Marathon Petroleum Refining Margins Fall Drags Q1 Profit

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) shares are trading higher after the company reported first-quarter results.

Total revenues and other income of $31.85 billion topped the consensus of $29.58 billion. Adjusted EPS loss stood at $(0.24), down from $2.58 a year earlier, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $(0.53).

Adjusted EBITDA was $2.0 billion for the quarter, compared with $3.3 billion in the prior year quarter.

Refining operating costs per barrel were $5.74 versus $6.06 a year ago. 

Refining & Marketing refined product sales volume for the quarter was 3,446 mbpd (vs. 3,242 mbpd a year ago); Crude oil capacity utilization was 89% (vs. 82% a year ago quarter).  

Refining & Marketing segment adjusted EBITDA declined to $489 million from $1.99 billion a year ago due to lower market crack spreads.

Refining & Marketing margin was $13.38 per barrel for the first quarter versus $19.35 per barrel for the first quarter of 2024.

Marathon Petroleum owns the general partner and majority limited partner interest in MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX), which reported first-quarter earnings per limited partner unit of $1.10, missing the consensus of $1.12.

Total revenues and other income of $3.12 billion missed the consensus of $3.14 billion. 

As of March 31, 2025, Marathon Petroleum had $3.8 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, including $2.5 billion of cash at MPLX and $5 billion available on its bank revolving credit facility.

Buyback: In the first quarter, the company returned around $1.3 billion to shareholders, including $1.1 billion in share repurchases.

As of March 31, 2025, the company had $6.7 billion available under its share buyback authorizations.

Dividend: On April 30, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable on June 10, to shareholders of record on May 21.

President and Chief Executive Officer Maryann Mannen said, "Our Midstream business delivered an 8% increase in segment adjusted EBITDA over the prior year, and executed on our Natural Gas and NGL growth strategies."

"For our refining business, we are positioned to meet summer demand as seasonal trends are expected to improve margins and we remain constructive on its long-term outlook."

Outlook: For the second quarter, the company sees refining operating costs per barrel of $5.30 and refinery throughputs of 2,945 mbpd. 

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (BATS:IEO) and VanEck Oil Refiners ETF (NYSE:CRAK).

Price Action: MPC shares are up 0.47% at $144.01 premarket at the last check on Tuesday.

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