GPRE vs CVE vs VLO Stock Comparison

Green Plains, Cenovus Energy and Valero Energy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GPRE Green Plains Inc.
$14.04 -5.9% 1M +25.9% 1Y
Market cap
$931.98M
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.83B
Div. yield
–
Biofuels Energy
3 wins
CVE Cenovus Energy Inc.
$33.18 +7.2% 1M +94.3% 1Y
Market cap
$57.20B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
2 wins
VLO Valero Energy Corp/Tx
$426.63 +10.2% 1M +149.4% 1Y
Market cap
$113.75B
P/E
8.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$153.33B
Div. yield
–
Oil Refining Energy
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Valero Energy leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Valero Energy 4, Green Plains 3, Cenovus Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGPRECVEVLOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $931.98M $57.20B $113.75B VLO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.5x 15.8x 8.8x GPRE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 6.8x 7.8x 7.6x GPRE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -23.7% — +24.6% VLO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.8% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.7x — CVE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.9% +94.3% +149.4% VLO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.6%/yr +23.6%/yr +40.3%/yr VLO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.8% 35.9% 37.6% CVE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 89/100 54/100 40/100 GPRE

Percentile Scorecard

GPRECVEVLO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisGPRECVEVLO
Valuation 100 #1 of 11 45 #55 of 99 18 #19 of 23
Growth 100 #1 of 11 44 #55 of 97 94 #2 of 19
Profitability 88 #2 of 9 92 #9 of 96 –
Financial Health 70 #4 of 11 58 #43 of 102 –
Shareholder Returns – 33 #51 of 76 6 #17 of 18
Overall 89 54 40
  • GPRE ranked among 11 companies in Renewable Fuels
  • CVE ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • VLO ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodGPRECVEVLOSPY
1 month -5.9%+7.2%+10.2% -0.8%
3 months -14.6%+18.3%+39.9% +3.5%
6 months -14.7%+23.9%+79.1% +7.0%
Year to date +43.3%+96.1%+162.1% +12.2%
1 year +25.9%+94.3%+149.4% +13.0%
3 years -49.0%+71.5%+245.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -20.1%+19.7%+51.2% +23.1%
5 years -59.6%+188.3%+442.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -16.6%+23.6%+40.3% +11.0%
10 years -46.2%+119.6%+616.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year -6.0%+8.2%+21.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGPRECVEVLOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.8%35.9%37.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 59.6%34.9%34.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.27-0.33-0.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.462.633.97 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -92.5%-57.2%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.0%-0.8%-7.2% -1.8%
52-week high $19.23$33.46$459.67 $779.14
52-week low $9.40$15.85$161.94 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleGPRECVEVLO
P/E now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 10.9x 16.6xmedian 13.5x 9.7xmedian 9.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 14.0x 7.5xmedian 5.9x —median 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 14.0x 10.6xmedian 11.0x 11.1xmedian 9.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.2x 2.7xmedian 1.5x 4.0xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.24median 0.19 -1.22median 2.27 0.77median 0.35

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsGPRECVEVLO
Revenue $1.83B – $153.33B
Gross profit $293.29M – –
Operating income $136.02M $4.67B $17.58B
Net income $125.21M $3.61B –
Free cash flow $127.39M – –
R&D – $31.67M –
EPS (diluted) $1.47 $1.98 $44.03
Cash & equivalents $185.38M $2.00B –
Total debt $483.69M $14.38B –
Shares (diluted) 84.49M 1.82B 294.00M
Enterprise value $332.65M $48.91B $113.75B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricGPRECVEVLO
P/E 7.8x 16.6x 9.7x
P/FCF 7.7x 10.6x 11.1x
P/Operating cash flow 6.4x – –
P/S 0.5x 1.8x 0.8x
P/B 1.1x 2.7x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 2.7x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 5.4x 7.5x –
EV/EBIT 9.4x 14.7x –
EV/Revenue 0.7x – 0.8x
EV/FCF 10.1x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 8.3x – –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.24 -1.22 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGPRECVEVLO
Revenue growth (1Y) -23.7% – 24.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -19.9% – 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 127.6% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 116.7% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 280.2% -10.8% 799.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 39.9% -17.3% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 182.8% 2.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.7% -16.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 164.2% 4.9% 810.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.3% -13.6% 12.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 289.5% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 168.9% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 389.9% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.5% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGPRECVEVLO
Gross margin 16.0% – –
EBITDA margin 12.9% – –
Operating margin 7.4% – –
Pretax margin 3.7% – –
Net margin 6.8% – –
FCF margin 7.0% – –
Operating cash flow margin 8.4% – –
Return on equity 15.1% 16.6% 45.7%
Return on assets 7.7% 8.5% –
Return on invested capital 10.3% – –
Return on capital employed 10.4% 12.4% –
Asset turnover 1.1x – –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x – –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGPRECVEVLO
Debt / assets 29.2% 17.4% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.7x –
Debt / FCF 3.8x – –
Liabilities / assets 47.5% 50.1% –
Equity / assets 52.5% 49.9% –
Interest coverage 1.9x – –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.6x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.4x –
Altman Z-score 2.06 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGPRECVEVLO
Dividend yield – 2.5% 1.1%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.5% 1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusGPRECVEVLO
Forward P/E 6.8xFY2026 7.8xFY2026 7.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2026 $4.23FY2026 $55.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +169.4%FY2026 +426.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -11.2% -9.5% -8.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.82BFY2026 $42.97BFY2026 $174.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -12.7%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026 +42.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.3% +2.6% -21.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGPRECVEVLO
Held by institutions 100.0% 48.8% 83.6%
Institutions holding 219 490 1,967
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% -5.2% -1.5%
Institutions buying 118 264 950
Institutions selling 76 162 709
Buyers to sellers 1.55 1.63 1.34

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

GPRECVEVLO
GPRE 1.00 0.35 0.38
CVE 0.35 1.00 0.50
VLO 0.38 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GPRE, CVE and VLO?

Valero Energy (VLO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Green Plains (GPRE) $931.98M, Cenovus Energy (CVE) $57.20B, Valero Energy (VLO) $113.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, GPRE, CVE and VLO?

Green Plains (GPRE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Green Plains (GPRE) 7.5x, Cenovus Energy (CVE) 15.8x, Valero Energy (VLO) 8.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Green Plains (GPRE) is cheapest (Green Plains (GPRE) 6.8x, Cenovus Energy (CVE) 7.8x, Valero Energy (VLO) 7.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Valero Energy (VLO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Green Plains (GPRE) -23.7%, Valero Energy (VLO) +24.6%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Valero Energy (VLO) returned the most: Green Plains (GPRE) +25.9%, Cenovus Energy (CVE) +94.3%, Valero Energy (VLO) +149.4%. Over five years, Valero Energy (VLO) compounded fastest (Green Plains (GPRE) -16.6%/yr, Cenovus Energy (CVE) +23.6%/yr, Valero Energy (VLO) +40.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cenovus Energy (CVE) has been the steadiest (Green Plains (GPRE) 56.8%, Cenovus Energy (CVE) 35.9%, Valero Energy (VLO) 37.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GPRE, CVE and VLO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Valero Energy (VLO) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.