Bloom Energy vs. Marathon Petroleum: Which Popular Energy Stock Is the Better Buy?

Bloom Energy BE) and Marathon Petroleum MPC) have been drawing considerable investor attention, ranking among the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com. BE currently sits within the top 10 searches, while MPC ranks within the top 30.

Although their businesses are very different, both energy companies are seeing stronger operating fundamentals and sharply improving earnings outlooks. Reflecting this, BE shares have soared more than 200% year-to-date, with MPC up more than 130%.

Bloom is capitalizing on soaring electricity demand from AI data centers, while Marathon is benefiting from robust refining margins, operational improvements, and expanding midstream operations.

Bloom Energy’s AI-Powered Growth

Bloom Energy’s solid-oxide fuel cells provide on-site electricity, making its technology increasingly attractive to data centers that need power faster than utilities can expand the electric grid.

That demand is already showing up in Bloom’s results. Most recently, Q2 revenue surged 165% year over year to a record $1.06 billion, while non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 34.3% from 28.2%. Bloom subsequently raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $3.9-$4.2 billion, implying roughly 100% YoY growth at the midpoint.

The longer-term opportunity is also expanding. Brookfield Asset Management BAM) increased its framework for financing Bloom-powered AI infrastructure projects from $5 billion to $25 billion, highlighting rapidly growing demand for behind-the-meter power.

Zacks estimates currently call for Bloom's revenue to rise 104% in FY26 and another 57% in FY27 to $6.51 billion, with EPS projected to climb sharply in both years as shown below.

Marathon’s Refining Momentum Builds

Marathon Petroleum is benefiting from a favorable refining environment, strong execution, and its substantial midstream exposure through MPLX MPLX), which operates pipelines, terminals, natural-gas processing facilities, and other energy logistics infrastructure.

MPC generated $8.5 billion of adjusted EBITDA in Q2, up from $3.3 billion a year earlier, as Refining & Marketing adjusted EBITDA reached roughly $6.7 billion. The company also returned more than $2.8 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including about $2.5 billion of share repurchases and $290 million in dividends.

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Meanwhile, new investments at Marathon’s El Paso, Texas, and Robinson, Illinois, refineries should improve product yields and flexibility.

Reflecting the stronger refining backdrop, Zacks consensus estimates have moved sharply higher, with MPC's EPS now projected to surge more than 450% YoY to $59.15 from $10.70 per share last year.

Although FY27 EPS is projected to moderate to $55.54, estimates have surged 58% in the last 30 days from $35.01 per share. This comes as MPC’s top-line outlook remains solid, with sales projected to rise about 14.5% to $154.8 billion in FY26 before normalizing to roughly $131.9 billion next year.

BE & MPC Valuation Comparison

This is where the comparison becomes much less competitive.

To that point, Bloom's spectacular growth comes with a steep premium as BE trades over 100X forward earnings and 19X forward sales. This is far above the broader Zacks Oils and Energy Sector’s forward P/E and P/S multiple averages of 10X and 1X, respectively.  

MPC, in contrast, offers intriguing discounts to the sector, trading at just 6X forward earnings and less than 1X forward sales.

Bottom Line

Both Bloom Energy and Marathon Petroleum stock currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reflecting their favorable earnings estimate trends.

Still, MPC may have the edge as the better buy at current valuations. Bloom's AI data-center opportunity makes BE an intriguing growth stock, but its elevated forward P/E leaves considerably less room for execution missteps.

MPC, meanwhile, combines stronger refining fundamentals, valuable midstream exposure, substantial capital returns, and a single-digit P/E multiple, providing a more favorable balance of earnings momentum and valuation.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research