Marathon Petroleum stock gains as crack spreads widen

Marathon Petroleum stock (ISIN US56585A1025) closed at USD 423.62 on September 18, 2026, up 0.39 percent, while the company reported second-quarter 2026 EPS of USD 17.73 and revenue of USD 51.99 billion. The shares trade after a sharp re-rating this year, with MarketBeat showing a market capitalization of USD 123.67 billion and a year-to-date gain of 160.5 percent.

Quarterly numbers stay strong

According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum posted quarterly earnings on August 4, 2026, with EPS of USD 17.73, ahead of the consensus estimate of USD 14.27 by USD 3.46. Revenue in that quarter was USD 51.99 billion, compared with USD 40.87 billion expected, and the company said revenue rose 53.5 percent year over year.

That mix matters more than the headline earnings beat alone. MarketBeat also shows return on equity of 31.96 percent and a net margin of 5.48 percent for the same quarter, which helps explain why the stock has held near the top of its 52-week range between USD 161.93 and USD 428.00.

Margins drive the thesis

As KuCoin reported on September 20, 2026, Marathon Petroleum said adjusted EBITDA reached USD 8.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from USD 3.2 billion a year earlier. The same report said the company sees strong gasoline, diesel and jet fuel demand lasting through the rest of 2026 and into 2027.

For investors, that is the key bridge between price and profit: higher crack spreads are supporting refinery economics, and the second-quarter EBITDA figure was 165.6 percent above the prior-year level. The stock now trades with a market value of USD 123.67 billion on September 19, 2026, according to MarketBeat.

Stock at the top end

MarketBeat puts Marathon Petroleum's consensus price target at USD 349.13, below the September 18 close of USD 423.62. The same page lists a low target of USD 210.00 and a high target of USD 462.00, which shows how wide the valuation debate remains around the refiner.

More news and analyses on Marathon Petroleum stock are available on the internal topic page.