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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Halliburton Company vs Marathon Petroleum: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Marathon Petroleum holds the cleaner structural position, with profitability as the main driver and stability adding further support. Halliburton Company does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. On the market side, Marathon Petroleum is in better shape — its trend is intact while Halliburton Company's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Marathon Petroleum's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-07-05

The clearest separation starts in profitability, but stability adds another real layer to the result. Marathon Petroleum Corporation leads by 16 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.74
Similar
Peer-set rank: #9
within Halliburton Company's functional peer set

This comparison is anchored in long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The strongest overlap appears in recent revenue growth and investment intensity.

Similarity drivers
recent revenue growthinvestment intensity
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
HAL
Halliburton Company
52
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
MPC
Marathon Petroleum Corporation
68
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: HAL vs MPC Profitability 31 61 Stability 34 58 Valuation 82 82 Growth 56 70 HAL MPC
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +30
#2 Stability +24
#3 Growth +14
#4 Valuation
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for HAL and MPC Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer HALMPC Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup is mixed: neither company clearly combines the stronger profile with the more supportive price setup.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where HAL and MPC each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY HAL Neutral · above norm 0th 50th 100th 36 pct gap MPC Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 63rd 99th
Today HAL sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (63rd percentile), while MPC sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, HAL is at a historically more favourable entry position than MPC. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Marathon Petroleum Corporation sits in the stronger part of the group on profitability, while Halliburton Company is closer to mid-pack.
Stability
Marathon Petroleum Corporation sits in the stronger part of the group on stability, while Halliburton Company is closer to mid-pack.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
HAL
31
MPC
61
Gap+30in favour of MPC

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 5.3-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Halliburton Company still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

Profitability is the clearest driver, and stability also supports Marathon Petroleum Corporation's broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the HAL vs MPC comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar profitability-and-stability comparisons

Explore how HAL and MPC each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.