UPDATE: Marathon Petroleum Posts Upbeat Q4 Earnings

Marathon Petroleum

reported a 17% drop in its fourth-quarter earnings. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly profit fell to $626 million, or $2.07 per share, from a year-ago profit of $755 million, or $2.24 per share. Excluding special items, it earned $2.10 per share. Its revenue climbed 20% to $24.93 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.15 per share on revenue of $22.78 billion. Marathon Petroleum's total costs and expenses surged 23% to $23.92 billion. Marathon Petroleum shares gained 3.96% to $86.81 in pre-market trading.