Marathon Petroleum beat Wall Street estimate for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong refining margins.

U.S.-listed shares of the company rose 4% in premarket trading.

U.S. fuel maker margins have begun to rebound from multi-year lows touched in 2024, a pullback that followed the earlier spike triggered by sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, which had constricted global supply.

Quarterly U.S. refinery margins, measured by the 3-2-1 crack spread, were up about 45% on an average in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.

Marathon's refining and marketing margin was at $18.65 per barrel during the quarter, compared with $12.93 per barrel a year earlier.

Its refining and marketing segment posted a quarterly core profit of about $2 billion, compared with $559 million a year earlier.

The refiner posted adjusted profit of $4.07 per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.88 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.