributable to the underlying business, which management believes impacts the comparability of operational results between periods ("key items," as further described below);
Adjusted EBITDA margin - adjusted EBITDA divided by net revenues;
Free cash flow - cash flows from operating activities less total capital expenditures, comprised of growth and maintenance, further described below; and
Free cash flow excluding growth capital expenditures- cash flows from operating activities less maintenance capital expenditures.
Non-GAAP measures include adjustments from results based on U.S. GAAP that management believes enables comparison of certain financial trends and results between periods and provides a useful supplemental presentation of Valvoline's operating performance that allows for transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating the business and measuring performance. The manner used to compute non-GAAP information used by management may differ from the methods used by other companies, and may not be comparable. For a reconciliation of the most comparable U.S. GAAP measures to the non-GAAP measures, refer to the “Results of Operations” and “Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Resources” sections below.
Management believes EBITDA measures provide a meaningful supplemental presentation of Valvoline’s operating performance between periods on a comparable basis due to the depreciable assets associated with the nature of the Company’s operations as well as income tax and interest costs related to Valvoline’s tax and capital structures, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA measures enable comparison of financial trends and results between periods where certain items may not be reflective of the Company’s underlying and ongoing operations performance or vary independent of business performance.
Management uses free cash flow and free cash flow excluding growth capital expenditures as additional non-GAAP metrics of cash flow generation. By including capital expenditures, management is able to provide an indication of the ongoing cash being generated that is ultimately available for both debt and equity holders as well as other investment opportunities. Free cash flow includes the impact of capital expenditures, providing a supplemental view of cash generation. Free cash flow excluding growth capital expenditures includes maintenance capital expenditures, which are uses of cash that are necessary to maintain the Company's existing business operations, includingits retail service center store network, service portfolio, and support functions. Free cash flow excluding growth capital expenditures provides a supplemental view of cash flow generation before investments in growth capital, which expand future business operations, including the opening or expansion of retail service center stores and service capabilities. Free cash flow and free cash flow excluding growth capital expenditures have certain limitations, including that they do not reflect adjustments for certain non-discretionary cash expenditures, such as mandatory debt repayments.
The non-GAAP measures used by management exclude key items. Key items are often related to legacy matters or market-driven events considered by management to not be reflective of the ongoing operating performance. Key items may consist of adjustments related to: legacy businesses, including the separation from Valvoline's former parent company, the former Global Products reportable segment, and the associated impacts of related activity and indemnities; non-service pension and other postretirement plan activity; restructuring-related matters, including organizational restructuring plans, the separation of Valvoline’s businesses, significant acquisitions or divestitures, debt extinguishment and modification, and tax reform legislation; in addition to other matters that management considers non-operational, infrequent or unusual in nature.
Details with respect to the description and composition of key items recognized during the respective periods presented herein are set forth below in the “EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA” section of “Results of Operations” that follows.
Key Business Measures
Valvoline tracks its operating performance and manages its business using certain key measures, including system-wide, company-operated and franchised store counts and system-wide SSS and store sales. Management believes these measures are useful to evaluating and understanding Valvoline's operating performance and should be considered as supplements to, not substitutes for, Valvoline's net revenues and operating income, as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Net revenues are influenced by the number of service center stores and the business performance of those stores. Stores are considered open upon acquisition or opening for business. Temporary store closings remain in the respective store counts with only permanent store closures reflected in the activity and end of period store counts. For the periods presented herein, SSS is defined as net revenues of U.S. VIOC stores (company-operated, franchised and the combination of these for system-wide SSS) with same stores defined at the beginning of the month following the completion of 12 full months in operation within the system.
Net revenues are limited to sales at company-operated stores, in addition to royalties and other fees from independent franchised and Express Care stores. Although Valvoline does not recognize store-level sales from franchised stores as net revenues in its Statements of Condensed Consolidated Income, management believes system-wide and franchised SSS comparisons, store counts, and total system-wide store sales are useful to assess market position relative to competitors and overall store and operating performance.
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