Why Did Valero Stock Fall?

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Valero Energy (VLO) stock fell 9.2% on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The company released no earnings report or filing, and its one announcement that day was its regular quarterly dividend. Its peers fell as well, including PBF Energy, down 8.6%. Valero refines crude oil into fuel, so how does the price of oil reach its business?

How Is Valero Tied To The Oil Market?

Valero is tied to oil mainly through refining, the business of turning crude into fuel. Its refining segment reported $8.8 billion of operating income in the third quarter of 2026, up from $1.6 billion a year earlier. Its renewable diesel segment earned $353 million in the same quarter.

Management shared those results during its October 22 earnings call. On the same call, it said that if crude runs up, it could squeeze refining margins, the gap between what a refiner pays for crude and what it gets for the fuel it makes. Oil does not explain Tuesday’s drop. Oil prices fell during the session, with U.S. crude slipping back under $100 a barrel on hopes for Middle East diplomacy.

Did Valero Fall With Other Energy Stocks?

Valero fell alongside its peers, though it dropped further than any of them. Marathon Petroleum fell 7.4% in the same session, and Phillips 66, Exxon Mobil and Chevron lost ground as well. XLE, the SPDR fund that tracks the energy sector, fell 2.1%.

The wider market moved the other way, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.2%. Valero’s drop was close to PBF Energy’s, somewhat larger than Marathon Petroleum’s and far larger than the energy sector’s.

Where Valero Stock Stands After Tuesday’s Fall

Valero had not fallen this far in a single session at any point in the prior 365 days. Even after the fall, the stock returned 131.2% over the twelve months to October 27, against 15.0% for the S&P 500. Over the last three months, it returned 29.0%, against 5.8% for the index.

The shares closed Tuesday at $387.34, below their 52-week closing high of $459.78 on October 14, 2026. The stock’s lowest close of the past year was $161.94 on December 18, 2025, before the climb began. Valero stock trades at 0.82 times its sales over the four quarters to June 2026, a figure that does not yet count the third-quarter results reported on October 22. The S&P 500 trades at 3.2 times sales.

Valero is expected to report its fourth-quarter 2026 results in early 2027, and the operating income of its refining segment is the figure to watch.

What Would Another Fall In Valero Energy Do To Your Plan?

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