A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Sunoco LP (SUN). Shares have added about 3.6% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Sunoco LP due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Sunoco Q3 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates

Sunoco LP reported a third-quarter 2024 loss of 26 cents per unit, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of $1.53 per unit. The reported figure also declined from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $2.95 per unit.

Total quarterly revenues of $5.75 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.97 billion. The top line also decreased from $6.32 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.

Weak quarterly results can be attributed to increased operating costs and higher general and administrative expenses.

Segmental Performance

Sunoco reports financial results from the second quarter under three reportable segments — Fuel Distribution, Pipeline Systems and Terminals.

Fuel Distribution: Adjusted EBITDA in the segment increased to $253 million from $234 million in the comparable period of 2023. The segment benefited from higher motor fuel sales and improved fuel margin per gallon compared to the previous year.

Pipeline Systems: The unit reported adjusted EBITDA of $136 million compared with $2 million in the prior-year quarter. This figure included one-time transaction-related expenses worth $11 million. The increase was primarily driven by the acquisition of NuStar.

Terminals: The segment reported adjusted EBITDA of $67 million, up from $21 million reported in the corresponding period of 2023. The rise was primarily due to the recent acquisitions of NuStar, Zenith European and Zenith Energy terminals across the East Coast and Midwest.

In terms of volume, the partnership sold 2.1 billion gallons of fuel in the reported quarter, up 1% from the prior-year quarter’s level. The figure also beat our estimate of 2 billion gallons.

Motor fuel gross profit per gallon was 12.8 cents compared with the year-ago level of 12.5 cents.

Sunoco reported a total operating income of $107 million, which decreased from $338 million in the prior-year quarter.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024, the net income was $2 million compared with $272 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Distributable Cash Flow

The adjusted distributable cash flow totaled $349 million, up from the year-ago level of $181 million.