- An open dealer owns the business and the fuel inventory, buys fuel at a branded or unbranded wholesale price, and keeps 100 percent of the retail fuel margin and all in-store profit. This is the model with the most upside and the most risk.
- A lessee-dealer leases the site and equipment from a supplier or landlord, still buys and owns the fuel, and keeps the fuel margin minus rent. The lease and fuel supply agreement together set the ceiling on what you can earn.
- A commission agent never owns the fuel. The supplier owns the gas in the ground, sets the street price, and pays the operator a fixed commission per gallon, typically in the $0.05 to $0.30 per gallon range of monthly throughput. Inside sales are usually the agent's to keep.
- Fuel net profit is only a few cents per gallon across all three models even though 2025 fuel gross margins averaged 40 plus cents per gallon. The C-store is roughly 30 percent of revenue but around 70 percent of profit, so inside sales drive the deal.
- Business-only fuel operations trade at 2.5x to 4.0x EBITDA, combined business plus dealership at 4.0x to 7.0x, and deals with real estate around 8x EBITDA. Which multiple applies depends heavily on the operating model and what conveys at closing.
- An open dealer or lessee-dealer with real estate is a buyable business with financeable assets. A commission agent agreement is closer to a management contract and is far harder to finance or resell.
When you buy a fuel site, the operating model decides almost everything about the economics. The same store can throw off very different cash flow depending on whether the operator is an open dealer, a lessee-dealer, or a commission agent. These terms describe who owns the real estate, who owns the fuel in the tanks, who sets the street price, and who keeps the cents per gallon. Most first-time buyers focus on the brand on the canopy and the gallons on the pumps and miss the contract structure underneath, which is where the real value lives. This guide breaks down all three models, shows how each one changes the income statement, and explains how to read a deal so you know what you are actually purchasing. Fuel net profit is only a few cents per gallon in every model, so the contract terms matter more than the headline volume.
What an open dealer actually owns and earns
An open dealer is the model most people picture when they think of owning a C-store. The dealer owns or leases the real estate outright, owns all the equipment, and most importantly owns the fuel in the tanks. The dealer buys fuel at wholesale from a jobber or directly from a supplier, sets the street price, and keeps the entire spread between the rack cost plus freight and taxes and what customers pay at the pump.
This is the model with the most control and the most exposure. The dealer absorbs price swings, dead stock, shrinkage, and the cost of holding inventory. In exchange the dealer keeps 100 percent of fuel margin and 100 percent of in-store profit, where in-store items carry 20 to 40 percent margins. A small-to-medium open dealer often nets roughly $70K to $100K per year, rising to $100K to $500K on stronger sites.
For buyers this is the cleanest thing to purchase because the income statement reflects the full economics of the location. See our branded vs unbranded breakdown for how brand choice changes a dealer's fuel cost.
The lessee-dealer model: you run it, you do not own the dirt
A lessee-dealer sits between an open dealer and a commission agent. The operator leases the site and usually the fuel equipment from a supplier, an oil company, or a landlord, but still buys and owns the fuel and runs the store as an independent business. The lessee-dealer keeps the fuel margin and the inside sales, then pays rent and is typically locked into a fuel supply agreement that requires buying branded product from a specific source.
The economics here turn on two documents working together. The lease sets your occupancy cost and term, and the fuel supply agreement sets your wholesale price, volume commitments, and brand obligations. A favorable lease with a punishing supply contract can still produce a thin deal, and vice versa.
For a buyer, a lessee-dealer position is acquirable but you are buying into someone else's lease and supply terms. Read both contracts before you read the tax return. The remaining lease term, renewal options, rent escalators, and any change of control or assignment clauses determine whether the cash flow you are underwriting survives the closing.
The commission agent model: you never own the gas
A commission agent, sometimes called a commission marketer or consignment dealer, does not own the fuel at all. The supplier or oil company owns the gasoline in the underground tanks, sets the retail street price, and pays the operator a fixed commission for every gallon pumped. That commission commonly falls in the $0.05 to $0.30 per gallon of monthly throughput range depending on volume, location, and the supplier.
The trade is simple. The agent gives up control of fuel pricing and fuel margin and in return carries no fuel inventory risk, no price-swing exposure, and far less capital tied up in product. Most commission agents keep the inside sales, which is where the money is anyway given the C-store is around 70 percent of profit.
The catch for buyers is that a commission agent agreement behaves like a management or operating contract, not a fee-simple business. The supplier can often terminate or decline to assign it. That makes a commission position the hardest of the three to finance and the hardest to resell, which directly affects valuation.
How each model changes the income statement
The same physical store reads completely differently across the three models, and you have to normalize before you compare deals. A busy urban station doing 100,000 to 150,000 gallons per month against the US average of roughly 4,000 gallons per day looks impressive on volume alone, but volume only converts to cash according to the model.
An open dealer's statement shows full fuel revenue and full fuel cost of goods, so gross looks large and net is thin. Remember that 2025 fuel gross margins averaged 40 plus cents per gallon but net fuel profit is only a few cents per gallon after card fees, freight, and shrink. A lessee-dealer's statement looks similar but carries a rent line that an open dealer who owns the dirt does not. A commission agent's statement is the cleanest: fuel shows up as a single commission income line with no fuel COGS at all, and the inside store carries the rest.
Run the numbers yourself with our C-store valuation calculator before you trust a seller's adjusted figure.
What each model is worth and why
Operating model drives the valuation multiple as much as the financials do. Business-only fuel operations trade at 2.5x to 4.0x EBITDA, with smaller stores often quoted on SDE at 2.0x to 3.5x. A combined business plus dealership package runs 4.0x to 7.0x EBITDA, and deals that include the real estate land around 8x EBITDA, reaching 7x to 9x in premium markets.
The reason is durability and financeability. An open dealer or lessee-dealer who controls the fuel and conveys a transferable lease or owned real estate is selling something a buyer can finance, operate, and resell. A commission agent is selling a contract the supplier controls, which compresses the multiple because the cash flow is not fully the seller's to give.
National cap rates sit around 5.6 percent with fuel and 6.87 percent without fuel, so the income mix matters too. The more of the value that rests on owned real estate and durable inside sales, the tighter the cap rate and the more there is to finance.
Financing and resale differ sharply by model
Lenders care about what secures the loan. An open dealer or lessee-dealer with real estate gives a lender hard collateral. SBA 7(a) goes up to $5M, special-purpose C-stores need a 15 percent minimum equity injection meaning 10 to 15 percent down, and real estate terms run up to 25 years, with June 2026 rates roughly 9 to 11.5 percent APR variable and closings in 30 to 90 days. Conventional financing typically requires 30 to 40 percent down, and many banks avoid sites with underground storage tanks because of CERCLA liability.
A commission agent agreement is far harder to finance because there is little to pledge and the supplier can terminate it. Lenders treat it closer to goodwill than to a hard asset.
Any fuel deal with real estate will require a Phase I ESA at $1,800 to $3,500 under ASTM E1527-21, and it is required for SBA fuel deals. Compare paths with our SBA vs conventional guide before you make an offer.
How to read a deal and confirm the model
Never take the listing's word for the operating model. The truth is in the contracts, not the marketing. Ask for the fuel supply agreement, any ground or equipment lease, and the franchise or commission agreement up front, then confirm three things: who holds title to the fuel inventory, who sets the street price, and how the operator is actually paid for fuel.
If the operator owns the fuel and sets the price, you are looking at an open dealer or lessee-dealer and the rent line tells you which. If the supplier owns the fuel and pays a per gallon commission, it is a commission agent and you are buying a contract, not a margin. Check assignment and change of control language in every agreement, because a deal that cannot transfer to you is not a deal.
Work the rest of the file with our due diligence checklist, and when you are ready to evaluate live opportunities, browse branded C-store listings.