Freedom Fuel Network Sells $3.47 Gas at Likely Losses of $250,000 a Month

Q: Who is secretly funding the Freedom Fuel Network's massive losses at the gas pump?

No one has publicly identified the funder. Based on the reporting and expert analysis available, the source of any subsidy behind Freedom Fuel Network’s below-market gasoline prices remains unknown. What is known is that the White House says the company is private, not connected to President Trump, and not receiving administration money. At the same time, fuel analysts say the $3.47 price appears economically hard to sustain. Using wholesale fuel costs, taxes, and delivery expenses, experts estimate stations would need to charge roughly $3.64 a gallon just to break even, implying losses of about 17 cents per gallon at the advertised price. For an average station, that could mean more than $11,000 in monthly losses. That gap is why analysts believe some form of subsidy or promotional backing is likely. GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said “someone is funding the difference,” but added it could be “anyone.” Tom Kloza of OPIS suggested the pricing may be a short-term promotion that could be partly offset by convenience-store sales, though he and others doubt that alone would make the model sustainable. Public records offer little clarity. A Delaware entity called Freedom Fuel Network, LLC was incorporated shortly before the rollout and filed a trademark application, but no owner or parent company has been publicly disclosed. The company and its attorney have declined to explain who is behind it. So, at this point, the backer is not publicly known.

3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Jul 9

$3.47-a-gallon sales at 25 Freedom Fuel Network stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey would likely erase profits and cost the group more than $250,000 a month, according to industry data reviewed by ABC News.
OPIS data showed stations would have needed about $3.64 a gallon just to break even on July 3, and Pennsylvania wholesale prices had already climbed to $3.03 by July 9 as oil rose amid the Iran conflict.
Public records show little about the operator: no business by that name is registered in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, while a Delaware LLC filed a trademark on July 1, the same day Trump promoted the network.
Shell and Valero said they are not affiliated with the operation, underscoring questions about how long the discount can last and whether stations are using it as a loss-leading promotion to drive store traffic.
Trump praised the retailer as helping lower pump prices for the 47th president, while the White House said the company is private, receives no administration funding and is simply cutting its own margins.