CONOCOPHILLIPS vs VALERO ENERGY CORP/TX, two Oil & Gas Refining stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where COP and VLO diverge most: on revenue growth, COP reads +1.9% and VLO reads +13.1%; on p/s, COP reads 2.54 and VLO reads 0.66. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's COP price has a different growth bar priced in than VLO (-3.6% implied for COP vs -4.4% for VLO); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What VLO's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | COP | VLO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $120.48 | $312.89 |
| Market cap | $147.6B | $92.0B |
| Sector | Oil & Gas Refining | Oil & Gas Refining |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -3.6% | -4.4% |
| P/E | 20.4 | 13.0 |
| P/B | 2.29 | 3.25 |
| P/S | 2.54 | 0.66 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.2 | 6.9 |
| Revenue growth | +1.9% | +13.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 11.7% |
| Net margin | 12.6% | 5.2% |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | 25.5% |
| Return on assets | 6.0% | 11.2% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 27.0% |
| FCF yield | 12.2% | 11.4% |
| Dividend yield | 2.6% | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Current ratio | 1.29 | 1.64 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.83 | 9.77 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.