Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK) advanced 11.6% on Friday, closing at $71.47 near a 52-week high, after the refiner reported second-quarter earnings that significantly exceeded analyst expectations.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $5.48, surpassing consensus estimates of $2.21 by 148%. Quarterly EBITDA rose 279% year-over-year to $638.7 million, driven by stronger refining margins, record logistics segment performance, and the completion of upgrades at its Big Spring facility. Since being selected by an AI-driven stock-picking strategy in March, Delek’s shares have gained approximately 89.8% in less than six months, bringing its year-over-year advance to roughly 146%.
Delek’s logistics division guided for 2026 earnings of $520 million to $560 million, while its enterprise optimization plan targets at least $200 million in annual cost savings. Analyst price targets average around $40, with some firms projecting as high as $53.
The broader energy sector showed strength, with Mativ Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MATV) up 39.9% and Ramaco Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: METC) gaining 33.6% in recent sessions. Global fuel supply tightness has supported refining margins, with diesel crack spreads reaching record levels above $102 per barrel.
The AI-driven strategy behind Delek’s selection, part of a subscription-based service, evaluates more than 60,000 global equities using 15 years of financial data across over 150 quantitative models. Since its November 2023 launch, the model has delivered a compounded return of 192.02%, outperforming the S&P 500 by 110.86 percentage points.
