DKL vs MPLX: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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: MPLX 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. DKL and MPLX 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 DKL and MPLX 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.

Delek Logistics Partners, LP gathers, processes, stores and moves crude oil, natural gas, produced water and refined products, mostly in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico plus assets in Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. It reports in four pieces: gathering and processing, wholesale marketing and terminalling, storage and transportation, and its share of pipeline joint ventures. Delek US Holdings (NYSE: DK) owns the general partner interest and a majority of the limited partner units, and is also one of the partnership's larger customers, so DKL began life as a way to hold a refiner's logistics assets in a separate, income-paying vehicle. The business has been shifting since then. Recent growth has come from third-party producers in the Delaware Basin, where DKL gathers crude, gas and produced water under long-term acreage dedications, rather than from anything Delek US refines.

Full DKL guide

MPLX LP is one of the largest midstream energy master limited partnerships in the United States, sponsored by and closely tied to Marathon Petroleum Corporation, which owns a large majority of its units. It owns and operates energy infrastructure and logistics assets and provides fuels-distribution services, reporting through two segments: Crude Oil and Products Logistics, and Natural Gas and NGL Services. The first segment covers pipelines, storage, terminals, and marine assets that move and store crude oil and refined products; the second covers gathering, processing, and fractionation of natural gas and natural gas liquids. Because most of its revenue comes from long-term, fee-based contracts, MPLX's cash flows are relatively stable and less directly exposed to swings in commodity prices than a producer would be.

Full MPLX guide

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

• DKL drivers: Delaware Basin volumes carry the growth; Libby and the capex-to-EBITDA conversion.
• MPLX drivers: Distribution and coverage; Fee-based, contracted cash flows.

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: The balance sheet is the first thing that would break the story. For MPLX, the main risks are those of a capital-intensive energy-infrastructure partnership.

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 DKL if you believe its drivers more; MPLX 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 DKL and MPLX guides.

DKL. The headline second quarter was a split result: record adjusted EBITDA of ~$143.5 million alongside net income of ~$28.9 million (~$0.54 per unit), down from ~$44.6 million (~$0.83) a year earlier, which came in under the consensus estimate. The gap between the two lines is interest and depreciation on the capital that produced the EBITDA. Valuing DKL on units and earnings per unit tends to mislead for that reason, which is why coverage ratio, leverage and EV to EBITDA are the metrics the partnership and its analysts actually argue about.

MPLX. All figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and drawn from company disclosures and secondary sources; verify live numbers before acting. For a midstream MLP, the most useful lenses are distribution yield, distribution growth, and distribution coverage rather than a simple earnings multiple, because much of the reported income is non-cash depreciation-heavy. The K-1 tax treatment matters as much as the headline yield for after-tax outcomes, so consider consulting a tax professional about holding an MLP, especially inside a retirement account.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): DKL shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.20B, q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$143.5M, a record, vs ~$127.4M a year earlier, 2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$520M to ~$560M, reaffirmed, distribution ~$1.135 per unit quarterly, ~$4.54 annualized, ~7.6% at a ~$60 unit price; MPLX shows distribution Large quarterly cash distribution, recently raised at a double-digit annual pace; verify the latest declared amount and yield, distribution coverage Reported comfortably above one times (roughly ~1.3x in a recent quarter), meaning cash flow more than covered the payout, segment ebitda Both Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services contribute roughly a billion-dollar-scale adjusted EBITDA per quarter each, distributable cash flow Reported in the low-single-digit billions per quarter, the key metric backing the distribution.

DKL and MPLX 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 DKL and MPLX exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.