Marathon PetroleumNYSE: MPC

A positive crack spread will benefit the refining profits of Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum, and Exxon Mobil.

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) has been getting a lot of interest from users on Zacks.com recently. As a result, it's important to understand the factors that could affect the stock's future.

In the third quarter, MPC invested $950 million in capital projects, with 39% going to Refining & Marketing and 59% to the Midstream segment. This is an increase from $522 million spent in the same period last year.

Marathon Petroleum's stock has fallen a lot, but their earnings for the third quarter were better than expected, which helped the stock rise by more than 3% and strengthened my positive outlook. The value of the company's refining operations has dropped significantly, making it an attractive investment, especially given their ability to return capital and buy back shares. Even with some ups and downs in the market, demand for products in the US is strong, and global policy changes should help stabilize the economy, which could lead to a recovery in profit margins.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) will hold its Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call on November 5, 2024, at 11:00 AM ET. The call will feature company representatives, including CEO Maryann Mannen and CFO John Quaid, along with analysts from various financial institutions. The operator will begin the call by welcoming participants to the MPC Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call.

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) reported quarterly earnings of $1.87 per share, which is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.97 per share. This is a decrease compared to earnings of $8.14 per share from the same period last year.

Findlay, Ohio, Nov 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) reported a net income of $622 million, or $1.87 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease from $3.3 billion, or $8.28 per diluted share, in the same period last year. The adjusted EBITDA for this quarter was $2.5 billion, down from $5.7 billion in the third quarter of 2023. MPC also announced a $5 billion share repurchase plan and a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend, while expecting to receive $2.5 billion in distributions from MPLX.

FINDLAY, Ohio, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s board of directors has announced a dividend of $0.91 per share on common stock, which is a 10% rise from the last dividend of $0.825 per share. This dividend will be paid on December 10, 2024, to shareholders who are on record as of the end of business on November 20, 2024.

The decrease in refining margins probably affected MPC's earnings in the third quarter.