VLO vs SUN vs SOBO Stock Comparison

Valero Energy, Sunoco and South Bow Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
SUN Sunoco LP
$74.62 -0.4% 1M +38.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.98B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$39.58B
Div. yield
0.07%
Fuel Distribution Energy
4 wins
SOBO South Bow Corp
$35.67 +5.0% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.38B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.00B
Div. yield
–
Oil and Gas Pipelines Energy
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionVLOSUNSOBOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $113.75B $9.98B $7.38B VLO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.8x 8.6x 16.0x SUN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.6x 7.9x 19.0x VLO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.6% +83.3% -2.1% SUN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 2.9% 23.0% SOBO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 7.5% 9.2% SOBO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.4x 4.4x SUN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +149.4% +38.9% +36.5% VLO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +40.3%/yr +12.7%/yr — VLO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.6% 26.5% 22.8% SOBO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 61/100 58/100 SUN

Percentile Scorecard

VLOSUNSOBO

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

AxisVLOSUNSOBO
Valuation 18 #19 of 23 59 #10 of 23 65 #13 of 35
Growth 94 #2 of 19 100 #1 of 19 55 #16 of 34
Profitability – 24 #14 of 18 67 #12 of 34
Financial Health – 35 #16 of 24 50 #18 of 35
Shareholder Returns 6 #17 of 18 88 #3 of 18 53 #15 of 31
Overall 40 61 58
  • VLO ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing
  • SUN ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing
  • SOBO ranked among 35 companies in Oil and Gas Midstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVLOSUNSOBOSPY
1 month +10.2%-0.4%+5.0% -0.8%
3 months +39.9%+0.2%-4.5% +3.5%
6 months +79.1%+13.1%+11.1% +7.0%
Year to date +162.1%+42.4%+29.9% +12.2%
1 year +149.4%+38.9%+36.5% +13.0%
3 years +245.3%+51.6%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +51.2%+14.9%— +23.1%
5 years +442.3%+81.8%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +40.3%+12.7%— +11.0%
10 years +616.8%+162.7%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +21.8%+10.1%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureVLOSUNSOBOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.6%26.5%22.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.5%27.8%22.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.38-0.38-0.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.971.471.60 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.9%-24.6%-20.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.2%-5.7%-7.8% -1.8%
52-week high $459.67$79.13$38.69 $779.14
52-week low $161.94$50.16$25.26 $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.

MultipleVLOSUNSOBO
P/E now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 9.5x 8.8xmedian 9.5x 16.1xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 0.3x 0.3xmedian 0.3x 3.7xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.3x 7.9xmedian 7.3x 10.9xmedian 11.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 9.5x 6.2xmedian 9.5x 11.6xmedian 16.6x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.9x 1.2xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.77median 0.35 0.35median 0.35 —median 1.92

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 monthsVLOSUNSOBO
Revenue $153.33B $39.58B $2.00B
Gross profit – $4.72B $1.72B
Operating income $17.58B $1.89B –
Net income – $1.16B $460.00M
Free cash flow – $1.66B $640.00M
EPS (diluted) $44.03 $8.40 $2.20
Cash & equivalents – $773.00M $726.00M
Total debt – $13.31B $5.73B
Shares (diluted) 294.00M 137.74M 208.80M
Enterprise value $113.75B $4.36B $5.01B

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
MetricVLOSUNSOBO
P/E 9.7x 8.8x 16.1x
P/FCF 11.1x 6.2x 11.6x
P/Operating cash flow – 4.4x 8.9x
P/S 0.8x 0.3x 3.7x
P/B 4.0x 1.2x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 1.7x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA – 7.9x 10.9x
EV/EBIT – 12.1x 14.0x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.6x 6.2x
EV/FCF – 13.7x 19.4x
EV/Operating cash flow – 9.7x 14.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.77 0.35 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVLOSUNSOBO
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.6% 83.3% -2.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 18.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 108.0% 1.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 54.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 799.4% 123.6% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 47.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 166.3% 53.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 46.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) 810.1% 164.2% 134.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 25.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 220.8% 30.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 54.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 597.5% 14.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 57.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVLOSUNSOBO
Gross margin – 11.9% 85.8%
EBITDA margin – 7.2% 56.9%
Operating margin – 4.8% –
Pretax margin – 3.4% 27.8%
Net margin – 2.9% 23.0%
FCF margin – 4.2% 32.0%
Operating cash flow margin – 5.9% 41.9%
Return on equity 45.7% 13.9% 17.3%
Return on assets – 3.9% 4.1%
Return on invested capital – 7.5% 9.2%
Return on capital employed – 7.6% 9.1%
Asset turnover – 1.3x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.0x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVLOSUNSOBO
Debt / assets – 44.5% 50.4%
Debt / equity – 1.6x 2.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.4x 4.4x
Debt / FCF – 8.0x 9.0x
Liabilities / assets – 72.1% 76.6%
Equity / assets – 27.9% 23.4%
Interest coverage – 2.7x 2.7x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.3x 1.5x
Quick ratio – 0.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – – 1.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVLOSUNSOBO
Dividend yield 1.1% 5.1% 5.6%
Net buyback yield – – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 1.1% 5.1% 5.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 63.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 44.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 14.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 26.4% –

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.

ConsensusVLOSUNSOBO
Forward P/E 7.6xFY2026 7.9xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $55.81FY2026 $9.44FY2026 $1.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +426.0%FY2026 +282.2%FY2026 -4.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -8.8% -6.9% +3.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $174.96BFY2026 $53.96BFY2026 $2.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +42.6%FY2026 +114.1%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -21.5% +6.7% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVLOSUNSOBO
Held by institutions 83.6% 48.4% 62.0%
Institutions holding 1,967 302 305
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.5% -0.2% -2.3%
Institutions buying 950 115 126
Institutions selling 709 83 92
Buyers to sellers 1.34 1.39 1.37

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.

VLOSUNSOBO
VLO 1.00 0.36 0.28
SUN 0.36 1.00 0.37
SOBO 0.28 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VLO, SUN and SOBO?

Valero Energy (VLO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Valero Energy (VLO) $113.75B, Sunoco (SUN) $9.98B, South Bow (SOBO) $7.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, VLO, SUN and SOBO?

Sunoco (SUN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Valero Energy (VLO) 8.8x, Sunoco (SUN) 8.6x, South Bow (SOBO) 16.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Valero Energy (VLO) is cheapest (Valero Energy (VLO) 7.6x, Sunoco (SUN) 7.9x, South Bow (SOBO) 19.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sunoco (SUN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Valero Energy (VLO) +24.6%, Sunoco (SUN) +83.3%, South Bow (SOBO) -2.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

South Bow (SOBO) has the highest net margin (Sunoco (SUN) 2.9%, South Bow (SOBO) 23.0%). On return on invested capital, South Bow (SOBO) leads (Sunoco (SUN) 7.5%, South Bow (SOBO) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Valero Energy (VLO) returned the most: Valero Energy (VLO) +149.4%, Sunoco (SUN) +38.9%, South Bow (SOBO) +36.5%. Over five years, Valero Energy (VLO) compounded fastest (Valero Energy (VLO) +40.3%/yr, Sunoco (SUN) +12.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Valero Energy (VLO) 0.00%, Sunoco (SUN) 0.07%, South Bow (SOBO) 0.00%. Valero Energy (VLO) and South Bow (SOBO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, South Bow (SOBO) has been the steadiest (Valero Energy (VLO) 37.6%, Sunoco (SUN) 26.5%, South Bow (SOBO) 22.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, VLO, SUN and SOBO?

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.