MPLX vs MPC vs SO Stock Comparison

Mplx, Marathon Petroleum and Southern Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MPLX Mplx Lp
$58.65 +3.3% 1M +16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$59.13B
P/E
12.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.22B
Div. yield
0.07%
Oil and Gas Pipelines Energy
4 wins
MPC Marathon Petroleum Corp
$470.49 +19.6% 1M +139.8% 1Y
Market cap
$130.54B
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$156.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Oil Refining Energy
8 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$104.75B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Marathon Petroleum leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Marathon Petroleum 8, Mplx 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMPLXMPCSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $59.13B $130.54B $104.75B MPC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.5x 15.3x 22.5x MPLX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.3x 6.9x 19.1x MPC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.7% +15.9% +6.4% MPC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.8% 5.5% 15.4% MPLX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.6% 19.7% 5.1% MPC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 1.5x 5.3x MPC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.01% 0.03% MPLX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.3% +139.8% -3.5% MPC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.7%/yr +48.1%/yr +8.1%/yr MPC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 17.1% 36.1% 17.9% MPLX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 60/100 43/100 MPC

Percentile Scorecard

MPLXMPCSO

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

AxisMPLXMPCSO
Valuation 38 #22 of 35 27 #17 of 23 36 #43 of 67
Growth 27 #25 of 34 67 #7 of 19 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 94 #3 of 34 94 #2 of 18 78 #15 of 64
Financial Health 62 #14 of 35 57 #11 of 24 35 #42 of 64
Shareholder Returns 67 #11 of 31 53 #9 of 18 15 #57 of 67
Overall 58 60 43
  • MPLX ranked among 35 companies in Oil and Gas Midstream
  • MPC ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMPLXMPCSOSPY
1 month +3.3%+19.6%+11.7% -0.8%
3 months +0.5%+50.6%-4.1% +3.5%
6 months +7.4%+107.1%-1.3% +7.0%
Year to date +9.9%+189.3%+6.1% +12.2%
1 year +16.3%+139.8%-3.5% +13.0%
3 years +64.3%+222.3%+39.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +18.0%+47.7%+11.6% +23.1%
5 years +89.9%+611.2%+47.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.7%+48.1%+8.1% +11.0%
10 years +83.7%+963.0%+81.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.3%+26.7%+6.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMPLXMPCSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 17.1%36.1%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.9%34.7%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.04-0.24-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.953.87-0.19 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.1%-45.9%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.9%-3.0%-6.6% -1.8%
52-week high $60.43$485.05$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $50.29$162.63$82.35 $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.

MultipleMPLXMPCSO
P/E now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 21.0x 15.9xmedian 9.5x 22.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 2.7x 0.8xmedian 0.3x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.5xmedian 11.0x 9.0xmedian 7.3x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 16.6x 10.2xmedian 9.5x -32.6xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.6x 5.1xmedian 1.9x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.42median 1.92 -15.47median 0.35 0.71median 2.23

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 monthsMPLXMPCSO
Revenue $13.22B $156.18B $30.18B
Gross profit $11.61B $21.79B $25.14B
Operating income $5.88B $14.13B $7.31B
Net income $4.77B $10.31B $4.66B
Free cash flow $3.34B $12.90B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $4.66 $29.50 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $1.03B $7.77B $2.98B
Total debt $26.01B $33.26B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 1.02B 290.00M 1.14B
Enterprise value $52.69B $114.30B $95.81B

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
MetricMPLXMPCSO
P/E 12.6x 15.9x 22.6x
P/FCF 17.8x 10.2x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 7.7x 10.0x
P/S 4.5x 0.8x 3.5x
P/B 4.2x 5.1x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 5.7x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 11.5x 9.0x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 14.4x 11.2x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 6.4x 1.0x 5.9x
EV/FCF 25.3x 12.2x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 9.2x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.42 -15.47 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMPLXMPCSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.7% 15.9% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% -0.6% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.5% 71.5% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.5% -5.4% 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.4% 163.0% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.8% -9.1% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.6% 174.5% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.7% -10.4% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.6% 324.1% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.2% -1.0% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.6% 164.9% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.8% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.1% 253.7% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.8% 1.0% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMPLXMPCSO
Gross margin 87.8% 14.0% 83.3%
EBITDA margin 55.4% 11.2% 45.2%
Operating margin 44.4% 9.0% 24.2%
Pretax margin 36.1% 8.2% 17.4%
Net margin 35.8% 5.5% 15.4%
FCF margin 25.2% 8.3% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 45.2% 11.0% 35.3%
Return on equity 33.4% 42.0% 9.2%
Return on assets 11.1% 11.3% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 14.6% 19.7% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 14.8% 22.1% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x 1.7x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.7x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMPLXMPCSO
Debt / assets 60.5% 35.3% 46.6%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.3x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 1.5x 5.3x
Debt / FCF 7.8x 2.6x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 66.8% 72.7% 73.9%
Equity / assets 33.2% 27.3% 26.1%
Interest coverage 5.3x 10.4x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.3x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 4.06 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMPLXMPCSO
Dividend yield 7.4% 0.9% 3.2%
Net buyback yield 0.5% 3.7% –
Shareholder yield 7.9% 4.6% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 89.3% 11.3% 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 127.5% 9.0% -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.3% 2.8% 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.8% -3.4% 1.2%

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.

ConsensusMPLXMPCSO
Forward P/E 14.3xFY2026 6.9xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.10FY2026 $68.22FY2026 $4.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -14.9%FY2026 +537.6%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.7% -13.2% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.68BFY2026 $192.78BFY2026 $31.53BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +42.6%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.0% -9.8% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMPLXMPCSO
Held by institutions 18.8% 75.7% 72.5%
Institutions holding 625 1,930 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.3% -0.3% +5.7%
Institutions buying 301 855 1,248
Institutions selling 144 699 724
Buyers to sellers 2.09 1.22 1.72

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.

MPLXMPCSO
MPLX 1.00 0.10 0.20
MPC 0.10 1.00 0.04
SO 0.20 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MPLX, MPC and SO?

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mplx (MPLX) $59.13B, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) $130.54B, Southern (SO) $104.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, MPLX, MPC and SO?

Mplx (MPLX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mplx (MPLX) 12.5x, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 15.3x, Southern (SO) 22.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is cheapest (Mplx (MPLX) 14.3x, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 6.9x, Southern (SO) 19.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mplx (MPLX) +8.7%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) +15.9%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mplx (MPLX) has the highest net margin (Mplx (MPLX) 35.8%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 5.5%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) leads (Mplx (MPLX) 14.6%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 19.7%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Marathon Petroleum (MPC) returned the most: Mplx (MPLX) +16.3%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) +139.8%, Southern (SO) -3.5%. Over five years, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) compounded fastest (Mplx (MPLX) +13.7%/yr, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) +48.1%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mplx (MPLX) has the highest dividend yield: Mplx (MPLX) 0.07%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 0.01%, Southern (SO) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mplx (MPLX) has been the steadiest (Mplx (MPLX) 17.1%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) 36.1%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MPLX, MPC and SO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) leads on 8. 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.