Refiner Brand Market Share Falls, Big Independent Retailers See Market Share Climb

The refiners saw a decline in their share of the gasoline market even though their share of the U.S. gasoline station population increased, according to the OPIS 2025 Brand Market Share Report. The decline means the additional outlets can’t match the volume of large regional players and warehouse clubs.

The report examined gasoline brand market share based on visits from OPIS MarketSharePro.

Large, independent retailers and warehouse clubs registered healthy increases in market share in 2025 and the final quarter of the year, while the grocery segment experienced declines. Both the independents and the clubs are building large, high-volume fuel outlets with much higher throughput than the conventional branded gasoline station.

Though the nation’s two largest convenience store chains had seen steady expansion in recent years, the c-store giants and their affiliates – Circle K, Holiday, GetGo, 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes – saw declines in 2025 and Q4. But both have been divesting or closing stores that don’t fit their strategic model and have aggressive plans to add stores through new construction and acquisition.

As a group, the refiner brand market share fell to 39.57% from 40.27% year to year in the fourth quarter and to 39.85% from 40.48% in 2025. Sunoco acquired a refinery when it purchased Parkland Corp. last year. When its market share is included in the fourth quarter, the refiners’ share still declined to 42.01% from 42.74% year to year.

Though the refiners’ combined market share fell, some of the refiners came out ahead. Marathon, Phillips 66, Arco, 76, Sinclair, Amoco, Irving and DK gained share in 2025. In the fourth quarter, all but one of those brands gained share year to year. Irving, along with Conoco and Cenex held steady.

The top 10 large independent retailers, including their affiliates, had a combined market share of 18.43% in the fourth quarter, up from 17.6% a year earlier. In 2025, their combined market share was 18.19%, up from 17.31% in 2024. In 2025 and the fourth quarter, seven of the 10 saw market share gains, including QuikTrip, Casey’s, Wawa, Sheetz, Kwik Trip, Buc-ee’s and Maverik.

In 2025, QuikTrip jumped to eighth place from 10th place in 2024. It had a top 10 market share for the first time in 2023, when it also ranked 10th in the U.S.

The wholesale clubs held a share of 9.32% in the fourth quarter, up from 8.91% a year earlier, and a share of 9.16% in 2025, up from 8.89% in 2024. Costco bumped BP out of fifth place and jumped over Marathon, which remained in sixth place in both 2025 and Q4.

The top two convenience store chains and their affiliates held a 9.85% share in the fourth quarter, down from 10.08% a year earlier and a 9.95% share in 2025, down from 10.1% in 2024.

The grocers saw their share as a group fall to 8.45% in the fourth quarter from 8.68% a year earlier and to 8.47% in 2025 from 8.68% in 2024.

Results by Region

Market share rankings vary widely by region. Shell, still the nation’s leading gasoline brand, continues to appear among the top five brands in all six regions. Though Circle K ranks second nationally, it appears among the top five brands in one region, the Southeast, where it comes in second place behind Shell.

While Valero lost ground nationally, slipping from ninth to 10th place, in the Southwest it has retained a solid first-place lead. Two other major oil brands rank first within a region, BP in the Great Lakes and Chevron in the West.

Five large independent retailers appear among the top five in at least one region, including Casey’s, QuikTrip, Wawa, Sheetz and Maverik, but only one shows up in two regions – QuikTrip, in the Midwest and the Southwest. Casey’s is untouchable in the Midwest, with the widest first-place lead of any brand.

Costco is the only warehouse club brand to rank within the top five in a region — the West, where it is second behind Chevron. And two grocers made a strong showing, Kroger with fifth place in the Great Lakes and H-E-B with fifth place in the Southwest.

Here are the top five brands in 2025 ranked on gasoline brand market share by visits in each region:

Great Lakes: BP (9.62%), Marathon (9.50%), Speedway (8.44%), Shell (7.97%), Kroger (6.33%).

Midwest: Casey’s (16.89%), Phillips 66 (8.93%), QuikTrip (7.19%), Cenex (4.10%), Shell (3.81%).

Northeast: Wawa (9.83%), Sheetz (8.05%), Sunoco (7.67%), Shell (6.33%), Exxon (6.12%).

Southeast: Shell (10.48%), Circle K (9.05%), Marathon (6.21%), Exxon (5.61%), Chevron (5.24%).

Southwest: Valero (10.45%), Shell (8.41%), QuikTrip (7.89%), Exxon (7.47%), H-E-B (6.73%).

West: Chevron (13.32%), Costco (12.19%), Shell (7.75%), Arco (7.56%), Maverik (5.76%).

There was little change in the rankings from the fourth quarter to the full-year results. One exception was the West, where Arco tied with Shell in third place in the final quarter of the year. In 2025, Shell alone was in third place, and Arco ranked fourth.

Here are the top five brands in Q4 ranked on gasoline brand market share by visits in each region:

Great Lakes: BP (9.61%), Marathon (9.53%), Speedway (8.23%), Shell (7.89%), Kroger (6.35%).

Midwest: Casey’s (17.09%), Phillips 66 (9.05%), QuikTrip (7.24%), Cenex (4.05%), Shell (3.70%).

Northeast: Wawa (9.89%), Sheetz (8.27%), Sunoco (7.60%), Shell (6.30%), Exxon (5.95%).

Southeast: Shell (10.45%), Circle K (9.01%), Marathon (6.26%), Exxon (5.45%), Chevron (5.19%).

Southwest: Valero (10.38%), Shell (8.33%), QuikTrip (8.06%), Exxon (7.35%), H-E-B (6.80%).

West: Chevron (13.31%), Costco (12.33%), Arco (7.68%), Shell (7.68%), Maverik (5.86%).

Reporting by Donna Harris, dharris@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com