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Murphy USA Q1 Earnings Fall Short as Fuel Volumes Decline
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Motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) announced first-quarter 2025 earnings per share of $2.63, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.87 and compared unfavorably with the year-ago profit of $3.12. The underperformance was primarily due to lower-than-expected petroleum product sales.
Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $4.5 billion fell 6.6% year over year and missed the consensus mark by $241 million.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $3.5 billion, well below our estimate of $3.7 billion and down 8.4% from the first quarter of 2024. On the other hand, merchandise sales, at $999.4 million, remained unchanged year over year.
MUSA’s total fuel contribution edged up 0.4% year over year to $287.3 million on higher retail contribution and margin expansion. Total fuel contribution (including retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale results) came in at 25.4 cents per gallon, up 2.4% from the first quarter of 2024.
Retail fuel contribution increased 7.1% year over year to $267.7 million as margins widened to 23.7 cents per gallon from 21.7 cents in the corresponding period of 2024. Retail gallons declined 1.9% from the year-ago period to 1,131.2 million, missing our estimate of 1,152 million. Volumes on an SSS basis (or fuel gallons per store) deteriorated 3.2% from the first quarter of 2024 to 220.1 thousand.
Contribution from Merchandise increased 2.2% to $195.9 million despite flat sales, as unit margins rose from 19.2% a year ago to 19.6% in the first quarter of 2025. On an SSS basis, total merchandise contribution increased 1% year over year, primarily on the back of 2.8% higher nicotine margins. But, merchandise sales decreased 1.6% on an SSS basis, due to a drop in nicotine as well as non-nicotine sales.
The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s monthly fuel gallons fell 3.9% from the prior-year period, while merchandise sales decreased 1.9% on an average per store monthly basis.
As of March 31, Murphy USA — which opened eight new retail locations in the quarter and closed four outlets to take its store count to 1,761 — had cash and cash equivalents of $49.4 million and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $2 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 73.3%.
During the quarter, MUSA bought back shares worth $151.2 million.
Some Key Refining Earnings
While we have discussed MUSA’s first-quarter results in detail, let’s see how some other refining companies have fared this earnings season.
Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 89 cents per share, which comprehensively beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents due to stronger-than-expected throughput volumes. The metric came in at 2,828 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d), up from the year-ago figure of 2,760 MBbls/d. Our estimate for the same was pegged at 2,786 MBbls/d.
Valero’s total cost of sales decreased by $25 million to $29.8 billion on the back of lower cost of materials and others. First-quarter capital investment totaled $660 million, of which $582 million was allocated toward sustaining the business. Valero had cash and cash equivalents of $4.6 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Another refining giant, Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) , reported adjusted loss of 90 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 77 cents. The bottom line also compared unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.90. Phillips 66’s underperformance can be attributed to lower refining volumes and a drop in realized refining margins worldwide.
Phillips 66 generated $187 million of net cash from operations for the reported quarter. This implies an improvement from $236 million of net cash used in operations in the year-ago period. The company’s capital expenditure and investments totaled $423 million. Phillips 66 paid out dividends of $469 million in the first quarter. As of March 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $1.5 billion. Total debt was $18.8 billion, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization of 40%.
Finally, we have Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC - Free Report) first-quarter adjusted loss per share of 24 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 63 cents. This primarily reflects the stronger-than-expected performance of its Refining & Marketing segment. Marathon Petroleum’s adjusted EBITDA of the segment totaled $489 million, surpassing the consensus mark of $286 million on the back of lower costs and higher throughput.
Marathon Petroleum reported expenses of $31.2 billion in first-quarter 2025, down from $31.4 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. MPC repurchased $1.1 billion of shares during the period. It currently has a remaining authorization of $6.7 billion.
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Murphy USA Q1 Earnings Fall Short as Fuel Volumes Decline
Motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) announced first-quarter 2025 earnings per share of $2.63, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.87 and compared unfavorably with the year-ago profit of $3.12. The underperformance was primarily due to lower-than-expected petroleum product sales.
Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $4.5 billion fell 6.6% year over year and missed the consensus mark by $241 million.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $3.5 billion, well below our estimate of $3.7 billion and down 8.4% from the first quarter of 2024. On the other hand, merchandise sales, at $999.4 million, remained unchanged year over year.
Murphy USA Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Murphy USA Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Murphy USA Inc. Quote
Key Takeaways
MUSA’s total fuel contribution edged up 0.4% year over year to $287.3 million on higher retail contribution and margin expansion. Total fuel contribution (including retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale results) came in at 25.4 cents per gallon, up 2.4% from the first quarter of 2024.
Retail fuel contribution increased 7.1% year over year to $267.7 million as margins widened to 23.7 cents per gallon from 21.7 cents in the corresponding period of 2024. Retail gallons declined 1.9% from the year-ago period to 1,131.2 million, missing our estimate of 1,152 million. Volumes on an SSS basis (or fuel gallons per store) deteriorated 3.2% from the first quarter of 2024 to 220.1 thousand.
Contribution from Merchandise increased 2.2% to $195.9 million despite flat sales, as unit margins rose from 19.2% a year ago to 19.6% in the first quarter of 2025. On an SSS basis, total merchandise contribution increased 1% year over year, primarily on the back of 2.8% higher nicotine margins. But, merchandise sales decreased 1.6% on an SSS basis, due to a drop in nicotine as well as non-nicotine sales.
The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s monthly fuel gallons fell 3.9% from the prior-year period, while merchandise sales decreased 1.9% on an average per store monthly basis.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Balance Sheet
As of March 31, Murphy USA — which opened eight new retail locations in the quarter and closed four outlets to take its store count to 1,761 — had cash and cash equivalents of $49.4 million and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $2 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 73.3%.
During the quarter, MUSA bought back shares worth $151.2 million.
Some Key Refining Earnings
While we have discussed MUSA’s first-quarter results in detail, let’s see how some other refining companies have fared this earnings season.
Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 89 cents per share, which comprehensively beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents due to stronger-than-expected throughput volumes. The metric came in at 2,828 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d), up from the year-ago figure of 2,760 MBbls/d. Our estimate for the same was pegged at 2,786 MBbls/d.
Valero’s total cost of sales decreased by $25 million to $29.8 billion on the back of lower cost of materials and others. First-quarter capital investment totaled $660 million, of which $582 million was allocated toward sustaining the business. Valero had cash and cash equivalents of $4.6 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Another refining giant, Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) , reported adjusted loss of 90 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 77 cents. The bottom line also compared unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.90. Phillips 66’s underperformance can be attributed to lower refining volumes and a drop in realized refining margins worldwide.
Phillips 66 generated $187 million of net cash from operations for the reported quarter. This implies an improvement from $236 million of net cash used in operations in the year-ago period. The company’s capital expenditure and investments totaled $423 million. Phillips 66 paid out dividends of $469 million in the first quarter. As of March 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $1.5 billion. Total debt was $18.8 billion, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization of 40%.
Finally, we have Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC - Free Report) first-quarter adjusted loss per share of 24 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 63 cents. This primarily reflects the stronger-than-expected performance of its Refining & Marketing segment. Marathon Petroleum’s adjusted EBITDA of the segment totaled $489 million, surpassing the consensus mark of $286 million on the back of lower costs and higher throughput.
Marathon Petroleum reported expenses of $31.2 billion in first-quarter 2025, down from $31.4 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. MPC repurchased $1.1 billion of shares during the period. It currently has a remaining authorization of $6.7 billion.