---
title: "QUICK SPARK: Diesel Squeeze Puts Valero Stock On Pace For Best Year Ever, Up 140%"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/299076074.md"
description: "Valero Energy shares surged 140.6% year-to-date, poised for its best performance ever, driven by a diesel crack spread near $106/barrel. Compounding factors include the Hormuz disruption, Russian export bans, and winter restocking. Refining margins doubled in Q2, with Valero returning over $5 billion to shareholders."
datetime: "2026-09-15T16:07:58.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/299076074.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/299076074.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/299076074.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# QUICK SPARK: Diesel Squeeze Puts Valero Stock On Pace For Best Year Ever, Up 140%

**Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO)** climbed 2.3% to $391.61 Tuesday, taking its year-to-date gain to 140.6% and putting the refiner on pace for its best year on record, topping roughly 128% in 2005.

The U.S. ultra-low-sulfur diesel crack spread — the gap between what refiners pay for crude and what they sell fuel for — sits near $106 a barrel, up from about $33 in January.

Three shocks compounded: the Hormuz disruption, Russian export bans after drone strikes knocked out roughly a quarter of its refining capacity, and winter restocking into depleted inventories.

Valero and **Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:MPC)** more than doubled per-barrel refining margins in Q2, returning over $5 billion to shareholders.

Both refiners are now among the best-performing S&P 500 stocks year to date. The **VanEck Oil Refiners ETF** (NYSE:CRAK) has rallied 71% year to date. 

*Image: Envato Elements*

### Related Stocks

- [VLO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VLO.US.md)
- [MPC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MPC.US.md)
- [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md)
- [CRAK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRAK.US.md)

## Related News & Research

- [Valero kicks off refiner results with record quarterly profit on higher margins](https://longbridge.com/en/news/302698333.md)
- [Valero expects fuel margins to rise again despite Trump's effort to tamp down prices](https://longbridge.com/en/news/302769998.md)
- [Valero to run refineries between 96% to 99% of capacity in Q4 - Conf Call](https://longbridge.com/en/news/302753843.md)
- [Valero to run refineries between 80% to 83% of capacity in Q4 - Conf Call](https://longbridge.com/en/news/302740330.md)
- [Valero Energy Q3 Results Show Record Ethanol Production, Strong Profits](https://longbridge.com/en/news/302746855.md)

---
> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**