Cap rate curves are starting to tell a sharper story in the convenience net lease market: the more secondary the brand, the more investors are insisting on yield as the remaining term burns off. A new Matthews analysis of six major c‑store tenants shows cap rates bending upward more quickly for regional and private operators than for the flagship names, even as long ground leases and absolute NNN structures continue to support pricing across the sector.
Brand And Term Pull In The Same Direction
The report follows 7‑Eleven, Circle K, Wawa, QuikTrip, Sheetz and Maverik, and the split between core and secondary names runs straight through their cap rate curves. For 7‑Eleven and Circle K, cap rates drift only modestly as the remaining term shortens, with investors treating the combination of scale, history and, in Circle K's case, investment‑grade credit as enough to keep pricing relatively tight.
7‑Eleven, still the volume workhorse of the category, has logged 21 tenant transactions so far in 2026, on top of heavy activity in 2025, all clustering in the low-5-percent cap range. Current listings average a 5.39 percent cap with about 11 years of term left, and recent trades show a similar pattern, suggesting buyers are comfortable staying close to that band even as term steps down into the low‑teens.
Circle K's current on‑market cap rate of 5.28 percent across 37 properties, paired with roughly 12 years of remaining term, tells a similar story for an operator that combines more modest store sizes with a public parent and BBB rating.
By contrast, the Matthews data shows cap rates for Sheetz and Maverik moving more decisively as leases approach the back half of their life. Both chains are still growing and run solid formats, but they lack the same national footprint and public‑market exposure, and the pricing reflects that.
Core Names Hold The Tight End Of The Curve
Wawa and QuikTrip illustrate how brand and structure can keep the front end of the curve tight. Wawa's current listings carry an average cap rate of 4.87 percent across 58 properties, the lowest of the group, with ground leases that typically run 20 years and annual rent around $265,000 on stores just under 6,000 square feet.
Recent Wawa trades, which have cleared at cap rates in the low‑ to mid‑5 percent range, back up the idea that investors are willing to trade yield for the combination of long ground leases, high sales volumes and strong consumer recognition.
QuikTrip sits just behind Wawa in pricing, with an average on‑market cap rate of 5.28 percent across seven properties and year‑to‑date trades averaging 5.78 percent. Like Wawa, QuikTrip leans on ground leases—15‑year terms with options, typical rents around $263,500 and store sizes of about 5,282 square feet—which gives investors residual land value and limited landlord responsibilities.
New construction QuikTrip deals quote in the low‑5 percent range for 15‑ to 20‑year terms, nudging higher only as term approaches five years.
7‑Eleven rounds out the core tier. Its rent distribution spans a wide range, from roughly $29,000 up to about $650,000 in annual rent, but the curve peaks near $266,000, reflecting a mix of older, smaller boxes and newer prototypes. Even with that variation, sales comparables show caps generally between the high‑4s and mid‑5s, with deals as large as $12.4 million still clearing at or below 5.75 percent.
For investors, the takeaway is that the big three brands—Wawa, QuikTrip and 7‑Eleven—anchor the tight end of the convenience curve, with only moderate steepening as term shortens.
Where The Curves Really Steepen
It is in the secondary tier that the cap rate curves steepen and spreads widen. Sheetz, a private operator with about 826 locations, shows average cap rates of 5.60 percent and 5.85 percent in the two halves of 2025 and 5.44 percent year‑to‑date 2026, while current offerings are priced at an average cap of 5.25 percent across 11 properties. Matthews' data for Sheetz shows a more pronounced relationship between cap rates and remaining term than for the core brands, with cap rates pushing above 6 percent as the lease term falls toward the mid‑single digits.
Maverik stands out even more. The western‑focused chain, with more than 400 locations, has an average on‑market cap rate of 5.73 percent across three properties and a recent transaction history in the mid‑5s to high‑5s. Its cap rate curve shows the most pronounced steepening among the six tenants, with caps rising swiftly as the term steps down from 20 years to 10 and then 5. That is despite a landlord‑friendly lease structure—absolute NNN ground leases, 15‑year terms and rent bumps of 7.5 percent every five years, with typical annual rent near $256,500 and store sizes around 5,110 square feet.
Circle K, while often grouped with the core names because of its credit, also reveals how location and store profile can sharpen the curve. Its recent comparables range from about $1.65 million to $4.3 million, with cap rates spanning from the high‑4s to roughly 7.5 percent. Smaller Florida and California sites with shorter remaining term clearly pay more for capital than larger, longer‑lease assets in stronger trade areas, even under the same banner.
Pricing, Deal Size And Strategy
The Matthews data on rent distribution helps explain how deal size and rent level intersect with brand and term. Wawa, QuikTrip and Maverik all cluster around annual rent peaks in the mid‑$200,000s, with tails that run from roughly the low‑$100,000s into the $500,000‑plus range and, in Maverik's case, as high as about $668,000. Sheetz's curve peaks lower, around $215,000, while 7‑Eleven's is flatter and wider, reflecting its broad mix of formats and markets.
On the sales side, 7‑Eleven's recent trades stretch from roughly $1.2 million to $12.4 million at cap rates between about 4.72 percent and 5.65 percent, underscoring how the brand can support both small and large checks without a dramatic jump in yield.
QuikTrip deals have ranged from roughly $700,000 to just over $5 million; Maverik, from the mid‑$3 million range up to nearly $6.8 million; and Wawa, mostly in the $5 million to $6 million band, generally within 5.8 percent caps. Sheetz sits in between, with most trades between about $3.1 million and $6.45 million and caps that often break above 6 percent as term shortens.
For investors, the picture that emerges is of a sector where brand and term now work together to reshape convenience pricing rather than simply nudge it at the margins. Core tenants still command tight cap rates and relatively flat curves, especially on long ground leases, while secondary and regional names are paying a clear premium for capital as leases roll down.
In a market where overall yields have drifted higher, that steepening gives buyers more room to express risk appetite—leaning into Wawa, QuikTrip and 7‑Eleven for tighter but more stable pricing, or climbing the curve with Sheetz, Maverik and select Circle K assets where the extra basis points may justify the added brand and term risk.
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