Murphy USA Q2 Earnings Top as Fuel Margins Improve, Sales Miss

Motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. MUSA announced second-quarter 2025 earnings per share of $7.36, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.82 and compared favorably with the year-ago profit of $6.92. The outperformance was primarily on the back of higher fuel margins.Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $5 billion fell 8.2% year over year and missed the consensus mark by $468 million due to lower-than-expected petroleum product sales.Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $3.9 billion, well below our estimate of $4.2 billion and down 11.3% from the second quarter of 2024. On the other hand, merchandise sales, at $1.1 billion, were up 1.1% year over year.  Murphy USA Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Murphy USA Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Murphy USA Inc. QuoteKey TakeawaysMUSA’s total fuel contribution edged up 0.7% year over year to $393 million on higher retail contribution and margin expansion. Total fuel contribution (including retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale results) came in at 32 cents per gallon, up 1% from the second quarter of 2024.Retail fuel contribution fell 1.7% year over year to $359.1 million as margins narrowed to 29.2 cents per gallon from 29.7 cents in the corresponding period of 2024. Retail gallons declined 0.2% from the year-ago period to 1,229.3 million but beat our estimate of 1,227.2 million. Volumes on an SSS basis (or fuel gallons per store) deteriorated 2.1% from the second quarter of 2024 to 239.3 thousand.Contribution from Merchandise edged up 1% to $218.7 million on slightly higher sales even as unit margins remained flat year over year at 20%. On an SSS basis, total merchandise contribution decreased 0.9% year over year, primarily due to 2.4% lower non-nicotine margins. Meanwhile, merchandise sales decreased 1% on an SSS basis, due to a drop in nicotine as well as non-nicotine sales.The Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company’s monthly fuel gallons fell 2.3% from the prior-year period, while merchandise sales decreased 0.7% on an average per-store monthly basis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Balance SheetAs of June 30, Murphy USA — which opened six new retail locations in the quarter and closed one outlet to take its store count to 1,766 — had cash and cash equivalents of $54.1 million and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $2.1 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 76.2%.During the quarter, MUSA bought back shares worth $211.9 million.Some Key Refining EarningsWhile we have discussed MUSA’s second-quarter results in detail, let’s see how some other refining companies have fared this earnings season.Valero Energy VLO reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $2.28 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.73. However, the bottom line declined from the year-ago quarter’s level of $2.71. Valero’s total quarterly revenues decreased from $34.5 billion in the prior-year quarter to $29.9 billion. The top line, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $27.8 billion.The better-than-expected quarterly results can be attributed to an increase in Valero’s refining margins per barrel of throughput and lower total cost of sales. The positives were partially offset by a decline in refining throughput volumes and renewable diesel sales volumes.Another refining giant, Phillips 66 PSX, reported adjusted earnings of $2.38 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66. The bottom line also improved from the year-ago quarter’s level of $2.31. Phillips 66’s outperformance can be attributed to increased refining volumes and higher realized refining margins worldwide.Phillips 66 generated $845 million of net cash from operations in the reported quarter, a significant decline from $2,097 million in the year-ago period. The company’s capital expenditure and investments totaled $587 million. Phillips 66 paid out dividends of $487 million in the second quarter. As of June 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $1.1 billion. Total debt was $20.9 billion, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization of 42%.Finally, we have PBF Energy’s PBF second-quarter adjusted loss per share of $1.03, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.19. This primarily reflects lower costs and expenses. PBF Energy reported an operating loss of $400.4 million in the Refining segment against an operating income of $107.7 million a year ago.PBF Energy spent $144.5 million in capital on refining operations and $8.2 million on logistics businesses. At the end of the second quarter, it had cash and cash equivalents of $591 million. As of June 30, PBF had a total debt of $2.4 billion, resulting in a total debt-to-capitalization of 30.2%.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockThis under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Valero Energy Corporation (VLO): Free Stock Analysis Report Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA): Free Stock Analysis Report Phillips 66 (PSX): Free Stock Analysis Report PBF Energy Inc. (PBF): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks