Suncor Energy stands out as offering investors an operational powerhouse where upstream output feeds its proprietary refining capacity and Petro-Canada marketing footprint.
The stock trades at just 6.3 times the company’s forward cash flow forecast. And while commodity producers historically trade at low single-to-double-digit multiples to reflect earnings cyclicality, this company’s blue-chip integrated downstream refining operations, high asset reliability, long-life reserves, and clean balance sheet justify a premium valuation compared to pure-play exploration and production peers. It’s a top pick for the long run.
SUNCOR ENERGY INC. (Toronto symbol SU) is Canada’s largest integrated oil firm, with major projects in the Alberta oil sands.
The company also owns 58.74% of the massive Syncrude project; its partners are Imperial Oil (25.0%), Sinopec (9.03%) and CNOOC (7.23%). In addition, Suncor participates in several offshore oil projects near the Newfoundland coast.
The oil giant also operates four refineries: three in Canada (Edmonton, Montreal and Sarnia, Ontario) and one in Colorado. They supply fuel to 1,732 Petro-Canada retail gas stations (Suncor owns 765 of those stations), as well as 193 stations in the U.S. (it owns 44 of those outlets).
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Suncor’s share repurchases move higher
Suncor produced 760,900 barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026, down 5.8% from 808,100 barrels a year earlier. That decline is mainly due to planned maintenance at its Firebag oil sands property in Alberta; oil sands projects accounted for 91% of the company’s total output in the latest quarter.
Sales of refined products rose 9.0% in the quarter, to 654,800 barrels a day from 600,500 barrels.
At the same time, the company continues to benefit from the jump in crude oil prices due to the Iran war. As a result, Suncor’s revenue in the quarter jumped 49.1%, to $19.01 billion from $12.75 billion. That topped the consensus forecast of $16.39 billion.
The higher revenue also lifted overall cash flow by 98.2%, to $5.33 billion from $2.69 billion. The company spent $1.05 billion on share buybacks in the quarter, which is why cash flow per share rose at a faster rate of 105.5%, to $4.52 from $2.20. That also beat the consensus estimate of $4.35.
Suncor still expects to spend $5.5 billion to $5.8 billion on new drilling and upgrades in 2026 and produce between 840,000 and 870,000 barrels a day.
The company also continues to cut its operating costs. That will help lift its full-year cash flow by 46% to $15.27 a share, and the stock trades at an attractive 6.3 times that forecast. Rising cash flow will also let Suncor increase its monthly share buyback target to $500 million from $350 million. Moreover, the company plans to increase its dividend rate by 3% to 5% annually—the current annual rate of $2.40 a share yields a solid 2.5%.
Recommendation in The Successful Investor: Suncor Energy Inc. is a buy.
