{"id":5271,"date":"2026-08-14T13:41:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T13:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5271"},"modified":"2026-08-14T13:41:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T13:41:49","slug":"hunt-for-ai-proof-trades-turns-convenience-shops-into-hot-stocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5271","title":{"rendered":"Hunt for AI-proof trades turns convenience shops into hot stocks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Shares of the group\u2019s biggest names \u2014 Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Casey\u2019s General Stores Inc., and Murphy USA Inc. \u2014 have surged to near record levels and are all up at least 24% this year. The leader of the pack, Casey\u2019s, is up more than 54% and on track for its best annual performance in 35 years. The stock was also added as a member of the S&amp;P 500 Index four months ago.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5269\">Social Security is celebrating its 91st birthday. It won\u2019t live to 100, watchdog warns<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Deemed defensive value plays as investors seek to hedge against unpredictability in the AI trade, the cohort is getting a boost from changing consumer habits and most notably \u2014 fuel prices. Energy markets have been roiled since the US attacked Iran in late February and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cGas prices moving up and down and being very volatile is a benefit just because the convenience store has to keep prices fairly elevated but they can be more opportunistic on when they buy,\u201d said William Blair analyst Phillip Blee.<\/p>\n<p>Large-scale convenience stores like Circle K owner Couche-Tard recently\u00a0reported\u00a0large gains in fuel margins after the war. So far this year, shares of the Canadian company climbed 22% in Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is public-market demand for convenience-store exposure, even outside the established public names,\u201d Melius Research analyst Jacob Aiken-Phillips wrote in a note to clients, pointing to the results of April\u2019s\u00a0initial public offering\u00a0of Yesway Inc. That offering was 10 times oversubscribed and shares of the firm, which is backed by private equity firm Brookwood Financial Partners, are up 22% since their debut.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Cumberland Farms Ltd, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based gas station and convenience store operator,\u00a0filed\u00a0for a US initial public offering. The company, which is backed by buyout firm TDR Capital, is considering seeking a valuation of about $9 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg News\u00a0reported\u00a0in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That same month, the Roundhill HALO ETF, which focuses on high-asset, low-obsolescence stocks as a diversification strategy from AI, purchased shares of Casey\u2019s, marking the fund\u2019s sole convenience store investment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dAs investors look for growth opportunities away from tech, we think that a company like Casey\u2019s is a great expression of that,\u201d said Roundhill Financial Chief Executive Officer Dave Mazza.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Best known for its\u00a0pizza, Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey\u2019s focuses on towns with 20,000 people or less across 19 states, a strategy that analysts say sets it apart from peers. Casey\u2019s recently announced a three-year strategic\u00a0growth\u00a0plan that involves expanding its chicken wing business and adding at least 400 stores in places such as Texas and other parts of the South.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5267\">Current price of oil as of August 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe cash flows that they earn are coming from essential daily demand for things like fuel and food and other staples,\u201d said Mazza.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Beyond gas, nicotine pouches, beverages, and foodservice were common callouts as sales growth drivers for the cohort, according to JPMorgan analyst Thomas Palmer.<\/p>\n<p>New nicotine products\u00a0are helping contribute to higher sales margins. Murphy said in its second-quarter earnings call that it sees nicotine pouches and a \u201ccontinued resurgence in that cigarette category\u201d driving growth in the second half of this year. Shares of Murphy are up nearly 40% this year.<\/p>\n<p>Some analysts warn, however, that convenience stores face challenges when oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty eventually normalize. Acknowledging those risks, 7-Eleven\/Seven &amp; i said it would\u00a0delay\u00a0the planned listing of its US operation to fiscal year ending February 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Murphy also released a \u201cdeliberately conservative\u201d guidance for 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen thinking about retail margins for the rest of the year, it\u2019s very difficult to predict where we\u2019re going to land because we\u2019re in the middle of a lot of heightened volatility with a crisis that continues to ebb and flow and don\u2019t know where that will end,\u201d said Murphy CEO Mindy West during its earnings call.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As geopolitical volatility subsides, investors will be focused on same-store sales and gas-margin sustainability, according to Irene Nattel, an RBC analyst. Both Couche-Tard and Casey\u2019s are slated to report earnings next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe big debate in the industry right now is whether 2027 is a down year across the board,\u201d said Aiken-Phillips, pointing out that the strength this summer can support the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re probably not gonna see as much growth next year,\u201d he added. \u201cSome of them might even be down on EBITDA, but it has structurally raised the profit floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5265\">A value investor\u2019s reluctant case for gold<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Casey&#8217;s, Murphy USA and Couche-Tard have climbed at least 24% this year as investors seek defensive plays beyond tech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-markets"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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