How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Valero Energy (VLO Quick QuoteVLO - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to VLO for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Valero Energy's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Valero Energy's main business drivers.

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, TX. It was founded in 1980 and is one of the largest independent refiners and marketers of petroleum products in the United States.

Valero operates 14 petroleum refineries located in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. These refineries have combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 million barrels per day. The refining system includes high-complexity assets with access to inland and imported crudes, product exports and wholesale supply.

The company sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America. Its brand names are carried by around 7,000 outlets. Valero also has wholesale marketing and logistics assets that support product distribution.

Valero owns 12 ethanol plants in the U.S. Mid-Continent region. These plants have combined production capacity of approximately 1.7 billion gallons per year. The Ethanol segment includes sales of internally produced ethanol and distillers’ grains.

The company is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC. Diamond Green Diesel produces low-carbon fuels, including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. The business has production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year. It processes animal fats, used cooking oils, vegetable oils and inedible distillers corn oils.

Valero manages its operations through three reportable segments, namely Refining, Renewable Diesel and Ethanol.
The Refining segment includes refining operations, wholesale marketing, product supply and distribution, and transportation operations. This segment is segregated geographically into the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, West Coast and North Atlantic regions.

The Renewable Diesel segment includes the operations of Diamond Green Diesel. It produces renewable diesel, renewable naphtha and sustainable aviation fuel.

The Ethanol segment includes the company’s ethanol plants and related product sales. It sells internally produced ethanol and distillers’ grains.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Valero Energy, ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in September 2016 would be worth $6,761.26, or a 576.13% gain, as of September 7, 2026, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 254.07% and gold's return of 217.12% over the same time frame.

Analysts are forecasting more upside for VLO too.

Valero's Outperform stance reflects a favorable mix of refining scale, feedstock flexibility, export reach and disciplined capital returns. Tight global product inventories and constrained refining capacity support margin capture, while access to discounted heavy crude reinforces its complex system. Renewable diesel and ethanol add earnings diversity, and the St. Charles optimization project should lift high-value output. Ample liquidity and low net leverage support buybacks and operational investment. Risks remain from refining margin normalization, California supply changes, low-carbon policy and Port Arthur repair execution. Commodity volatility can also delay the release of excess cash and make shareholder returns less predictable. Even so, asset quality, earnings breadth and financial flexibility support an Outperform view.

Shares have gained 24.27% over the past four weeks and there have been 5 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.