Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

In the latest close session, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) was down 5.48% at $231.98. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.51%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 2.85%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 2.8%.

Coming into today, shares of the refiner had gained 14.03% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 7.33%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.66%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Marathon Petroleum in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on May 5, 2026. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.85, marking a 870.83% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $28.93 billion, down 9.16% from the prior-year quarter.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $19.58 per share and a revenue of $121.47 billion, signifying shifts of +82.99% and -10.17%, respectively, from the last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 40.24% increase. Marathon Petroleum is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.

Digging into valuation, Marathon Petroleum currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.54. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 13.91.

We can also see that MPC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.46. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. MPC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.58 as of yesterday's close.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, putting it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"

Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.

This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research