Marathon Petroleum Refining Margin Jumps 160%: Rapid Earnings Reaction
Key Points
Adjusted EPS rose to $26.93 from $3.01 as refineries ran at full capacity.
Costs per barrel held steady, so nearly all of the higher margin flowed to profit.
The company gave no fourth-quarter margin outlook and expects lower throughput.
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Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) reported third-quarter net income of $7.4 billion, or $26.59 per share, up from $1.4 billion a year ago. Shares rose about 1.4% in pre-market trading. Higher refining margins, not more volume or lower costs, drove nearly all of it, so the quarter says more about the market than about the business. The company is returning cash fast, but the profit depends on margins staying wide.
Key Numbers
- Adjusted EBITDA: $11.7 billion, versus $3.2 billion.
- Refining & Marketing margin: $45.70 per barrel, versus $17.60.
- Adjusted EPS: $26.93, versus $3.01.
- Crude capacity utilization: 100%, versus 95%.
What It Means
Refiners can't sell more than their plants can process, so a quarter like this comes from price, not volume. Operating costs per barrel were flat, so nearly every extra dollar of margin reached profit.
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Margins this wide rarely last. The release gives no margin outlook for the fourth quarter, and it guides throughput lower, to about 3.1 million barrels a day.
Midstream provides the steadier cash. Its adjusted EBITDA rose 10%, and a higher distribution from the company's pipeline partnership will flow to MPC.
What to Watch Next
Watch fourth-quarter refining margins, which drive profit almost one for one. Also track how the Mid-Continent sale proceeds are redeployed once the deal closes at year-end.
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Randy Coon has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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