GrowthTurtle
Data Science PhD & IEEE Fellow, Ex-Two Sigma
Valero looks expensive against its earnings, trading at 17x, or 10x next year's, versus the usual 9x for oil and gas producers. At 9x mid-cycle EPS of $22.12, give or take 12%, fair value is $177.34-$225.71, so the $406.30 price is 80% above fair, though trailing and forward reads differ by 63%. This is a valuation read off reported earnings and estimates only, with no fundamental work. x.comÂ
Valero faces structural obsolescence as battery and solar costs fall and transportation shifts from diesel to EVs, a risk the market misses by overweighting the news and the present. Its stock swung from $120 in 2018 to $40 in 2020 to $422 now. Valero and solar maker LONGi sit at opposite ends of who will power future transportation, with opposite present circumstances and opposite structural paths given the evolution of costs. x.com x.comÂ
Refiners such as Valero and Marathon Petroleum may be nearing a top, because the cure for high prices is always high prices. The stocks have made monster moves as crack spreads blow out and foreign buyers fight for distillate capacity. x.comÂ
Low forward earnings multiples alongside strong investor sentiment put these S&P 500 stocks atop the smart-value ranking. APA, Viatris, EOG, Marathon Petroleum, Valero, Phillips 66, Allstate, Diamondback, Everest and Centene trade at 6-15x forward earnings after one-year gains of 17-150%; the accompanying ranking also weighs free-cash-flow yield and momentum. x.comÂ
Shell's stronger refining profits and larger buyback support the view that its breakout holds. Q3 adjusted earnings reached $10.8 billion versus $9.9 billion expected, as refining margins hit a record $42 a barrel; the three-month buyback rises from $3 billion to $5 billion. Those margins will not last forever. x.comÂ
Occidental Petroleum is mispriced at about 8.4x trailing earnings and an 8.7% free cash flow yield during an oil shock. Eight times earnings in an oil shock is not a valuation but a clerical error with a ticker symbol. Iran cannot beat the US Navy, so it is waiting out America's vote in 49 days, since Iran does not vote until 2028; owning Occidental beats hiding in Treasuries. x.comÂ
With the 10-year Treasury yield touching 5%, cash generation and price strength matter more, favoring developed-market large caps that pair the highest free-cash-flow yields with strong momentum. General Motors leads with an 18.8% FCF yield, followed by BP at 13.6%, Marathon Petroleum at 11.6% with a top momentum score of 100, DHL at 11.4% and Shell at 11.3%. Verizon, AT&T, Suncor, Valero and Equinor complete the list with yields of 8.9% to 10.1% and momentum scores from 80 to 100. x.comÂ
Oil majors such as Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron deserve their multiples because they have consistently generated 10%+ returns across complete energy cycles. They are integrated, now diversified, and control a key commodity for decades ahead. Investors will do fine if they hold for the long term. x.comÂ
Par Pacific Holdings, a refiner, is a new addition as the portfolio itself gets refined. x.comÂ
US energy stocks such as Valero are resuming their uptrend after a brief ceasefire correction because the US is draining reserves at an incredibly fast pace to keep oil and gasoline flowing and stop prices from spiraling. x.comÂ
Crude oil is deeply undervalued as energy, which is primary money. One barrel holds 5.8 million BTU, equal to about $230,000 of annual human output at 750 BTU per hour and a $30 wage, or $350,000-$400,000 at the professional-athlete effort that output implies. Society forgets that economics is an energy science, and when reminded, everything else gets hit as hard as during a Volcker rate-hiking cycle. x.comÂ
