Marathon Petroleum NYSE: MPC detailed fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results and outlined its 2026 outlook during its latest earnings call, highlighting strong refining execution, record midstream performance, and a slate of new projects at key refineries. Management also emphasized its capital discipline and commitment to returning excess free cash flow to shareholders.
Leadership update and 2025 operational performance
CEO Maryann Mannen opened the call by introducing Maria Khoury as the company’s new CFO, noting Khoury’s 25-plus years of industry experience and background in operational excellence, cost competitiveness, planning, and risk management. Mannen said Khoury’s experience complements Marathon’s leadership team and supports its focus on “industry-leading cash generation and capital returns.”
For 2025, Mannen said Marathon delivered margin capture of 105% and refining utilization of 94%. She also highlighted improvements in safety and environmental performance, including the company’s strongest process safety performance in four years, its lowest OSHA recordable injury rate, and its fewest designated environmental incidents this decade.
Financial results: EPS, EBITDA, cash flow, and shareholder returns
Khoury reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.07 for the fourth quarter and $10.70 for the full year. Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $3.5 billion for the quarter and $12 billion for the year. Refining and Marketing segment adjusted EBITDA per barrel was $7.15 in the quarter and $5.63 for the full year.
Cash flow from operations excluding working capital changes was $2.7 billion for the quarter and $8.7 billion for the year. Khoury said Marathon returned $4.5 billion to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and share repurchases, including a 6.5% reduction in shares outstanding.
At year-end, Marathon had approximately $3.7 billion of consolidated cash, including roughly $1.5 billion at MPC and $2.1 billion at MPLX.
Refining execution and capture: utilization, throughput, and market positioning
In the fourth quarter, the Refining & Marketing segment generated $2.0 billion of adjusted EBITDA. Refineries ran at 95% utilization, with total throughput just over 3 million barrels per day. The company set monthly crude throughput records at its Garyville and Robinson refineries during the quarter. Regional utilization was 98% in the Gulf Coast, 93% in MidCon, and 91% in the West Coast.
Khoury said fourth-quarter capture was 114%, supported by commercial execution, product placement, and seasonal tailwinds such as butane blending. Management described capture improvement as a strategic priority and pointed to multi-year progress, noting capture improved in each of the past three years.
In Q&A, executives also discussed factors behind the strong fourth-quarter capture, including a tailwind from the diesel-to-jet spread on the West Coast compared with the prior quarter, strong utilization, and what management described as the connectivity and optionality of the system—particularly between MidCon assets and product/feedstock logistics.
Capital spending plans and new refinery projects
Management said its capital strategy remains disciplined, with a focus on lowering operating costs, enhancing reliability, and improving conversion of lower-value inputs into higher-value products. For 2026, the company plans roughly $700 million in refining value-enhancing capital, representing a nearly 20% year-over-year reduction. About 85% of the planned refining spend will be directed to multiyear investments at Galveston Bay, Garyville, Robinson, and El Paso.
Marathon also plans to invest $250 million in marketing to expand the reach of its branded stations in targeted markets, which management said supports secured offtake and integrated value-chain performance.
The company announced three new projects:
- Garyville feedstock optimization: intended to optimize the feedstock slate, increase crude throughput by 30,000 barrels per day, and reduce reliance on higher-cost intermediate purchases. The company expects to spend about $110 million in 2026. The incremental crude capacity is expected online by year-end 2027. In Q&A, management added expected 2027 spend of $185 million for this project.
- Garyville yield flexibility/export-grade gasoline: intended to enable production of an additional 10,000 barrels per day of export-grade premium gasoline. Planned 2026 capital is $50 million, with startup targeted for year-end 2027. Management later said this project includes equipment upgrades focused on reliability, and referenced additional $100 million of capital in 2027.
- El Paso product upgrade: aimed at increasing the refinery’s ability to produce higher-value products for local markets. Marathon plans to invest $30 million in 2026, with the capacity expected in service in the second quarter of 2026.
Mannen said the company targets returns of 25% or above on such investments. She also noted continued progress on previously announced projects, including jet yield maximization expected online in the third quarter of 2026 and a DHT project expected by year-end 2027.
On longer-term spending, management reiterated that 2027 and 2028 refining capital is expected to be below 2026 levels, but said it was too early to provide specific guidance for those years. Executives attributed 2025 capex coming in above initial expectations largely to starting work on the El Paso project in 2025, and said inflation was considered in 2026 planning.
Midstream, renewables, and market outlook themes
Midstream was a major focus, with Mannen noting record full-year midstream adjusted EBITDA of nearly $7 billion. Khoury said fourth-quarter midstream results declined year-over-year primarily due to divestitures of non-core gathering and processing assets, while full-year midstream adjusted EBITDA has grown at a three-year CAGR of 5%.
Mannen said MPLX plans $2.4 billion of growth capital, with 90% directed toward natural gas and NGL services projects concentrated in the Permian and Marcellus. She said the projects are expected to generate mid-teens returns when placed into service. Mannen added that MPLX continues to target distribution growth of 12.5% over the next two years, implying expected future annual cash distributions to MPC of over $3.5 billion.
In renewables, Khoury said results reflected 94% utilization and a one-time benefit from credit sales by the Martinez joint venture, offset by a weaker margin environment versus the prior year. The company expects a first-quarter planned turnaround at Martinez and said it anticipates utilization of approximately 70%.
On the macro environment, Mannen said Marathon remains constructive on refined product demand, citing steady global trends: gasoline and distillates each grew by roughly 1% over the past year, while jet fuel demand increased nearly 4%. She said current indicators suggest similar patterns into 2026 and argued the global refining system should remain tight with limited new capacity coming online in 2026. Management also pointed to U.S. market tightening from regional closures, referencing a Phillips 66 facility in California expected to close this spring.
Executives discussed crude slate flexibility and sour crude economics, noting about 50% of crude usage is sour. Management said the system can pivot to Venezuelan crude at Garyville if economics warrant, while also emphasizing the attractiveness of Canadian barrels. In Q&A, management said it had purchased two cargoes of Venezuelan crude when they were “in the money” and described recent widening in WCS differentials as a potential tailwind. The company also said first-quarter guidance implied a move toward a heavier, more sour slate, as it leans into the differential environment.
Regarding West Coast markets, management said it viewed the California closure as a tailwind and discussed its ability to respond to potential dislocations between Northern and Southern California using its Pacific Northwest system. The company also noted that Marathon is the largest producer of jet fuel in the U.S. and said it sees upside in jet production, but did not provide specific volume targets.
Finally, management addressed labor negotiations with the United Steelworkers, stating contracts expired January 31 but are operating under rolling 24-hour extensions. The company said discussions are ongoing at the international level and described the dialogue as open and constructive, without detailing sticking points.
About Marathon Petroleum NYSE: MPC
Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.
Marathon Petroleum's operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.
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