Valued at a market cap of $49.6 billion, Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is an integrated downstream energy company based in Findlay, Ohio. It operates a nationwide network of refineries with significant capacity to process crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined products. The company is expected to announce its fiscal Q4 earnings for 2025 on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Ahead of this event, analysts expect this energy company to report a profit of $3.73 per share, up 384.4% from $0.77 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion. Its earnings of $3.01 per share in the previous quarter missed the consensus estimates by 3.2%
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect MPC to report a profit of $10.64 per share, up 9.6% from $9.71 per share in fiscal 2024. Its EPS is expected to further grow 38.6% year-over-year to $14.75 in fiscal 2026.
MPC has rallied 22.6% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 16.2% rise and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLE) 7.2% uptick over the same time period.
On Nov. 4, MPC tumbled 6.1% after delivering its Q3 results. The company’s total revenue and other income increased 1.3% year-over-year to $35.8 billion. However, its sales and other operating revenues dropped marginally compared to the year-ago quarter, which might have weighed on investor sentiment. Adding to the downtick, its adjusted EPS of $3.01 missed the consensus estimates by 3.2%.
Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about MPC’s stock, with an overall "Moderate Buy" rating. Among 19 analysts covering the stock, eight recommend "Strong Buy," three suggest "Moderate Buy,” and eight advise “Hold.” The mean price target for MPC is $204.22, indicating a 16.7% potential upside from the current levels.
