As the world faces the reality of operating the energy sector without the influence of Russian gas and oil, the industry has turned to the United States, as it is the largest natural gas producer in the world. While some US energy companies have reported strong performances in Q3 of 2025, Marathon Petroleum has missed the mark, according to Wall Street. The company saw less-than-favorable performances during the third quarter of the year due to elevated maintenance costs and turnaround expenses.
Marathon Petroleum is the top US refiner by volume; however, the results in Q3 were not so peachy
With the vast majority of Western nations jumping on the bandwagon and imposing new sanctions on Russia, the energy sector has turned to the United States to compensate for a loss in gas and oil production. While some US energy companies have seen strong performances in Q3, such as Valero Energy, Phillips 66, and HF Sinclair.
However, the good times are not rolling on for Marathon, as the company missed the expected returns that Wall Street foresaw. Shares of the US refiner dropped by 7%, with the company noting a profit of $3.01 per share for the quarter, which is well below the expected average estimate of $3.15 per share, according to data compiled by industry analysts.
Marathon’s results in Q3 underscore the problems faced by US refiners
As the world turns to the American refiners, the issues are compounding as several companies are seeing operational and maintenance costs skyrocket despite an unexpected increase in demand and wider margins. Marathon reported an estimated $400 million in quarterly refining turnaround costs, which is substantially more than the same period last year, which sat at around $287 million a year ago.
The less-than-expected performance has led Marathon down a path of reconsideration
The fact that Marathon missed the expected targets for Q3 of 2025 points to the volatile nature of the energy industry at the moment. The company reported that refining operating costs were $5.59 per barrel for Q3, which is slightly higher than a year ago, were refining operating costs were approximately $5.23 per barrel.
Marathon notes that its Gulf Coast operations were hit hard as well, with operating costs jumping to $4.70 per barrel, up from $3.96 per barrel a year ago. The company’s Texas operations were negatively affected as well, with its Gavelston Bay refinery, which is the second-largest in the US by capacity, slumping following a fire in June, impacting the Gulf Coast capture rate and overall results.
The hits just keep on coming for Marathon Petroleum
The company noted that its refining and marketing margin was at $17.60 per barrel during Q3, up from $14.63 per barrel in Q3 2024. Despite that, analysts reported that the third-quarter West Coast refining margins of $947 million were significantly lower than expected. Additionally, Marathon’s renewable diesel saw another quarterly loss of $56 million, which is almost $10 million less than last year.
With Europe set to see record diesel imports in the future due to the ongoing sanctions on Russia, Marathon Petroleum may need to pull up its socks and invest more in operations to improve performance for the years to come.
The United States has become the go-to destination for energy resources
Taking into consideration the new sanctions on Russian energy, along with European refineries facing calls to modernize and improve aging infrastructure, one can expect the US energy sector to experience unprecedented levels of exports in the near future. Marathon Petroleum has become the cornerstone of the US energy sector, and if the current performance is anything to go by, it will need to do some serious introspection to improve in Q4. If they can manage to turn around their fortunes, the American energy refiners are set to become the envy of the energy world.
