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Valero Energy (VLO): A Refining Giant With Earnings Momentum and Global Reach

Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) is among the best oil & gas refinery stocks to buy now. On February 13, Reuters reported that Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) was set to import up to 6.5 million barrels of crude from Venezuela in March. The report further said Valero would process the crude at its Gulf Coast refineries.

In its Q4 2025 earnings report released on January 29, Valero posted results that surpassed consensus expectations. EPS of $3.82 exceeded the $3.11 that was forecast. Revenue of $30.4 billion also surpassed the expected $29 billion. In the company’s refining business, operating income soared to $1.7 billion from $437 million in the same quarter in 2024.

The quarter was bolstered by improvements in margins throughput volumes. Valero ended 2025 with $4.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The company returned $1.4 billion in cash to shareholders in Q4 2025 and $4 billion in the full-year 2025.

Following Valero’s solid Q4 results, Citi analyst Vikram Bagri boosted the firm’s price target on Valero stock to $212 from $190 while maintaining a Neutral rating.

Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of fuels and petrochemical products. The company has a portfolio of 15 refineries across the US, Canada, and the UK. Its refining capacity is about 3.2 million barrels per day. Valero has a stake in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings, a joint venture that produces low-carbon fuels.

While we acknowledge the potential of Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VLO and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: Goldman Sachs Growth Stocks: Top 12 Stock Picks and 11 Best Alternative Energy Stocks to Invest In According to Analysts.

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The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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