Par Pacific Posts $531 Million Q3 Profit on Record Refining Margins

Par Pacific reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted net income of $531 million, or $10.70 per share, as record refining margins and a $222 million benefit from 2025 small refinery exemptions powered the result. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $646 million. The quarter, President and CEO Will Monteleone said, also delivered three firsts: a completed plant-wide turnaround in Hawaii, a profit in renewables, and the company's first net cash position — $731 million in cash at the end of September, within roughly $2.4 billion of total liquidity.

What drove the margin record?

The company's combined refining market index averaged a quarterly record of $38.45 per barrel, nearly three times its 2025 average of $12.40, Monteleone told analysts. He pointed to constrained Persian Gulf and Russian refined product exports, restricted Asian refinery throughput and trade protectionism as the forces limiting supply, while demand held firm.

The refining segment generated $396 million in adjusted EBITDA excluding the exemption benefit, down from $561 million in the second quarter. Systemwide margin capture reached 86%; strip out Hawaii's contractual price lag and turnaround effects, and capture ran at roughly 98%, CFO Shawn Flores said. Hawaii itself reported 54% capture, including a $52 million net price-lag headwind and downtime carried over from June. Normalized, the state captured 97%.

Throughput told a similar story of recovery. Companywide refining ran at 174,000 barrels per day. Hawaii processed 57,000 barrels per day, held back by the extended turnaround, while Montana set a quarterly record of 58,400 barrels per day, Senior Advisor Richard Creamer said.

What does the fourth quarter look like?

With maintenance behind it, Par Pacific guided to fourth-quarter systemwide throughput of 200,000 barrels per day at the midpoint. The combined refining index averaged $41.34 per barrel in October, about $3 above the third-quarter average, Flores noted. On tanker rates, he said Hawaii's fourth-quarter crude differential should run $9 to $11 per barrel, reflecting third-quarter purchases. Higher clean-product freight pass-through rates and wider West Coast-to-Singapore distillate spreads are offsetting rising crude freight costs, though not necessarily in the same quarter.

The renewables segment, reported separately for the first time, generated $5 million in adjusted EBITDA on the strength of environmental credit prices and renewable diesel margins. Turnaround downtime left throughput and sales volumes at roughly half of normalized levels, but production climbed to about 3,700 barrels per day in September. Fourth-quarter guidance sits at 2,800 to 3,400 barrels per day against nameplate capacity near 4,000. Flores said original project assumptions of roughly $35 million in annual EBITDA remain an appropriate framework, and the current margin environment is probably better than the underwriting case.

Retail grew alongside. Same-store fuel volumes rose 2.1% year over year, in-store sales gained 1.9%, and food sales jumped 11% to more than 10% of in-store sales, Monteleone said. Retail adjusted EBITDA rose to $19 million from $17 million in the second quarter.

Where is the cash going?

Cash from operations came in at $839 million, including a $387 million working-capital inflow. The company repaid $243 million of asset-based lending borrowings and repurchased $10 million of stock. It also sold roughly $200 million of excess renewable identification number credits tied to its 2025 exemptions; half the proceeds landed in the third quarter, the rest should follow in the fourth.

Two further moves shape the balance sheet. Par Pacific expects to spend about $150 million repurchasing inventory as it terminates its Hawaii crude intermediation facility, cutting annual working-capital funding costs by approximately $14 million, Flores said. The company also expects to become a regular federal cash taxpayer after exhausting remaining net operating loss carryforwards this year.

The Laramie Energy sale remains on track to close in the fourth quarter, with about $120 million expected at closing plus additional consideration over five years. On acquisitions, Monteleone said the company favors deals with significant synergies, principally in the western United States, but is not rushing: strong margins make it harder for buyers and sellers to agree.

Creamer will retire next spring after transitioning to his advisor role. Jerry Stumbo has joined as executive vice president of refining and logistics and will discuss operating results on calls from next quarter. The plain takeaway: a record quarter, a cleaner balance sheet, and a fourth quarter running hotter than the last.