Sifting through countless of stocks in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Valero Energy Corporation or Sunoco LP because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB) and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CBOB) gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and asphalt; feedstocks; aromatics; sulfur and residual fuel oil; intermediate oils; and sulfur, sweet, and sour crude oils. It sells its refined products through wholesale rack and bulk markets; and through outlets under the Valero, Beacon, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Texaco brands. The company owns and operates renewable diesel and ethanol plants, as well as produces and sells renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and neat sustainable aviation fuel under the Diamond Green Diesel brand name. In addition, it offers ethanol and various co-products, including dry distiller grains, syrup, and inedible distillers corn oil to animal feed customers. The company was formerly known as Valero Refining and Marketing Company and changed its name to Valero Energy Corporation in August 1997. Valero Energy Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the energy infrastructure and distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in three segments: Fuel Distribution, Pipeline Systems, and Terminals. The Fuel Distribution segment distributes motor fuels and other petroleum products, such as propane and lubricating oil to third-party dealers and distributors, independent operators of commission agent locations, other commercial consumers of motor fuel, and retail locations; and leases real estate properties. This segment also offers non-fuel products, including in-store merchandise and company-operated retail stores food services, as well as credit card processing, car washes, lottery, and other services. The Pipeline Systems segment includes an integrated pipeline and terminal network comprising refined product, crude oil, and ammonia pipelines and terminals. The Terminals segment operates transmix processing facilities and refined product terminals; and provides blending, additive injections, handling, and filtering services. The company was formerly known as Susser Petroleum Partners LP and changed its name to Sunoco LP in 2014. Sunoco LP was founded in 1886 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and Valero Energy Corporation, Sunoco LP Stock News

As of January 30, 2026, Valero Energy Corporation had a $55.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels median of $2.2 million. Valero Energy Corporation’s stock is up 11.5% in 2026, down 3% in the previous five trading days and up 30.08% in the past year.

Currently, Valero Energy Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 38.0. Valero Energy Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $116.6 billion with a 1.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -3.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.120 per share for the current fiscal year. Valero Energy Corporation currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of January 30, 2026, Sunoco LP had a $10.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 79th percentile of all stocks. Sunoco LP’s stock is up 9.9% in 2026, up 1% in the previous five trading days and up 1.55% in the past year.

Currently, Sunoco LP’s price-earnings ratio is 19.6. Sunoco LP’s trailing 12-month revenue is $21.9 billion with a 2.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.582 per share for the current fiscal year. Sunoco LP currently has a 6.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	B
Sunoco LP	SUN	A

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Valero Energy Corporation has a Value Score of 62, which is Value. Sunoco LP has a Value Score of 82, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Sunoco LP

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Sunoco LP is considered to have better value than Valero Energy Corporation. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Sunoco LP could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	C
Sunoco LP	SUN	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Valero Energy Corporation has a Growth Score of 47, which is Average. Sunoco LP has a Growth Score of 65, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Sunoco LP

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Sunoco LP has a more attractive growth grade than Valero Energy Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Sunoco LP could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Valero Energy Corporation	VLO	B
Sunoco LP	SUN	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Valero Energy Corporation has a Momentum Score of 66, which is Strong. Sunoco LP has a Momentum Score of 47, which is Average.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Valero Energy Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Valero Energy Corporation is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Sunoco LP. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Valero Energy Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Valero Energy Corporation or Sunoco LP Stock?

Overall, Valero Energy Corporation stock has a Value Score of 62, Growth Score of 47 and Momentum Score of 66.

Sunoco LP stock has a Value Score of 82, Growth Score of 65 and Momentum Score of 47.

Comparing Valero Energy Corporation and Sunoco LP’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.