Why Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

Apr 17, 2026
why-marathon-petroleum-(mpc)-outpaced-the-stock-market-today

In the latest trading session, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) closed at $226.24, marking a +1.44% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.26%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.24%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.36%.

Shares of the refiner witnessed a loss of 5.59% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Oils-Energy sector with its gain of 0.04%, and the S&P 500’s gain of 5.98%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Marathon Petroleum in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on May 5, 2026. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.1, reflecting a 558.33% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $28.93 billion, indicating a 9.16% downward movement from the same quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $21.49 per share and a revenue of $130.84 billion, indicating changes of +100.84% and -3.24%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there’s been a 48.69% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Marathon Petroleum is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, Marathon Petroleum is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.38. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.69.

We can additionally observe that MPC currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.38. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company’s projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Oil and Gas – Refining and Marketing industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.56.

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