Valero Energy
Valero Energy's revenue fell 5.5% to $122.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 2.6%, down from 2.9% a year earlier. It paid out $4.0 billion in dividends and buybacks. The diluted share count fell 4.0%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
What Valero Energy does
Valero makes and sells fuels. It is a manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products. It sells mainly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America. It is based in San Antonio, Texas.
It runs three segments. Refining turns crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other products at 15 refineries in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Renewable Diesel is a joint venture with Darling Ingredients, called DGD, that makes low-carbon fuels at two plants on the Gulf Coast. Ethanol runs 12 plants in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. Valero says its refineries have a combined capacity of about 3.2 million barrels per day.
Valero earns money from the margin between what it pays for crude oil and other feedstocks and what it gets for its products. Its customers are mostly refined product wholesalers and retailers. It says competitors with different businesses or more resources can have an advantage at times.
Its biggest risks, as it describes them
- Volatile margins, set by feedstock costs and product prices it does not control.
- An interruption at any of its refineries or plants.
- Changes in laws and demand that could cut demand for its products, including low-carbon fuel rules.
- Its natural gas, electricity and water supply and prices.
- Losses and extra costs from its hedging transactions.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 4.9% a year and net income 0.3% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 33%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Valero Energy yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Valero Energy's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Valero Energy's cash from operations minus depreciation in fiscal 2025 (free cash flow before spending to grow, as its free cash flow was not available) of $2.7B, net cash of −$5.9B at December 31, 2025 and 309 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Valero Energy: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -11.4% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 12%: 11% for a cyclical or higher-risk business (Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing), plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $426.76
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Valero Energy's earnings per share of $24.05 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 17.1×, the middle of Valero Energy's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Energy median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 13%, 12% and 11%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $426.76
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Valero Energy's P/E at the last close
- 17.7×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valero EnergyVLO | $426.76 | $24.05 | 17.7× |
| Phillips 66PSX | $288.85 | $17.51 | 16.5× |
| Marathon PetroleumMPC | $470.64 | $29.04 | 16.2× |
| PBF EnergyPBF | $80.55 | $11.33 | 7.1× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 4.1 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 13.9 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 9.7 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.1x | 0.4x | 0.4x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Debt to equity | 0.8x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.4x | 0.5x |
| Interest coverage | 3.5x | 27.9x | 20.0x | 6.8x | 5.7x |
| Current ratio | 1.3x | 1.4x | 1.6x | 1.5x | 1.6x |
| Quick ratio | 0.9x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Valero Energy shares on the open market, and 2 insiders sold $9.4 million.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2026 | Eric A FisherSVP | Sold | 7,500 | $268.17 | $2.0 million | Form 4 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Eric A FisherSVP | Sold | 7,500 | $236.90 | $1.8 million | Form 4 |
| May 18, 2026 | Eric A FisherSVP | Sold | 7,500 | $251.61 | $1.9 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Eric A FisherSVP | Sold | 400 | $238.60 | $95,440 | Form 4 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | Eric A FisherSVP | Sold | 8,311 | $227.69 | $1.9 million | Form 4 |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Jason W. FraserEVP & CFO | Sold | 9,933 | $174.02 | $1.7 million | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| F-score | 6 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −0.6% | −6.3% | −5.9% |
Compare
Put Valero Energy side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valero Energy | FY25 | −5.5% | 2.6% | — | 7.2% | 0.9x | 6 | |
| Phillips 66 | FY25 | −7.5% | — | — | 11.2% | 1.9x | 8 | Compare |
| Marathon Petroleum | FY25 | −4.4% | 6.2% | 3.6% | 13.6% | 2.5x | 8 | Compare |
| World Kinect | FY25 | −12.4% | −1.5% | 0.6% | −20.9% | — | 5 | Compare |
| PBF Energy | FY25 | −11.4% | −0.2% | −2.7% | −0.6% | 5.2x | 4 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 75.7 | 94.0 | 117.0 | 108.3 | 64.9 | 114.0 | 176.4 | 144.8 | 129.9 | 122.7 |
| Revenue growth | — | 24.2% | 24.5% | −7.4% | −40.1% | 75.6% | 54.8% | −17.9% | −10.3% | −5.5% |
| Gross profit | 4.3 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 4.8 | −0.7 | 3.1 | 16.8 | 12.9 | 4.8 | 5.4 |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.8 | −1.6 | 2.1 | 15.7 | 11.9 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| Net income | 2.3 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 2.4 | −1.4 | 0.9 | 11.5 | 8.8 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 4.94 | 9.16 | 7.29 | 5.84 | −3.50 | 2.27 | 29.04 | 24.92 | 8.58 | 7.57 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 464 | 444 | 428 | 414 | 407 | 407 | 396 | 353 | 322 | 309 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 4.8 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 5.9 | 12.6 | 9.2 | 6.7 | 5.8 |
| Capital expenditure | 2.0 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 2.1 | — |
| Free cash flow | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 2.7 | −1.5 | 3.4 | 9.8 | 7.3 | 4.6 | — |
| Dividends paid | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Share buybacks | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Acquisitions | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 4.8 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 7.9 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 13.9 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 |
| Total assets | 46.2 | 50.2 | 50.2 | 53.9 | 51.8 | 57.9 | 61.0 | 63.1 | 60.1 | 58.0 |
| Total liabilities | 25.3 | 27.3 | 27.4 | 31.3 | 32.1 | 38.1 | 35.5 | 34.5 | 32.6 | 31.4 |
| Shareholders' equity | 20.0 | 22.0 | 21.7 | 21.8 | 18.8 | 18.4 | 23.6 | 26.3 | 24.5 | 23.7 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 5.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.4% | −1.1% | 2.8% | 9.5% | 8.9% | 3.7% | 4.4% |
| Operating margin | 4.7% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 3.5% | −2.4% | 1.9% | 8.9% | 8.2% | 2.9% | 2.6% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 4.3% | 2.7% | 2.2% | −2.2% | 0.8% | 6.5% | 6.1% | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.7% | 3.8% | 0.8% | 2.5% | −2.3% | 3.0% | 5.6% | 5.0% | 3.6% | — |
| Return on capital | 11.1% | 14.4% | 13.5% | 10.6% | −4.1% | 5.9% | 39.4% | 27.6% | 9.0% | 7.2% |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | 19.4% | 14.3% | 11.1% | −7.0% | 5.0% | 54.9% | 35.4% | 10.9% | 9.7% |
| Return on assets | 5.1% | 8.4% | 6.2% | 4.7% | −2.7% | 1.7% | 19.4% | 14.2% | 4.5% | 4.0% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 14.7x | 2.1x | 0.4x | 0.4x | 0.9x | 0.9x |