NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 14:39 (EST) — Regular trading
- Valero shares are down about 3% in afternoon trade, trailing some refining peers
- White House to meet with oil firms on Venezuela, which could be a wild card for heavy crude supply
- Investors are now watching for policy details and Valero’s Jan. 29 earnings report
Valero Energy shares fell 3.2% to $185.16 Friday afternoon, after hitting an intraday low of $182.70. Marathon Petroleum was off 0.1% and Phillips 66 dropped 1.1%. Piper Sandler lowered its Valero price target to $217 from $223 and stuck with an “overweight” rating, The Fly reported. (TipRanks)
The pullback comes with traders watching Washington. The White House was convening a meeting on Friday with oil producers, refiners and trading houses to discuss potential investment in Venezuela’s energy sector, a White House official said. Valero and Marathon were among the companies expected to attend. (Reuters)
Why it matters for refiners: Venezuelan crude is typically heavy and high in sulfur, and plenty of Gulf Coast plants were built or upgraded to handle it. Reuters reported this week that refineries from Corpus Christi to Pascagoula are set up to process Venezuela’s heavy sour crude, after decades of spending on coking units and other kit that helps plants squeeze more fuel out of dense barrels. (Reuters)
Oil was up too, another moving piece. Brent climbed 2.4% to $63.50 a barrel and U.S. crude rose 2.7% to $59.31, with supply worries tied to unrest in Iran and the war in Ukraine outweighing chatter about rising inventories. “The uprising in Iran is keeping the market on edge,” said Price Futures Group’s Phil Flynn. Moomoo ANZ strategist Tina Teng said traders would be watching “how the Venezuelan oil in storage will be sold and delivered.” (Reuters)
Refiners earn their keep on the spread between the crude they buy and the fuel they sell. Traders often follow that margin through the “crack spread” — essentially the difference between crude and products such as gasoline and diesel — and it can tighten when crude rises faster than pump fuels.
Valero operates in refining, renewable diesel and ethanol, and sells fuels and petrochemical products across the U.S. and other markets, its company profile shows. That blend makes the stock sensitive to swings in crude supply as well as daily moves in refining margins. (Reuters)
Even so, the Venezuela angle isn’t a straight line. Shifts in sanctions, licensing, shipping or payment mechanics could take time to filter through — or stall — and a broader crude surplus wouldn’t help if weak product demand keeps dragging margins lower.
Earnings are next. Valero is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Jan. 29, and it will host an earnings conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET. Investors will be listening for margin commentary, along with any read-through from management on feedstock sourcing and policy shifts. (Investorvalero)
