Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-09-17, BAC is undervalued at $58, with a DCF intrinsic value of $142 and a margin of safety of 59%. MPC is overvalued at $422, with an intrinsic value of $324 and a margin of safety of -30%. Of the two, BAC has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★Bank of America Corporation scores 100/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
- ★PEG ratio of 0.88 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
- ★Share count has been reduced by 35% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
Risks
- ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
- ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
- ⚠ROIC has declined by 17.3 percentage points over the past 4 years, which may signal competitive erosion.
- ⚠Gross margin of 12.8% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
- ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
Key Valuation Metrics
Learn more →Historical Fundamentals
Learn more →Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
$1 Retained Earnings Test
Learn more →> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
Learn more →Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth
Learn more →Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.
What growth rate is the market pricing in at $422?
The market implies +15.7% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.
Standard FCF implies a demanding +4.4%, reflecting heavy growth investment.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Wide moat driven primarily by revenue predictability. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.
Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.
Forensic Accounting
Learn more →M-Score Trend
M-Score Trend
Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
Ownership Breakdown
Learn more →High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
Insider Buying Activity
Learn more →Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.
Insider Selling Activity
Learn more →Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.
🎭 Mr. Market's Mood
Learn more →"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"
Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
⚖️ Buffett Signal
Learn more →The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
Frequently Asked Questions: BAC vs MPC
Is Bank of America Corporation or Marathon Petroleum Corporation more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, BAC trades at a 58.9% margin of safety (intrinsic value $142 vs. price $58), compared to MPC's -30.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $324 vs. $422).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, Bank of America Corporation or Marathon Petroleum Corporation?▼
BAC scores 100/100 (Wide moat), while MPC scores 54/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Is Bank of America Corporation in financial distress?▼
BAC's Altman Z-Score of 0.2 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. MPC scores 3.0 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.
Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Bank of America Corporation or Marathon Petroleum Corporation?▼
MPC earns 27.5% ROIC versus BAC's 4.4%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.
Which dividend is safer, Bank of America Corporation's or Marathon Petroleum Corporation's?▼
MPC's dividend earns a safety score of 94/100 (Very Safe), compared to BAC's 79/100 (Safe). MPC has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.