With a market cap of $36.5 billion, Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States and internationally. Founded in 1980, the San Antonio, Texas-based company is set to announce its Q1 results before the market opens on Thursday, Apr. 24.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect VLO to report a profit of $1.57 per share, down 58.9% from the year-ago quarter's profit of $3.82 per share. While the company has surpassed analysts' earnings estimates thrice over the past four quarters, it has missed the projections on one other occasion. In the previous quarter, it reported EPS of $0.64, which surpassed the consensus estimate of $0.13 by a huge margin.
For the full fiscal 2025, analysts expect VLO to report an EPS of $7.35, down 13.3% from $8.48 in fiscal 2024. However, in fiscal 2026, its earnings are expected to rebound 50.8% year-over-year to $11.08 per share.
Over the past year, VLO shares have tanked nearly 38%, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 2.1% gains and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLE) 21.3% decline over the same time frame.
VLO shares dipped 2.9% following its mixed Q4 earnings release on Jan. 30. The company reported a 13.2% year-over-year decline in its revenues, which amounted to $30.8 billion. However, a 44.1% growth in the company's renewable diesel margin drove VLO to successfully surpass consensus estimates for EPS. More recently, the VLO stock prices closed down more than 5% on Apr. 9 after the price of WTI crude dropped more than 3%.
Nonetheless, analysts remain strongly optimistic about the stock's prospects. The consensus view on VLO stock is extremely bullish, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. Among 18 analysts covering the stock, opinions include 15 "Strong Buys," two "Holds," and one “Strong Sell.” VLO's mean price target of $149.94 implies a premium of 37.5% from its prevailing price level.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
