Marathon Petroleum Corporation

Marathon Petroleum operates a U.S. refining, fuel-marketing and logistics business. It also controls MPLX, the listed partnership that transports, stores and processes energy products. A third segment produces and markets renewable diesel.

The ownership structure matters when reading the accounts. Marathon consolidates MPLX's earnings, cash and debt, then deducts income attributable to minority shareholders when calculating net income attributable to Marathon. The parent and the consolidated group therefore have different cash and debt totals.

Latest quarter: a larger refining contribution

For the three months ended September 30, 2026, net income attributable to Marathon was $7.45 billion, versus $1.37 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share rose to $26.59 from $4.51. GAAP operating income, before interest and taxes, reached $10.45 billion, versus $2.71 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA removes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and selected other items. Marathon also excludes planned turnaround costs for refinery maintenance and adds adjustments associated with its renewable-diesel joint venture. Adjusted net income and EPS separately exclude specified settlement, credit and transaction items with related tax and minority-interest effects.

Refining and marketing supplied about 95% of the year-over-year increase in consolidated adjusted EBITDA. Its margin rose to $45.70 per barrel from $17.60. That margin is sales revenue less refinery inputs and purchased products, before operating and distribution costs. Refining operating costs were $5.60 per barrel, versus $5.59, excluding planned maintenance and depreciation.

Cash and debt across the group

Our subtraction of first-half operating cash flow from the nine-month totals puts third-quarter consolidated operating cash at $10.73 billion, versus $2.61 billion. Five operating-balance and derivative adjustments added $2.26 billion to the cash-flow reconciliation, versus $222 million. These consolidated figures include MPLX.

At September 30, consolidated cash and equivalents were $12.805 billion, with another $804 million in short-term investments. Excluding MPLX, Marathon reported $12.312 billion of cash and short-term investments and almost $5 billion of available revolving-credit capacity.

Marathon's gross debt excluding MPLX was $6.487 billion, including $640 million of finance-lease obligations. That was down from $7.299 billion at year-end, following the September redemption of $749 million of notes. MPLX separately had $27.005 billion of gross debt, including $5 million of finance leases.

Separate from financial debt, Marathon received about 21 million barrels of crude under Strategic Petroleum Reserve exchange contracts during the second and third quarters. It must return about 26 million barrels from April 2027 through July 2029. These contracts are accounted for as derivatives.

Capital returns and investment plans

Marathon paid $3.005 billion for shares repurchased during the quarter, versus $650 million a year earlier. On November 3 it announced another $5 billion of authorization, in addition to May's $5 billion. Unused authority was $3.12 billion at September 30.

The board declared a $1.10 quarterly dividend on October 28, payable December 10. Its 2026 capital-spending outlook excluding MPLX remained $1.5 billion. MPLX's $2.9 billion organic growth-capital outlook was already raised in August.

A November 2 agreement to sell the St. Paul Park and Mandan refineries and related logistics assets for a $4.2 billion base price remains subject to closing adjustments, conditions and approvals. Marathon expects completion in the fourth quarter.

Read our analysis of the refining windfall and expanded buyback room.