Here's How Much You'd Have If You Invested $1000 in Valero Energy a Decade Ago

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Valero Energy (VLO) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to VLO for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Valero Energy's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Valero Energy's main business drivers.

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, TX. It was founded in 1980 and is one of the largest independent refiners and marketers of petroleum products in the United States.

Valero operates 14 petroleum refineries located in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. These refineries have combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 million barrels per day. The refining system includes high-complexity assets with access to inland and imported crudes, product exports and wholesale supply.

The company sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America. Its brand names are carried by around 7,000 outlets. Valero also has wholesale marketing and logistics assets that support product distribution.

Valero owns 12 ethanol plants in the U.S. Mid-Continent region. These plants have combined production capacity of approximately 1.7 billion gallons per year. The Ethanol segment includes sales of internally produced ethanol and distillers’ grains.

The company is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC. Diamond Green Diesel produces low-carbon fuels, including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. The business has production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year. It processes animal fats, used cooking oils, vegetable oils and inedible distillers corn oils.

Valero manages its operations through three reportable segments, namely Refining, Renewable Diesel and Ethanol.
The Refining segment includes refining operations, wholesale marketing, product supply and distribution, and transportation operations. This segment is segregated geographically into the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, West Coast and North Atlantic regions.

The Renewable Diesel segment includes the operations of Diamond Green Diesel. It produces renewable diesel, renewable naphtha and sustainable aviation fuel.

The Ethanol segment includes the company’s ethanol plants and related product sales. It sells internally produced ethanol and distillers’ grains.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Valero Energy, ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in August 2016 would be worth $6,316.31, or a gain of 531.63%, as of August 20, 2026, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 253.03% and gold's return of 220.53% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for VLO.

Valero's Neutral stance balances advantaged refining assets, flexible feedstock access, export reach and disciplined cash returns against cyclical and valuation risks. Its large, complex system can process discounted heavy crude and shift yields as global product markets tighten. Renewable diesel and ethanol add earnings diversity, while the St. Charles optimization project should expand high-value output. Liquidity, buybacks and a higher cash balance support capital flexibility. However, refining margins remain sensitive to product inventories, crude differentials and geopolitical conditions. Benicia idling, changing low-carbon policy and completion risk at Port Arthur add uncertainty. The shares also trade above the price target after a sharp advance, while the dividend yield remains modest, limiting near-term upside.

Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 11.37%, and there have been 6 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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

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