The stock of motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) has gained 6% since its first-quarter earnings announcement on May 3. The company managed to score comfortable top and bottom-line beats.
What Did Murphy USA’s Earnings Unveil?
Murphy USA announced first-quarter 2022 earnings per share of $6.08, which handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.65 and more than tripled from the year-earlier bottom line of $2.01. The outperformance could be attributed to a rise in the retail gasoline price and a higher retail margin of 34 cents per gallon, up 51.1% year over year.
Meanwhile, Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $5.1 billion surged 44.7% year over year and beat the consensus mark by $530 million, primarily due to improved petroleum product sales.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $4.1 billion, up 57.4% from the first quarter of 2021 and 4.6% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Merchandise sales, at $892 million, rose 7.1% year over year but underperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $924 million.
Balance Sheet
As of Mar 31, Murphy USA — which opened 7 new retail locations in the quarter to take its store count to 1,686 — had cash and cash equivalents of $356.2 million and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $1.8 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 69.4%.
During the quarter, MUSA bought back shares worth $151.8 million.
Downstream Earnings Snapshot
Apart from MUSA, supportive industry fundamentals and favorable margins have led to a good earnings season for some other refining stocks as well.
Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.32, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14. The bottom line also turned around from a loss of $1.16 per share in the year-ago quarter.
PSX’s margins improved to $10.55 per barrel from the year-ago quarter’s $4.36. The same in the Central Corridor and Atlantic Basin/Europe increased to $7.89 and $11.71 per barrel from the year-ago levels of $5.97 and $4.86, respectively. In the Gulf Coast, the metric registered an improvement to $7.71 per barrel from $3.39 in the prior-year quarter. The West Coast witnessed an increase in margins from $3.33 per barrel in the year-ago quarter to $17.68 in the March-end quarter of 2022.
Another downstream giant Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of $2.31 per share, improving from a loss of $1.73 in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 per share. VLO’s strong quarterly results were supported by increased refinery throughput volumes and a higher refining margin.
For the quarter, refining throughput volumes were 2,800 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d), up from 2,410 MBbls/d in first-quarter 2021. Meanwhile, Valero Energy’s refining margin per barrel of throughput increased to $12.74 from the year-ago level of $6.91.
Then there is Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC - Free Report) , which reported earnings per share of $1.49, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and reversing the year-ago loss of 37 cents per share. The company repurchased shares worth $2.5 billion during the February-April period and has now completed around 80% of its target to buy back $10 billion in common stock
MPC’s refining margin of $15.31 per barrel improved significantly from $10.16 a year ago. Total refined product sales volumes were 3,293 thousand barrels per day (mbpd), up from the 3,067 mbpd in the year-ago quarter. Throughput rose from 2,565 mbpd in the year-ago quarter to 2,833 mbpd. Capacity utilization for Marathon Petroleum during the quarter was up from last year’s 83% to 91%.
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The stock of motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) has gained 6% since its first-quarter earnings announcement on May 3. The company managed to score comfortable top and bottom-line beats.
What Did Murphy USA’s Earnings Unveil?
Murphy USA announced first-quarter 2022 earnings per share of $6.08, which handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.65 and more than tripled from the year-earlier bottom line of $2.01. The outperformance could be attributed to a rise in the retail gasoline price and a higher retail margin of 34 cents per gallon, up 51.1% year over year.
Meanwhile, Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $5.1 billion surged 44.7% year over year and beat the consensus mark by $530 million, primarily due to improved petroleum product sales.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $4.1 billion, up 57.4% from the first quarter of 2021 and 4.6% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Merchandise sales, at $892 million, rose 7.1% year over year but underperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $924 million.
Balance Sheet
As of Mar 31, Murphy USA — which opened 7 new retail locations in the quarter to take its store count to 1,686 — had cash and cash equivalents of $356.2 million and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $1.8 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 69.4%.
During the quarter, MUSA bought back shares worth $151.8 million.
Downstream Earnings Snapshot
Apart from MUSA, supportive industry fundamentals and favorable margins have led to a good earnings season for some other refining stocks as well.
Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.32, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14. The bottom line also turned around from a loss of $1.16 per share in the year-ago quarter.
PSX’s margins improved to $10.55 per barrel from the year-ago quarter’s $4.36. The same in the Central Corridor and Atlantic Basin/Europe increased to $7.89 and $11.71 per barrel from the year-ago levels of $5.97 and $4.86, respectively. In the Gulf Coast, the metric registered an improvement to $7.71 per barrel from $3.39 in the prior-year quarter. The West Coast witnessed an increase in margins from $3.33 per barrel in the year-ago quarter to $17.68 in the March-end quarter of 2022.
Another downstream giant Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of $2.31 per share, improving from a loss of $1.73 in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 per share. VLO’s strong quarterly results were supported by increased refinery throughput volumes and a higher refining margin.
For the quarter, refining throughput volumes were 2,800 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d), up from 2,410 MBbls/d in first-quarter 2021. Meanwhile, Valero Energy’s refining margin per barrel of throughput increased to $12.74 from the year-ago level of $6.91.
Then there is Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC - Free Report) , which reported earnings per share of $1.49, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and reversing the year-ago loss of 37 cents per share. The company repurchased shares worth $2.5 billion during the February-April period and has now completed around 80% of its target to buy back $10 billion in common stock
MPC’s refining margin of $15.31 per barrel improved significantly from $10.16 a year ago. Total refined product sales volumes were 3,293 thousand barrels per day (mbpd), up from the 3,067 mbpd in the year-ago quarter. Throughput rose from 2,565 mbpd in the year-ago quarter to 2,833 mbpd. Capacity utilization for Marathon Petroleum during the quarter was up from last year’s 83% to 91%.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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