The Top 100 Convenience Store Chains of 2018
NATIONAL REPORT — In the convenience channel, known for its smaller, neighborhood-focused stores, the big chains keep getting bigger.
In the past year, Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. added roughly 1,000 stores across 17 states when it acquired most of the retail assets of Dallas-based Sunoco LP. Meanwhile, Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. kept up its reputation as an aggressive acquirer by adding CST Brands Inc. (roughly 1,300 stores) and Holiday Cos. (500-plus stores) to its ever-growing portfolio.
With those mega-deals in the books, it's no surprise 7-Eleven and Couche-Tard sit in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on this year’s Convenience Store NewsTop 100 ranking — the same positions they have occupied since 2016.
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The past year also saw already-large chains like San Antonio-based Andeavor (formerly known as Tesoro Petroleum Corp.) jump 26 spots in ranking to No. 10 after acquiring Western Refining Inc.; and Richmond, Va.-based GPM Investments LLC gain two spots to now rank No. 12 upon acquiring E-Z Mart Stores Inc.
Four of last year's top 25 chains — including CST, Western Refining and Holiday — disappeared from this year's ranking on account of acquisitions. However, this paved the way for several new names to join this year's Top 100 ranking, and for several smaller chains to make big moves on the list. Seven chains on this year's Top 100 jumped 10 or more spots in ranking year over year, with six of those seven being smaller chains operating less than 125 stores each.
Two smaller chains, in particular, made huge moves year over year: Enmarket Inc. and Pester Marketing Co. Savannah, Ga.-based Enmarket moved up 54 positions, rising from No. 108 in 2017 to No. 54 (a tie) this year. In a leap just as impressive, Denver-based Pester Marketing gained 49 spots, going from No. 110 (tie) in 2017 to No. 61 (also a tie) this year.
The Convenience Store News Top 100 is the industry’s longest-running accounting of the largest convenience store chains by store count. The annual report is compiled in partnership with TDLinx, a service of Nielsen.
Convenience Store News Top 100
| 2018 Rank | 2017 Rank | Company, City, State | Total Store Count |
| 1 | 1 | 7-Eleven Inc., Irving, Texas | 9,348 |
| 2 | 2 | Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec, Canada | 7,230 |
| 3 | 3 | Shell Oil/Motiva Enterprises LLC, Houston | 4,406 |
| 4 | 4 | Marathon Petroleum Corp., Findlay, Ohio | 4,395 |
| 5 | 5 | Chevron Corp., San Ramon, Calif. | 3,812 |
| 6 | 7 | Exxon Mobil Corp., Irving, Texas | 3,303 |
| 7 | 6 | BP North America, Houston | 3,009 |
| 8 | 10 | Casey's General Stores Inc., Ankeny, Iowa | 2,082 |
| 9 | 8 | Sunoco LP, Dallas | 1,771 |
| 10 | 36 | Andeavor Corp., San Antonio | 1,485 |
| 11 | 11 | CITGO Petroleum Corp., Houston | 1,425 |
| 12 | 14 | GPM Investments LLC, Richmond, Va. | 1,204 |
| 13 | 12 | ConocoPhillips/Phillips 66, Houston | 1,164 |
| 14 | 13 | Cumberland Farms Inc., Westborough, Mass. | 939 |
| 15 | n/a | Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio | 831 |
| 16 | n/a | EG Group (U.S. HQ), Cincinnati | 798 |
| 17 | 16 | Wawa Inc., Media, Pa. | 795 |
| 18 | 17 | QuikTrip Corp., Tulsa, Okla. | 783 |
| 19 | 18 | RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., Atlanta | 736 |
| 20 | 20 | Pilot Flying J, Knoxville, Tenn. | 679 |
| 21 | 19 | Military, Arlington, Va. | 667 |
| 22 | 23 | Kwik Trip Inc., La Crosse, Wis. | 611 |
| 23 | 21 | Sheetz Inc., Altoona, Pa. | 568 |
| 24 | 25 | TravelCenters of America LLC, Westlake, Ohio | 484 |
| 25 | 27 | Love's Country Stores Inc., Oklahoma City | 454 |
Download the full 2018 Convenience Store NewsTop 100 ranking here.
