Convenience-store giant 7-Eleven is going through a major period of change. | Photo: Shutterstock
7-Eleven closed out 2025 with historic leadership changes and an ambitious U.S. expansion plan following a failed takeover attempt by Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard. Here are a few highlights from the past year, and a look at where the convenience-store chain is headed in 2026.
Leadership changes
In early 2025, shareholders of Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., 7-Eleven’s parent company, approved a new board of directors and named its first foreign-born CEO in Stephen Hayes Dacus. Then in late December, longtime 7-Eleven Inc. CEO Joe DePinto announced he would retire at the end of 2025 after more than two decades at the helm.
DePinto said the future of the brand is “incredibly bright,” according to a LinkedIn post Monday. In the post, DePinto reflected on his tenure, including “everything Team 7-Eleven achieved together: growing to over 80,000 stores worldwide, strengthening our franchise network, expanding into new international markets, transforming our digital and logistics businesses and achieving a level of success few can match.”
7-Eleven President Stan Reynolds and Executive Vice President and COO Doug Rosencrans will serve as interim co-CEOs while the company’s board of directors and an executive search firm identify DePinto’s successor. Reynolds has been president of Seven & i since 2023, where he was responsible for various responsibilities, including finance, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and the Speedway integration. He joined Seven & i in 1997 and has served in numerous executive roles, including as CFO. He is a board member of 7-Eleven, Inc., 7-Eleven International and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
Rosencrans has been the executive vice president and COO for Seven & i since 2022. He has held several other leadership roles with the company, including senior vice president of franchise operations, vice president and general manager of Canada and zone vice president and vice president of fuel operations. Prior to joining Seven & i, Rosencrans served in leadership and supporting roles at Mobil Oil Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp. in fleet operations, category management, field merchandising, retail fuel pricing and retail operations and global strategy.
The company also reshuffled its senior leadership team in April, with several senior vice presidents moving into new roles to support growth and operations.
Expansion and transformation
Following a $47.2 billion takeover attempt by global c-store retailer and Circle K owner Couche-Tard in August, Seven & i announced a sweeping “transformation of 7-Eleven,” which includes actions at all levels of the organization.
As part of the transformation, the company plans to open approximately 1,300 new large-format, food-focused U.S. c-stores by 2030. The new initiative also includes an approach to investing in stores and equipment for distinctive food offering to address the need to draw customers with more differentiation.
In December, the c-store chain expanded its fresh food lineup with the rollout of a Japanese-style egg salad sandwich, bringing a popular item from its Japanese stores to participating U.S. locations. Now available nationwide at select 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores, the launch reflects the retailer’s strategy to diversify its ready-to-eat offerings and tap into global food trends that resonate with American consumers.
In 2025, another business initiative included a North American initial public offering (IPO) for 7-Eleven. In March, CSP Daily News reported that the company has determined to pursue an IPO of 7-Eleven Inc., its convenience store business in North America, by the second half of 2026 on one of the major U.S. stock exchanges. In a press briefing in April, Dacus said 7-Eleven is slated to go public in the second half of next year, but it could be delayed due to market conditions.
“The initial public offering gives us the financial flexibility to invest a bit more aggressively in our stores,” he said, per Reuters.
Future challenges
With inflationary pressures and broader economic uncertainty affecting the business, Dacus shared on the company’s earnings report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended Aug. 31, that “consumers are continuing to tighten their spending and be cautious about what they purchase,” according to a transcript from financial services site AlphaSense.
In the United States, he said 7-Eleven continues to see pressure on low-income households as the cost of living climbs. As for what lies ahead, Dacus on Friday reiterated the direction of the company.
“Our group is currently moving forward with a series of transformational leadership, capital and business initiatives to enhance our performance, ensure disciplined stewardship of resources and drive corporate and shareholder value creation,” Dacus said.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2
7-Eleven—known for its Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp brands—operates, franchises or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven, the company operates and franchises Speedway and Stripes c-stores and the Laredo Taco Company, and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits restaurant brands.
This story originally appeared in RB sister publication CSP Daily News.
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