/biz/ - Business & Finance

>U.S. fuel makers are poised to generate historic levels of cash from refining oil into gasoline and other products after fuel prices have surged nationwide.

>Valero Energy Corp., Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Phillips 66, the largest three independent refiners, are set to collectively bring in about $14 billion in cash from operations this quarter, analysts estimate, the highest combined level on record according to S&P Capital IQ data.

>The huge cash flows from their core business will translate into gargantuan profits as the companies report their results beginning next week, according to analysts. Investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. expects the largest eight independent refiners will report a 652% jump in earnings per share, on average, compared with the first quarter of the year, allowing some of these companies to log their highest returns in years.

>Exxon Mobil Corp. this month said its fuel-making profits could climb up to about $4.4 billion in the second quarter, compared with an average of $853 million in the same periods from 2017 to 2019. That was the largest single factor in the company’s forecast that earnings could be as high as about $18 billion, which would be its most lucrative quarter in at least 25 years, according to FactSet.