Valero Energy Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Valero’s second-quarter earnings surged: Net income rose to $3.7 billion, or $12.62 per share, from $714 million a year earlier, driven by stronger performance across refining, renewable diesel and ethanol. Refining was the primary growth engine, generating $4.5 billion in operating income on throughput of 3 million barrels per day. Management said early third-quarter conditions were constructive and expects refining throughput of about 2.8 million to 2.9 million barrels per day. Cash generation supported shareholder returns and investment: Valero produced $5.6 billion in operating cash flow, returned $2.6 billion to shareholders and maintained its approximately $2 billion 2026 capital-spending outlook, including refinery repair and optimization projects.

Valero Energy NYSE: VLO reported second-quarter 2026 net income attributable to stockholders of $3.7 billion, or $12.62 per share, compared with $714 million, or $2.28 per share, a year earlier, as refining, renewable diesel and ethanol operations all posted stronger results. Adjusted net income was also $3.7 billion, or $12.54 per share, excluding items detailed in the company’s earnings-release tables. Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Lane Riggs said the quarter reflected “exceptional operational and commercial performance” across Valero’s three business segments amid geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility.

“Our refineries operated safely and reliably, helping meet resilient demand for transportation fuels,” Riggs said. He added that the company’s renewable diesel and ethanol operations also supplied additional liquid fuels to the market.

Valero’s refining segment generated $4.5 billion in operating income during the second quarter, versus $1.3 billion in the same period of 2025. Adjusted refining operating income was $4.4 billion. Throughput averaged 3 million barrels per day, while refining cash operating expenses were $4.70 per barrel.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Simmons said early third-quarter conditions appeared constructive relative to the second quarter, citing improved feedstock economics and crude purchases at discounts to benchmark prices. He said naphtha had moved to a premium to Brent crude, while propylene and sulfur prices remained strong. Simmons said jet fuel had provided a favorable contribution in the second quarter, though that benefit had not yet materialized in the third quarter. However, he noted that an arbitrage opportunity had opened to export jet fuel to Europe and said jet demand could strengthen as winter-grade diesel specifications take effect.

For the third quarter, Valero expects refining throughput of: 1.78 million to 1.83 million barrels per day on the Gulf Coast; 460,000 to 480,000 barrels per day in the Mid-Continent; 110,000 to 120,000 barrels per day on the West Coast; and 450,000 to 470,000 barrels per day in the North Atlantic. The company forecast refining cash operating expenses of about $4.75 per barrel in the third quarter.

Management also offered a more favorable view of mid-cycle refining margins than historical averages might imply. Simmons said that, as global supply-and-demand balances have tightened, product crack spreads appear increasingly set by hydro-skimming margins in Northwest Europe rather than cracking margins. He cited carbon-credit costs, operating and capital-cost inflation, and the outlook for heavy-sour crude discounts as factors that could support a higher margin floor.