COP vs PSX: How ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: PSX is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. COP and PSX share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined COP and PSX exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is an exploration and production (E&P) company focused exclusively on the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry. It finds, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from a globally diversified asset base that includes U.S. Lower 48 shale plays (Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken), Alaska (including the Willow development project), Canadian oil sands at Surmont, operations in Norway and Qatar, and equity stakes in LNG projects including Australia Pacific LNG and the Port Arthur LNG facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company makes money by selling the hydrocarbons it produces at prevailing market prices, with profitability driven primarily by realized commodity prices, production volumes, and its cost-of-supply discipline. It does not operate refineries or fuel retail networks, giving it a focused capital structure but also direct exposure to commodity price swings.

Full COP guide

Phillips 66 is a leading integrated downstream energy provider headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company manufactures, transports, and markets products across five business segments: Refining, Midstream, Chemicals, Marketing and Specialties, and Renewable Fuels. Refining converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and other transportation fuels across a network of refineries with total crude throughput capacity of approximately 2.0 million barrels per day at end of 2025. The Midstream segment operates pipelines, terminals, NGL fractionation, and export facilities, including assets acquired from DCP Midstream and EPIC NGL. Chemicals earnings flow largely through CPChem, a joint venture with Chevron that produces petrochemicals and plastics. The Marketing and Specialties segment markets refined products through branded retail networks, including the JET brand in Europe. Revenue for the fiscal year 2025 was approximately $132.4 billion, reflecting a roughly 7.5% year-over-year decline driven by lower commodity prices.

Full PSX guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• COP drivers: Marathon Oil Integration and Scale; Willow Project and Long-Cycle Growth.
• PSX drivers: Midstream Growth as a Durable Earnings Anchor; Refining Efficiency and Portfolio Concentration.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: COP's revenues and free cash flow are highly sensitive to crude oil and natural gas prices, and any sustained commodity price decline would directly erode earnings and the company's ability to fund its capital-return targets. For PSX, the dominant risk for PSX is the inherent cyclicality of refining margins: in Q1 2025, the company posted an adjusted operating loss as global refining margins fell to roughly $6.81 per barrel, a 38% year-over-year decline.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick COP if you believe its drivers more; PSX if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the COP and PSX guides.

COP. COP's trailing P/E of roughly 19x sits approximately 59 percent above its own 10-year median of around 12x and modestly above the oil and gas industry average of roughly 16x, suggesting the market is pricing in meaningful growth from Willow, LNG, and post-Marathon synergies. Free cash flow of roughly $5.85 billion TTM reflects elevated capital expenditures during the current heavy-investment cycle, and management projects a material step-up in free cash flow as long-cycle projects come online toward 2029. The dividend yield near 3.1 percent, combined with active buybacks, provides a tangible total-return component that partially compensates holders during periods of softer commodity prices.

PSX. PSX trades at a forward P/E near 10x based on consensus analyst estimates reflecting an earnings recovery, while its trailing normalized P/E is closer to 22x given the earnings compression from volatile crack spreads in 2025. The EV/EBITDA of approximately 9.6x sits in line with large integrated downstream peers, and the price-to-sales ratio of roughly 0.5x reflects the low-margin, high-revenue nature of refining. The valuation is notably below PSX's own 12-month trailing average P/E of approximately 27x, which some analysts interpret as a potential discount to intrinsic value if midstream-driven earnings recovery materializes.

Headline figures (approximate, June 27, 2026): COP shows revenue (ttm, ~march 2026) ~$60.5 billion, net income (ttm) ~$7.3 billion, eps (ttm, dec 2025) ~$6.34, p/e ratio (ttm) ~19x; PSX shows revenue (fy2025) ~$132.4 billion, net earnings (fy2025) ~$4.4 billion, q2 2025 reported eps $2.15 per share, market capitalization ~$68 billion (as of late June 2026).

COP and PSX are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined COP and PSX exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.