Just caught Marathon Oil's Q4 numbers and they really exceeded what analysts were looking for. EPS came in at $4.07 when the Street was only expecting $2.88 - that's a solid beat right there.

What's interesting is how much their refining margins expanded. They're pulling in about $2 billion in core profit from refining and sales for the quarter, which is way more than the $559 million they did in Q4 last year. Per-barrel margins hit $18.65 versus $12.93 a year ago, so you can see how much the business improved.

The whole setup shows they're exceeding expectations across the board - better refining spreads, stronger execution. That kind of margin expansion doesn't happen by accident. Worth watching if you're following energy stocks.