What Lessons Can Casey's Teach C-Store Competitors, and Will the Chain's Success Story Hold?

In an extensive breakdown of Casey's success story so far, C-Store Dive senior reporter Brett Dworski outlined the key growth pillars executed by the company. Beginning with remarks made by CEO Darren Rebelez as to the three-year growth plan Casey's is embarking on -- a plan involving the addition of 400 convenience stores via new constructions and modest acquisitions -- while also pushing EBITDA up by 8%-10% CAGR.

One thing remained crystal-clear for Rebelez as he spoke to an audience of interested parties in late June: "What you will not see today is a radical departure from a strategy that’s been clearly working."

The old adage of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" may hold weight here, with Casey's reporting significant improvements in inside same-store sales since going public with the data five years ago. Each and every year since has seen growth in terms of this metric, from $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2021 to $6.3 billion in fiscal year 2026.

"Casey’s consistency has become increasingly unusual in convenience retail. Competitors including 7-Eleven, Alimentation Couche-Tard and Arko have reported softer merchandise demand and, in some cases, negative same-store merchandise sales growth," Dworski wrote.

"So how is Casey’s accomplishing this impressive feat?" he then asked, before pivoting to answer his own question. The cornerstone of Casey's success story, according to the chain's own brass, is in treating its stores like restaurants -- and in "operating an integrated business model that’s specific to Casey’s and executing that strategy with remarkable consistency," per Dworski.

“We are not playing [the] c-store foodservice game — we are playing [the] restaurant game, and we’re doing it the way restaurants do,” Rebelez said. “I ran a restaurant company, I know how it gets done, and this is the way we’re doing it.”

Why does Casey's keep outperforming many of its convenience retail peers?

Our Dir. of Research Greg Halter shared his perspective with @CStoreDive on the competitive advantages driving the company's long-term growth.

Read more: https://t.co/hBvBRfWVmT

— Carnegie Investment Counsel (@CarnegieInvest) July 16, 2026

Other areas of strength for Casey's pulled from the report:

• Pizza and wings are a big deal: Wings present a clear growth opportunity for Casey's, present in 850 location and with internal plans to roll them out to all stores as 2028 draws to a close. Its pizza is a major player, too -- it's been snagging market share from competing quick-service chains and is especially winning in rural areas, where its presence is appreciate versus other options. “They make all their pizza dough from scratch … and just things like that have set them aside from others. If you’re driving through one of those [rural] towns, what are your options?" said Greg Halter, director of research at Carnegie Investment Counsel.
• Solid, stable leadership: Dworski noted that Casey's has largely held its executive team intact over the past few years, with Rebelez emphasizing this fact in comments in the wake of investor day. “The least tenured leader on that stage yesterday has been in their job for six years. I think that continuity of leadership and everybody getting really good at their jobs, myself included, having some tenure now, really helps a lot from a leadership perspective," the CEO said.
• Ownership and operational ease: Casey's owns and operates its stores, versus competitors (Dworski cites 7-Eleven, Circle K, and Arko as examples) who do not enjoy this advantage, instead turning to franchisees or dealer-operated locations. Keeping things in-house provides agility and consistency across Casey's footprint.

Lastly, Rebelez underscored the importance of the company's "flywheel" -- described by Dworski as "a self-reinforcing growth model built around prepared food and dispensed beverages, grocery and general merchandise, and fuel" -- for a great deal of Casey's strong report card.