IMPERIAL OIL LIMITED 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 IMO and VLO diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), IMO reads +10.6% and VLO reads -4.4%; on revenue growth, IMO reads -9.1% and VLO reads +13.1%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's IMO price has a different growth bar priced in than VLO (+10.6% implied for IMO 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 | IMO | VLO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129.39 | $312.89 |
| Market cap | $62.7B | $92.0B |
| Sector | Oil & Gas Refining | Oil & Gas Refining |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +10.6% | -4.4% |
| P/E | 29.8 | 13.0 |
| P/B | 3.75 | 3.25 |
| P/S | 1.81 | 0.66 |
| EV/EBITDA | 34.2 | 6.9 |
| Revenue growth | -9.1% | +13.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 11.7% |
| Net margin | 6.2% | 5.2% |
| Return on equity | 12.8% | 25.5% |
| Return on assets | 6.4% | 11.2% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 27.0% |
| FCF yield | 4.5% | 11.4% |
| Dividend yield | 1.6% | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | 0.15 | 0.03 |
| Current ratio | 1.23 | 1.64 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.02 | 9.77 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 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.