New York, May 27, 2026, 19:03 EDT
ARKO Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq: ARKO) dropped 1.9% to $19.63 in late U.S. trading Wednesday, slipping after the close as fuel-related names moved lower along with crude oil. The stock traded in a $19.28 to $20.275 range. Volume was at 153,670 shares, according to ticker data.
APC is still near its IPO. ARKO Petroleum’s February debut came at $18 a share, raising about $200 million, according to Reuters. Wednesday’s price keeps APC over its IPO price, but the stock has pulled back from its highs.
Oil tumbled. Brent ended down 5.31% at $94.29 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate lost 5.55% to finish at $88.68. Traders responded to hints that a U.S.-Iran deal could get struck and allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen. The drop cools fuel prices, but it can also hurt margins and sap investor interest in energy stocks fast.
ARKO Petroleum isn’t in the oil production business. The company distributes fuel, delivering about 2 billion gallons per year to customers across some 3,500 sites in over 30 states, according to ARKO. Its model is “fee-based”—so ARKO usually gets paid a fixed fee or a margin based on supply deals instead of relying on swings in oil prices. Businessinsider
The stock followed other names lower. Sunoco shed 2.4%, Murphy USA was off 2.8%, and CrossAmerica Partners slipped 1.4%. The S&P 500 energy index fell 1.5% as oil gave back ground.
ARKO Petroleum posted higher net income and better adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter earlier this month. Net income came in at $8.1 million, up from $4.5 million the year before. Adjusted EBITDA was $36.4 million from $30.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA drops items like interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and isn’t a GAAP metric.
Revenue came in at $1.344 billion, almost flat from $1.347 billion a year ago, according to a filing. The company sold 452.9 million total fuel gallons, down from 476.9 million. Total fuel margin increased, up to 11.4 cents per gallon from 9.9 cents.
The company kept its 2026 guidance unchanged. It still sees full-year adjusted EBITDA at roughly $156 million and discretionary cash flow near $110 million. Discretionary cash flow is a non-GAAP cash number the company uses to talk about available cash.
APC posted solid year-over-year growth, Chairman, President and CEO Arie Kotler said with the company’s May 11 results. Kotler said all three segments grew. He also mentioned “low leverage” and about $731 million in liquidity. Businessinsider
Crude’s sharp swing on the day left oil analysts hesitant. Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, told Reuters global supplies that were tight are “beginning to lessen.” Mark Schaefer, director at Liquidity Energy, pointed to increased shipping that lifted hopes Hormuz “could gradually reopen.” Reuters
But things can shift. ARKO Petroleum flagged in its latest quarterly filing that if fuel prices jump, some dealers may run out of credit to buy at the usual pace. Higher prices at the pump can also weigh on demand, the company said. The filing stated that if interest rates rise by one percentage point, annual debt service would go up by about $1.9 million.
Investors are now looking at a more focused question than just the oil tape: can APC keep turning ARKO retail sites into dealer spots, expand into fleet fueling, and keep margins up if crude shifts again. The company said it moved 41 ARKO sites to dealer in Q1 and aims for 20 new fleet-fueling locations in 2026.
