Gas Stations and Convenience Stores 2026: Foodservice Fuels the Future

Gas Stations and Convenience Stores 2026: Foodservice Fuels the Future

Industry Footprint and Store Count

The U.S. had 151,975 convenience stores as of December 31, 2025, a decrease of 280 stores (negative 0.2%) and the second consecutive year of net decline, making operating expenses rationalization more critical than ever. Of these, 122,620 sell fuel, the highest count in eight years and up 768 from the prior year. Single-store operators account for 60% of all convenience stores, while companies with 10 or fewer stores own 63% of locations. Companies operating 500 or more stores control 22.2% of the total. The industry processes roughly 165 million transactions per day, meaning approximately half of America visits a convenience store daily.

Fuel Volumes, Margins, and Pricing

Average fuel volume per station was 186,572 gallons per year (roughly 15,548 gallons per month) as of 2023 data, up from 152,608 gallons in 2009. Fuel volume was largely flat in 2024, with gallons up just 0.7%. The U.S. average retail gasoline price was $3.31 per gallon in 2024 (down from $3.55 in 2023), with federal energy projections forecasting further declines to approximately $3.19 in 2025 and roughly $3.00 in 2026.

Gross fuel margins have structurally improved, staying above 35 cents per gallon since July 2019, compared to sub-20 cents in 2009. Casey's General Stores reported a fuel margin of 36.4 cents per gallon in a recent FY2025 quarter. However, net profit after credit card processing fees and other costs is typically only 2 to 10 cents per gallon. Credit card fees alone averaged approximately 8.4 cents per gallon when gas was roughly $3.50, costing the industry $19.7 billion in 2023.

Inside Sales and the Foodservice Revolution

Total industry in-store sales hit a record $335.5 billion in 2024, up 2.4% and marking the 22nd consecutive year of record in-store revenue. Total industry sales including fuel reached $837.4 billion, down 2.6% due to declining fuel revenues of $501.9 billion (down 5.7%). Per-store in-store sales average approximately $2.2 million annually based on NACS data.

Current Trends in Foodservice and Convenience Stores

The most dramatic structural shift is in foodservice: prepared food and dispensed beverages now account for 28.5% of in-store sales (NACS State of the Industry data, April 2026), a trend that site selection analysis must now factor into traffic capture modeling of in-store sales and 39.6% of in-store gross profit, up from just 11.9% of in-store sales in 2004. Foodservice has overtaken cigarettes as the largest in-store category. Average store operating profit has grown from $30,000 per month in July 2019 to $75,000 per month recently, while net profit jumped from $11,000 per month to $46,000 per month.

Major Operators and Consolidation

The industry is consolidating rapidly at the top. 7-Eleven/Seven & i Holdings holds the number one position with 9,300 or more U.S. stores (including 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes brands) and 83,000 or more globally. The company plans 1,300 new large-format U.S. stores by 2030. Alimentation Couche-Tard/Circle K holds the number two position with 7,100 or more U.S. stores and 16,700 or more globally. The company withdrew its $47.2 billion bid for Seven & i in July 2025 and acquired GetGo in 2025.

Casey's General Stores holds the number three position with 2,904 stores across 20 states. Casey's acquired the 198-unit CEFCO chain for $1.1 billion in 2024 and plans 80 or more new stores in FY2026 and approximately 500 over its three-year strategic plan. Wawa is expanding to 8 new states with up to 100 stores annually until 2030.

EV Charging: Slow Build, Limited Near-Term Fuel Impact

The U.S. had 75,107 public EV charging stations with 207,227 ports as of January 2025, double the count since end of 2020. The federal NEVI program has $5 billion allocated over five years, but deployment has been slow: only approximately 148 NEVI-funded chargers were operational across 12 states by mid-2025, with 84% of funds still unobligated. Near-term fuel demand impact remains minimal. EV sales were less than 2% of all vehicles sold in 2023, and 93% of daily transportation energy still comes from liquid fuel. Half of new cars sold stay in service for 16 years, so fleet turnover is gradual. Most NEVI-awarded stations are located at gas stations, truck stops, or convenience stores.

Construction Costs and Environmental Compliance

New gas station and convenience store construction costs range widely: a standard suburban convenience store with 4 to 6 dispensers runs $1.2 million to $3 million, while highway and high-volume locations with restaurant tenancy reach $3 million to over $6 million. Hard construction costs average roughly $730 per square foot of total built area including canopy. Underground storage tanks cost approximately $28,000 each for standard 12,000-gallon units.

On the regulatory front, there are 535,060 active UST systems at roughly 190,000 facilities as of September 2025. The national technical compliance rate is only 62.9%, meaning roughly 37% of recently inspected facilities fail full compliance. There are 53,777 petroleum releases still awaiting cleanup. Compliance rates vary dramatically by state, from 19% in Indiana to 95% in Connecticut and Colorado.

Implications for Feasibility and Valuation

The convenience store sector is undergoing a structural transformation from fuel retailer to foodservice destination, with prepared food's share of gross profit nearly quadrupling in 20 years. For feasibility analysis, this means that the traditional approach of anchoring gas station valuation on fuel volume and margin is increasingly incomplete. Modern feasibility studies must model the convenience store component as a distinct business line with its own demand drivers, competitive dynamics, and margin structure. The growing dominance of foodservice revenue creates both opportunity (higher margins, differentiation potential) and risk (higher labor costs, food safety complexity, more capital-intensive build-outs). Environmental compliance remains a material feasibility consideration, with over a third of inspected facilities failing technical compliance and tens of thousands of petroleum releases awaiting remediation.

For lenders and investors evaluating projects in this sector, UnionMetric provides independent gas station feasibility study services that meet SBA and USDA requirements.

Sources

1. NACS/NielsenIQ TDLinx, U.S. Convenience Store Count, January 2026
2. NACS State of the Industry data, April 2026
3. CSP Daily News, Foodservice Drives Sales at U.S. Convenience Stores in 2024
4. NACS/MSSA, 2024 NACS Show Industry Data Presentation
5. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, January 2025
6. NielsenIQ, The 2024 State of Convenience Report
7. Convenience Store News, Industry Report 2025: Under Pressure
8. CSP Daily News, U.S. Convenience-Store Count Declines for Second Year, NACS Reports
9. U.S. EPA, Underground Storage Tank Performance Measures, FY2025
10. U.S. EPA, Learn About Underground Storage Tanks
11. CSP Daily News, Transformation of 7-Eleven Includes Opening 1,300 New U.S. Stores
12. CSP Daily News, Couche-Tard Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Seven & i Holdings
13. Congressional Research Service, EV Charging Infrastructure: Frequently Asked Questions, 2025