MPC · Energy(petroleum refining) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Marathon Petroleum Corp reported revenue of $132.7 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 8.6% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 3.8% in 2016 to 6.2%, and it earned 35.3% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $80.4 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 60.5% went to buybacks and 35.1% back into the business; the share count fell 42.3%. On the accounting screens, it passes 8 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 2.91 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; none of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 2025132.7B+8.6% a year over 9 years
Operating margin6.2%gross margin 10.0%
Return on invested capital35.3%36.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay4.6B3.5% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash1.3B more cash than debt
Piotroski F-score8/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
-50.0B050.0B100.0B150.0B200.0B
2016Revenue 63.3BOperating income 2.4B
2017Revenue 74.7BOperating income 4.0B
2018Revenue 86.1BOperating income 4.7B
2019Revenue 111.1BOperating income 4.5B
2020Revenue 69.8BOperating income -12.2B
2021Revenue 120.0BOperating income 4.3B
2022Revenue 177.5BOperating income 21.5B
2023Revenue 148.4BOperating income 14.5B
2024Revenue 138.9BOperating income 6.8B
2025Revenue 132.7BOperating income 8.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-9.2%
+13.7%
+8.6%
Operating income
-27.2%
—
+14.8%
Net income
-34.7%
—
+14.7%
Earnings per share
-22.2%
—
+22.0%
Free cash flow per share
-16.8%
—
+24.8%
Dividend per share
+14.5%
+9.9%
+11.9%
Shares
-16.0%
-14.0%
-5.9%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 10.3%
-100.0%-50.0%0.0%50.0%100.0%
2016Return on invested capital 11.7%
2017Return on invested capital 23.6%
2018Return on invested capital 10.4%
2019Return on invested capital 9.8%
2020Return on invested capital -57.6%
2021Return on invested capital 14.6%
2022Return on invested capital 58.2%
2023Return on invested capital 44.0%
2024Return on invested capital 27.8%
2025Return on invested capital 35.3%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-20.0B-10.0B010.0B20.0B
2016Economic profit 191.4M
2017Economic profit 2.0B
2018Economic profit 47.4M
2019Economic profit -157.5M
2020Economic profit -17.0B
2021Economic profit 1.1B
2022Economic profit 13.8B
2023Economic profit 8.9B
2024Economic profit 3.6B
2025Economic profit 4.9B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
23.4%
Return on assets
4.8%
Asset turnover
1.58×
Overheads (SG&A)
2.5% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-10.0B010.0B20.0B
2016Net income 1.2BFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2017Net income 3.4BFree cash flow 3.9BAfter stock-based pay 3.8B
2018Net income 2.8BFree cash flow 3.0BAfter stock-based pay 2.9B
2019Net income 2.6BFree cash flow 4.6BAfter stock-based pay 4.5B
2020Net income -9.8BFree cash flow -368.0MAfter stock-based pay -468.0M
2021Net income 9.7BFree cash flow 2.9BAfter stock-based pay 2.8B
2022Net income 14.5BFree cash flow 13.9BAfter stock-based pay 13.8B
2023Net income 9.7BFree cash flow 12.2BAfter stock-based pay 12.0B
2024Net income 3.4BFree cash flow 6.1BAfter stock-based pay 6.0B
2025Net income 4.0BFree cash flow 4.8BAfter stock-based pay 4.6B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
80.4B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 35%28.2B
Acquisitions 11%8.9B
Dividends 15%11.7B
Share buybacks 60%48.6B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -21%-17.0B
Over the same years it paid 1.2B in stock. The share count fell 42.3%. 47.4B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-20.00$0.00$20.00$40.00
2016Earnings per share $2.22Free cash flow per share $2.12Dividend per share $1.36
2017Earnings per share $6.70Free cash flow per share $7.58Dividend per share $1.51
2018Earnings per share $5.29Free cash flow per share $5.66Dividend per share $1.81
2019Earnings per share $3.97Free cash flow per share $6.97Dividend per share $2.11
2020Earnings per share $-15.14Free cash flow per share $-0.57Dividend per share $2.33
2021Earnings per share $15.26Free cash flow per share $4.54Dividend per share $2.33
2022Earnings per share $28.13Free cash flow per share $27.02Dividend per share $2.48
2023Earnings per share $23.67Free cash flow per share $29.89Dividend per share $3.08
2024Earnings per share $10.10Free cash flow per share $17.98Dividend per share $3.38
2025Earnings per share $13.23Free cash flow per share $15.58Dividend per share $3.73
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
300.0M400.0M500.0M600.0M700.0M
2016Diluted shares 530.0M
2017Diluted shares 512.0M
2018Diluted shares 526.0M
2019Diluted shares 664.0M
2020Diluted shares 649.0M
2021Diluted shares 638.0M
2022Diluted shares 516.0M
2023Diluted shares 409.0M
2024Diluted shares 341.0M
2025Diluted shares 306.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-10.0B-7.5B-5.0B-2.5B02.5B
2016Net debt -859.0M
2017Net debt -2.4B
2018Net debt -1.1B
2019Net debt -689.0M
2020Net debt 2.4B
2021Net debt -4.7B
2022Net debt -7.6B
2023Net debt -3.5B
2024Net debt -161.0M
2025Net debt -1.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-0.1×
Interest coverage
6× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.26 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
20 days collects in 28d, stock 31d, pays in 40d
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
8of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✓Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforepassed
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
2.91safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.06 × 6.56+0.40
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.47 × 3.26+1.54
Operating income ÷ assets 0.10 × 6.72+0.66
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.29 × 1.05+0.30
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.81below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.97+0.89
Gross margin slipping 0.91+0.48
Soft assets 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.40
Sales growth 0.96+0.85
Slower depreciation 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.12
Overheads vs sales 1.09-0.19
Profit not in cash -0.05-0.23
Leverage rising 0.89-0.29
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
None of the six cross-checks fires for the latest year: receivables and inventory move with revenue, profit turns into cash, investment keeps up with depreciation, the tax rate is ordinary and debt is moderate.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$538.08discounted at 10.3% a year · 52% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
40.7×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
14.2×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
1.2×
Free cash flow yield
2.8%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today78.3B
Everything after, today85.0B
The whole business163.4B
Plus net cash1.3B
What belongs to shareholders164.7B
Divided among 306.0M shares: <strong>$538.08</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
-5.0B05.0B10.0B15.0B20.0B
2016Reported 1.1B
2017Reported 3.8B
2018Reported 2.9B
2019Reported 4.5B
2020Reported -468.0M
2021Reported 2.8B
2022Reported 13.8B
2023Reported 12.0B
2024Reported 6.0B
2025Reported 4.6B
2026Projected 9.1B
2027Projected 10.2B
2028Projected 11.3B
2029Projected 12.4B
2030Projected 13.5B
2031Projected 14.5B
2032Projected 15.4B
2033Projected 16.2B
2034Projected 16.8B
2035Projected 17.2B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
150.6B
169.1B
187.8B
206.3B
224.0B
240.6B
255.4B
268.0B
278.0B
285.0B
Growth
13.5%
12.3%
11.1%
9.8%
8.6%
7.4%
6.2%
4.9%
3.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
Free cash flow
9.1B
10.2B
11.3B
12.4B
13.5B
14.5B
15.4B
16.2B
16.8B
17.2B
Worth today
8.2B
8.4B
8.4B
8.4B
8.3B
8.1B
7.8B
7.4B
6.9B
6.5B
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
9.3%
556
587
623
663
711
9.8%
521
547
578
612
652
10.3%
489
512
538
568
602
10.8%
461
481
504
530
559
11.3%
436
454
474
496
521
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
9.5%
11.5%
13.5%
15.5%
17.5%
4.8%
391
422
455
491
530
5.4%
426
460
497
537
579
6.0%
460
498
538
581
628
6.6%
495
536
579
626
677
7.2%
529
573
620
671
725
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$346.80
Median$537.27
90th percentile$790.69
$250.00$500.00$750.00$1,000.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$433.22</b> and <b>$658.92</b>; one in ten below $346.80, one in ten above $790.69.
Does the long run make sense?
9.1×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 9.1 times that year's EBITDA.
Free growthIn year 10 free cash flow is at or above after-tax operating profit, yet the model grows 2.5% forever. Growth needs reinvestment; this assumes it comes for free, which flatters the terminal value.
52%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
What lenders charge, after the tax saving on interest: 13.18% × (1 − 16.2%) = <strong>11.04%</strong>.
Weighted by how much of each the company uses (book value (no price given)): <strong>10.28%</strong>, the rate every future cash flow is discounted at.
What it has filed lately
The last twelve months at the SEC, most important first: annual and quarterly reports, events, large holders and insiders.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.