Buying shares in the best businesses can build meaningful wealth for you and your family. And we’ve seen some truly amazing gains over the years. For example, the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) share price is up a whopping 423% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. If that doesn’t get you thinking about long term investing, we don’t know what will. On top of that, the share price is up 23% in about a quarter. This could be related to the recent financial results, released recently – you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

Since the stock has added US$1.9b to its market cap in the past week alone, let’s see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

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While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company’s share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the five years of share price growth, Marathon Petroleum moved from a loss to profitability. Sometimes, the start of profitability is a major inflection point that can signal fast earnings growth to come, which in turn justifies very strong share price gains.

The company’s earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

earnings-per-share-growth

NYSE:MPC Earnings Per Share Growth November 16th 2025

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Marathon Petroleum’s earnings, revenue and cash flow.

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It’s fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Marathon Petroleum the TSR over the last 5 years was 493%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

We’re pleased to report that Marathon Petroleum shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 30% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 43% per year, is even more impressive. Potential buyers might understandably feel they’ve missed the opportunity, but it’s always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Marathon Petroleum better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we’ve identified 2 warning signs for Marathon Petroleum that you should be aware of.

Marathon Petroleum is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.