Gallons Down, Margins Up: What the Four Public Propane Filings Tell an Independent

What each one reported

AmeriGas. UGI Corp. reported 733 million retail gallons for the year ended September 30, 2025, a slight decrease from the prior year, per the AmeriGas segment table in its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K. Total margin still rose, the filing reports. The same filing reports a unit-margin, fee, and volume decomposition. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2026 the quarterly report says retail gallons fell to 585 million, down 4 percent. The same 10-Q attributes the decline to warmer weather in the West, the September 2025 Hawaii sale, and continuing customer attrition. In its August 5, 2026 earnings release, chief executive Bob Flexon said the segment was seeing “improved volume retention” and better “safety, net promoter score, zero fills, and out-of-gas incidents”.

Ferrellgas. For the year ended July 31, 2025, the company reported 566.9 million retail gallons, up 1 percent, plus 217.2 million wholesale gallons, up 9 percent. The fiscal 2025 filing reports a retail margin per gallon for the segment. In the quarter ended April 30, 2026, the 10-Q reports margin per gallon up about 5 percent, even as gallons slipped. The same books report about 0.7 million company-owned tanks and about 4.2 million portable cylinders. On the earnings call, chief executive Tamria Zertuche said “customer retention continued to improve” and “Regained accounts were meaningfully up versus the prior year.”

Suburban Propane. Suburban reported 400.5 million retail propane gallons in fiscal 2025, up 5.9 percent, and serves roughly 1.0 million customers from about 750 locations in 42 states, its Form 10-K reports. Propane unit margins rose about 1 percent, the filing reports, with the gain spread across customer categories. Weather ran 9 percent warmer than normal for the year, per the same filing, but January and February came in 13 percent colder than a year earlier. The 10-K credits the gallon increase to that critical-month cold, post-hurricane demand in the Southeast, national-accounts growth, and acquisitions. On the call, chief financial officer Michael Kuglin said unit margins rose across all customer categories.

Star Group. Star reported fiscal 2025 volume of home heating oil and propane up 11.5 percent, to 282.6 million gallons, from 253.4 million gallons a year earlier. Star publishes what the other three do not. It reported net customer attrition of 4.7 percent for the year, built from gross gains of 8.8 percent against gross losses of 13.5 percent. For the nine months ended June 30, 2026, the filing reports gross profit per gallon up 6.9 percent, and nine-month net attrition of 2.7 percent.

Here are the four side by side, each figure taken from that company’s most recent SEC filings. Star Group’s gallons combine home heating oil and propane, which the other three report separately.

Company	Retail gallons, fiscal 2025	Nine months, fiscal 2026	Margin per gallon	What it discloses on customers	Recent deals
AmeriGas	733 million, slight decrease	585 million, down about 4 percent	unit margin up	over 1.0 million accounts; attrition named, not counted	sold Hawaii, September 2025
Ferrellgas	566.9 million, up 1 percent	474.1 million, down 2 percent	up about 5 percent in the quarter	908,224 accounts on the restated count; retention “improved,” no rate	one immaterial bolt-on acquisition in fiscal 2025
Suburban Propane	400.5 million, up 5.9 percent	342.4 million, up 0.8 percent	up about 1 percent for the year	about 1.0 million accounts; no attrition rate	propane books in NM, AZ and CA
Star Group	282.6 million, up 11.5 percent	271.2 million, up 3.3 percent	up 6.9 percent	about 396,900 full-service accounts; 4.7 percent net attrition	small heating-oil bolt-ons in 2026

What changed since June

Ferrellgas used the spring quarter to clear old casualty claims. Its April 30, 2026 10-Q reports an addition to operating expense and adjusted results down; management called it a one-time cleanup, not a recurring cost. UGI reported debt transactions across UGI International, AmeriGas Propane and UGI Energy Services that cut annualized interest. For context on that AmeriGas gallon comparison: the September 2025 Hawaii sale (not a recent event, but still shaping the year-over-year math) is what the company says pulls the fiscal 2026 number down. Star returned to small deals — one earlier in fiscal 2026 and one in a subsequent August acquisition, its 10-Q reports; chief executive Jeff Woosnam said the company is “actively assessing a number of possible attractive opportunities.” And Ferrellgas extended chief executive Tamria Zertuche’s contract through July 2029, an 8-K reports — leadership continuity through another winter.

What remains unverified: UGI does not disclose a numeric AmeriGas attrition rate, and Suburban does not either.

Ten things an independent can take from these books

1. Set unit margin against your own budget. AmeriGas grew total margin dollars on a slight gallon decline in fiscal 2025, per its 10-K. Ferrellgas reported margin per gallon up about 5 percent in its April quarter while gallons slipped, per its 10-Q. Suburban and Star grew gallons in fiscal 2025. Star reported gross profit per gallon up 6.9 percent over nine months, per its filing. Price against your own budgeted margin.

2. Count attrition as a number. Star is the only one of the four that publishes it, reporting 4.7 percent net for fiscal 2025 and 2.7 percent for the nine months ended June 30, 2026, per its 10-Q. At that 4.7 percent annual rate, a 500-customer book replaces more than 20 households a year before it has grown at all.

3. Only about one percent actually leaves for another fuel. Star reported that it estimates 1.0 percent of accounts left for natural gas or electricity in the nine months ended June 30, 2026 (1.3 percent for full fiscal 2025), per its filings. It does not publish a full breakout of the rest.

4. Fee income moves the year. AmeriGas told UGI investors that lower fee income cost the segment and softer volume cost more, both within fiscal 2025, per the filing. A dealer who never itemizes hazmat, delivery, or minimum-usage fees is giving that line away.

5. Company-owned tanks are rented to customers in the filings. Ferrellgas reported about 0.7 million propane tanks at July 31, 2025, most located on customer property and rented to those customers, and about 4.2 million portable cylinders, per its 10-K. AmeriGas reported about 840,000 stationary tanks and about 3.6 million cylinders; UGI’s 10-K also lists tank-rental revenues at AmeriGas Propane.

6. Buying gallons has a published price tag, not a published per-gallon rate. Star reported paying, in fiscal 2025, for one heating-oil and three propane businesses, per its 10-K, and for two small heating-oil deals in 2026, per its 10-Q. The filings do not itemize gallons per deal, so a per-gallon price cannot be calculated from what is disclosed.

7. Watch weather by region. In its spring quarter Ferrellgas reported the western half of the country running 24 to 27 percent warmer than a year earlier, while other regions were also warmer than normal, just less extreme, per its release. A national marketer averages that out. A dealer with one service area cannot — the argument for load that does not turn on a cold night.

8. Ferrellgas booked an uninsured rail settlement. Ferrellgas reported a settlement of the Eddystone Rail judgment in fiscal 2025, and the 10-K states that litigation was not covered by insurance. General and administrative expense rose, the filing says, primarily from that settlement.

9. Pre-buy and price-cap books carry real exposure. Star reported that 34.7 percent of its spring-quarter volume was price-protected, per its 10-Q. The filing does not quantify how much of that book is unhedged. Cap a price-protection program to working capital, and hedge it when you sell it.

10. Use a good margin year to pay down debt. Suburban reported making a revolver repayment in the quarter, per its release. Star reported cutting long-term debt over nine months, per its 10-Q. Debt transactions across UGI International, AmeriGas Propane and UGI Energy Services cut UGI’s annualized interest, the filing reports.