Financial research concept

Convenience Store Prepared Food Margin

measures prepared-food and dispensed-beverage revenue less related cost of goods sold as a percentage of category revenue.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026
Research context

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Research date
Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Convenience Store & Fuel Retail Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Convenience store prepared food margin measures prepared-food and dispensed-beverage revenue less related cost of goods sold as a percentage of category revenue.

Casey's reported 58.6% for fiscal 2026.

The margin reconstructs from category dollars

Prepared-food revenue was $1.777 billion and revenue less cost of goods sold was $1.041 billion.

Dividing $1.041 billion by $1.777 billion gives approximately 58.6%.

Prepared food carried a 22.8-point margin premium to grocery

Grocery and merchandise margin was 35.8%.

The 22.8-percentage-point spread explains why prepared food represented only about 28.0% of inside sales but roughly 38.9% of inside gross profit.

The ratio is not restaurant operating margin

Casey's category cost excludes depreciation and amortization and does not include all store operating expenses.

Use Convenience Store Inside Margin for the blended store-inside economics.

Primary source: Casey's General Stores 2026 Form 10-K.

Part of the Convenience Store & Fuel Retail Economics

Connects convenience-store inside sales and category contribution with retail fuel throughput, per-gallon economics, mature-store demand, unit productivity, and footprint growth.

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Compare public companies

Compare prepared-food's 58.6% margin with grocery's 35.8% and the resulting gross-profit mix.

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