Munger Mode rating: 2 out of 5 — Sell. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We have spent our lives distinguishing between a good business and a good year, and Marathon Petroleum is presently offering the market one of the finest single years any refiner has ever printed. Second-quarter net income of $5.1 billion — $17.73 per diluted share, more than the company earned in many full years — was produced by a doubling of refining margins to $36.33 per barrel, driven by restricted crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on Middle Eastern refining infrastructure. That is not a moat. That is weather. Marathon is, we want to be clear, a superbly operated company. Management's capital allocation since the 2021 Speedway sale has been among the most shareholder-friendly we have seen anywhere: share count has fallen from roughly 650 million to 280.8 million, a 57% reduction, much of it executed at prices far below today's.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-04), 10-Q (2026-08-04), 8-K (2026-06-29), 8-K (2026-05-05).
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