3 Big Numbers is a weekly column that looks at a few key details from around the c-store industry.
CrossAmerica Partners had a pretty solid first quarter.
Net income flipped from a $7 million loss in Q1 2025 to a gain of more than $10 million in Q1 2026, according to the earnings report. Adjusted EBITDA was up 45% and operating expenses were down almost 14%.
In her first quarter as president and CEO, Maura Topper noted that “over the past few years, we have been deliberately shaping the partnership, increasing our exposure to retail operations and retail fuel pricing through our class of trade conversion activities and utilizing targeted real estate asset sales to generate capital to reinvest in the business.”
In this week’s “3 Big Numbers,” we’re taking a closer look at CrossAmerica’s latest quarter and how those efforts Topper highlighted are going.
340
CrossAmerica’s company-owned c-store count at the end of the first quarter.
One of CrossAmerica’s biggest initiatives in recent years has been its increasing focus on the retail side of its business. At the end of Q1 2026, its company-operated c-store count stood at 340 locations across multiple banners, including Hy-Miler Convenience, Joe’s Kwik Mart and Uni-Mart.
While that’s up from the end of 2023, it’s down 12 locations from the end of last quarter and 36 year over year.
The company sold 16 sites during the first quarter for $12.7 million in proceeds. While a spokesperson could not be reached by press time with questions about how many of those were c-stores, officials said they are taking a long look at their whole footprint.
“We continue to focus on maximizing the value of each site through class-of-trade conversions, while focusing on being in retail in the right markets,” said Topper.
$2.1 million
CrossAmerica’s growth-oriented capital expenditures in Q1.
The company logged about $3.4 million in capital expenditures during the first quarter, of which it spent $2.1 million on growth, according to the earning presentation.
While new stores might be the first thought when someone says “growth spending,” CrossAmerica’s focus was actually on the in-store experience.
“Regarding our growth capital spending, we remain focused on our company operated locations, especially in food related investments that will contribute to our merchandise sales and margin results,” said John Benfield, interim chief financial officer, during the earnings call.
That’s apparently paying off for the retailer, as it saw a 2% lift in inside sales during Q1, which Topper attributed to both branded and proprietary food, along with packaged beverages and other tobacco products.
43.7 cents
The average fuel margin for CrossAmerica’s sites in Q1.
Topper also spent some time during the earnings call discussing fuel prices in light of the global headwinds retailers are facing.
CrossAmerica’s retail segment saw an 18% gross profit increase year over year, built partly on the back of increased fuel margins. In Q1 2026, those margins were 43.7 cents per gallon, compared to 33.9 cents in the year-ago quarter.
The company saw strong fuel sourcing costs in January and February, then in March and into April, prices and volatility both rose.
“Historically, that type of rising environment would have resulted in fuel margin compression,” Topper noted. “However, fuel markets have generally remained rational, with retailers quickly transmitting their increased costs to the pump, providing a practical floor to fuel margins during this period, which benefited our results.”
