MUSA vs SUN: 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.

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. MUSA and SUN 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 MUSA and SUN 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.

Murphy USA operates around 1,803 stores as of March 2026, split between roughly 1,655 Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel-focused kiosks and 148 QuickChek convenience stores concentrated in the US Northeast. The core model is deliberately low-cost: many locations sit directly adjacent to Walmart Supercenters, drawing value-conscious drivers with competitive pump prices, then converting that traffic into higher-margin merchandise sales like tobacco, snacks, and beverages. In the first quarter of 2026 the company reported net income of about $136 million (~$7.28 per diluted share) on revenue of roughly $4.82 billion, up about 21% year over year, driven largely by stronger fuel margins.

Full MUSA guide

Sunoco LP moves fuel. The partnership is the largest independent fuel distributor in the Americas, selling roughly 4.1 billion gallons in the second quarter of 2026 at a margin near 17.1 cents per gallon, and it now sits on top of a midstream network of pipelines and terminals plus a refinery picked up with the ~$9.1 billion Parkland acquisition that closed on October 31, 2025. Four reporting segments carry the business: Fuel Distribution (~$504 million of adjusted EBITDA in the quarter), Pipeline Systems (~$190 million on ~1.3 million barrels per day of throughput), Terminals (~$115 million on ~1.1 million barrels per day) and the new Refinery segment (~$175 million on ~57,000 barrels per day at Burnaby, British Columbia). Trailing twelve-month revenue runs near ~$39.6 billion against a market value of roughly ~$14.3 billion, the arithmetic of a business that turns enormous volumes of low-margin product.

Full SUN guide

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

• MUSA drivers: Structural fuel-margin advantage; New-store unit growth.
• SUN drivers: Parkland converts a distributor into an integrated fuel system; The distribution is the reason most unitholders are here.

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: Earnings are highly sensitive to fuel margins per gallon, which can compress quickly when wholesale gasoline prices fall or competition intensifies. For SUN, fuel distribution earns cents on the gallon, so a compression in rack-to-retail spreads or a mild-weather demand quarter reaches the bottom line quickly.

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 MUSA if you believe its drivers more; SUN 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 MUSA and SUN guides.

MUSA. MUSA traded around a market cap of ~$10.4 billion in mid-2026 at a P/E of roughly 20x, above its ~15x five-year median, reflecting strong recent fuel-margin-driven earnings. Revenue is very large relative to market cap because fuel is a low-margin, high-turnover business, so profit swings with cents-per-gallon margins rather than headline sales.

SUN. Valuation for an MLP is usually framed on distributable cash flow and enterprise value to EBITDA rather than on a price-to-earnings multiple, because depreciation on pipelines and terminals understates cash generation and net income swings with acquisition accounting. Second-quarter net income of ~$283 million against ~$608 million of adjusted distributable cash flow shows that gap plainly. Market capitalisation of roughly ~$14.3 billion covers both the ~136.9 million common units and the ~51.5 million Class D units, and the enterprise value including debt sits well above it.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): MUSA shows market cap ~$10.4 billion, q1 2026 net income ~$136 million (~$7.28 diluted EPS), q1 2026 revenue ~$4.82 billion (up ~21% YoY), p/e ratio ~20x (above its ~15x 5-year median); SUN shows revenue (ttm) ~$39.6 billion, adjusted ebitda (q2 2026) ~$982 million, versus ~$454 million a year earlier, 2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$3.5 billion to ~$3.7 billion (raised by ~$400 million), distributable cash flow, as adjusted (q2 2026) ~$608 million.

MUSA and SUN 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 MUSA and SUN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.