Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:MPC) shares fell 6.5% in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the company’s third-quarter earnings came in below expectations, overshadowing stronger-than-anticipated revenue figures.
The U.S. refining leader reported adjusted earnings of $3.01 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $3.19, while revenue reached $34.81 billion, surpassing forecasts of $33.53 billion. Revenue was slightly lower than the $35.11 billion posted a year earlier.
Marathon’s Refining & Marketing segment remained a bright spot, generating $3.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, supported by efficient operations and improved market conditions. Refining margins rose to $17.60 per barrel, up sharply from $14.63 per barrel a year ago, helping lift segment EBITDA to $1.76 billion, compared to $1.14 billion in Q3 2024.
“In the third quarter, Refining & Marketing delivered strong cash generation,” said Maryann Mannen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marathon Petroleum. “Our integrated value chains and geographically diversified assets position us to lead in capital allocation.”
The company continued its robust shareholder returns program, distributing $926 million in the quarter, including $650 million in share repurchases. Marathon also raised its quarterly dividend by 10%, while noting that MPLX’s 12.5% distribution hike will contribute roughly $2.8 billion in expected annual distributions to Marathon Petroleum.
The Midstream segment delivered adjusted EBITDA of $1.71 billion, up 5% year over year, driven by higher rates, volumes, and contributions from recent acquisitions. In contrast, the Renewable Diesel segment remained under pressure, posting a negative adjusted EBITDA of $56 million, though that marked an improvement from the $61 million loss in the same period last year.