VALERO ENERGY CORP/TX vs YPF Sociedad Anonima, two Oil & Gas Refining stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
The margin comparison is a study in opposite years: Valero nets 3.4% of revenue refining crude in a soft-but-positive crack environment, while YPF, Argentina's state-influenced integrated, posts a negative 4.3% net margin through macro and restructuring turmoil. Valero earns 15.6% on equity and pays a 1.7% dividend at 19 times earnings; YPF posts negative 7.2% returns with no usable multiple. Both carry near-zero net debt. YPF's 27.9% free-cash figure is a suppressed-denominator artifact against Valero's cleaner 7%. The pair prices a disciplined US refiner against a sovereign-tinged integrated in difficulty; Valero is a functioning crack-spread business, YPF an option on Argentina's normalization, and only the sector code unites them.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | VLO | YPF |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $259.41 | $45.38 |
| Market cap | $77.3B | $17.8B |
| Sector | Oil & Gas Refining | Oil & Gas Refining |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +9.4% | +2.1% |
| P/E | 18.9 | — |
| P/B | 2.87 | 1.61 |
| P/S | 0.62 | 0.96 |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.9 | 9.7 |
| Revenue growth | -2.4% | +9.1% |
| Gross margin | — | 27.6% |
| Operating margin | 5.3% | 9.4% |
| Net margin | 3.4% | -4.3% |
| Return on equity | 15.6% | -7.2% |
| Return on assets | 6.8% | -2.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 15.9% | 12.4% |
| FCF yield | 7.0% | 27.9% |
| Dividend yield | 1.7% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.04 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.58 | 0.87 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.40 | 1.36 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 4 / 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.