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Stock Comparison · Industry comparison · Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing

Marathon Petroleum vs Valero Energy: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Marathon Petroleum holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and valuation. Valero Energy does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels.

Updated 2026-04-05

This is not just a one-metric split: both profitability and valuation materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 24 points in favour of Marathon Petroleum Corporation.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. MPC and VLO share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Marathon Petroleum and Valero Energy each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
MPC
Marathon Petroleum Corporation
69
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
vs
VLO
Valero Energy Corporation
45
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium

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

More than one operating dimension supports the result here.

Dimension spread: MPC vs VLO Profitability 68 21 Stability 54 59 Valuation 81 50 Growth 67 60 MPC VLO
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +47
#2 Valuation +31
#3 Growth +7
#4 Stability +5
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for MPC and VLO Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer MPCVLO Relative valuation Structural strength

Marathon Petroleum Corporation looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Marathon Petroleum Corporation ranks near the top of the group on profitability; Valero Energy Corporation sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but Marathon Petroleum Corporation still leads clearly.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
MPC
68
VLO
21
Gap+47in favour of MPC

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 6.1-point ROIC advantage.

What else supports the lead

A forward P/E that is 4 turns lower adds a second meaningful layer to the lead.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and valuation, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar profitability-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how MPC and VLO 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.

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.