Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34, FiscalAI reports. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Marathon Petroleum’s conference call:

• Strong 2025 financials — MPC delivered full-year adjusted EPS of $10.70 and roughly $12 billion of adjusted EBITDA, generated about $8.3 billion of operating cash and returned $4.5 billion to shareholders (6.5% reduction in shares).
• Disciplined 2026 capital plan — refining capex is targeted at ~ $700 million (nearly 20% YoY reduction) with $250 million for marketing; MPC keeps net debt/capital in a 25–30% range and intends to return excess free cash flow after business needs to shareholders.
• High-return refining projects — announced Garyville upgrades (≈+30,000 bpd crude throughput and +10,000 bpd export-grade gasoline) and an El Paso yield project, all targeted to start by end‑2027 (El Paso in 2Q2026) with a stated hurdle of ~25% returns.
• Feedstock optionality & sour-crude advantage — MPC runs ~50% sour crude across its system, can pivot to Venezuelan barrels when economical, and says a $1/­bbl move in sour differentials implies roughly a $500 million annual impact to MPC.
• Near-term headwinds and risks — Q4 midstream results were lower due to divestitures, renewables faced weaker margins with a planned Martinez turnaround, and industry bargaining with the USW (contracts expired Jan 31 with rolling extensions) remains an operational/cost-risk to monitor.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $195.89 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $202.29. The company has a market capitalization of $58.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 29.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.