After years of watching our advisors help Marathon employees prepare for retirement at Hixon Zuercher Capital Management, I started noticing a pattern. 

Again and again, employees would retire with an incredible combination of assets: retirement savings, a pension, and access to retiree healthcare benefits. That combination has become increasingly rare, even among large Fortune 500 companies. 

It made me wonder whether those strong retirements were simply the result of disciplined savers… or whether they also said something about the company itself. 

When most investors evaluate a company, the conversation usually starts in the same place: revenue growth, margins, earnings, and valuation.  

Those metrics matter, and they always will.   

But there is another factor that rarely gets the attention it deserves. 

I’m not talking about the office perks these companies provide. I’m talking about the meaningful investments in their people: compensation, retirement benefits, healthcare, and the systems that shape an employee’s financial future over an entire career. You can think of it as a form of capital allocation that doesn’t show up on a balance sheet but still compounds over time. 

At a practical level, the connection is quite simple.  

Companies are built and run by people. When an organization creates an environment that attracts high-quality employees and gives them reasons to stay, turnover tends to fall, institutional knowledge stays inside the organization, and execution can improve. Decision-making becomes more consistent. Now, none of that guarantees the next quarter’s earnings, but over time it can definitely create a resilient organization. 

And a sea of research supports that idea too. 

What The Research Says About Employee Perks & Well-Being 

One widely cited long-term study found that companies appearing on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list generated annualized returns of roughly 13%, compared with approximately 9% for the broader market. 

More recent work from Oxford and Harvard, analyzing more than 1,600 public companies, found that higher employee wellbeing was associated with stronger profitability, higher firm value, and better stock performance. Researchers have also shown that portfolios built around companies with the highest workplace wellbeing scores outperformed major indexes such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 3000 over multiple years. 

Even in academic settings where researchers try to isolate factors and remove narrative, the relationship still shows up. Studies of employee satisfaction across decades have found statistically significant excess returns. In simple terms, companies with more satisfied employees have historically outperformed even after adjusting for traditional factors.  

Research on human capital investment points in the same direction: investments in employees through compensation, benefits, and professional development can create long-term value that markets may not fully recognize immediately. 

Now, none of this means that companies with strong benefits automatically outperform those who don’t, and it doesn’t replace financial analysis. But it does suggest that how a company treats its employees is more than a cultural decision. It’s an economic one. 

More importantly, this isn’t about spending more on employees for the sake of Marathon’s appearance. The strongest organizations tend to invest intentionally in the areas that matter most over a lifetime. They are truly investing more intentionally in their company. Retirement plans that actually compound, meaningful employer contributions, healthcare structures that reduce uncertainty, and incentives that tie employees to the long-term success of the company. 

Those decisions may not maximize short-term optics, but they certainly help build something far more durable. 

That’s what makes Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) so interesting through this lens. 

What Really Makes Marathon’s Benefits So Special 

From my firm’s experience working directly with Marathon employees over the years, through hundreds of conversations about their benefits and retirement decisions, MPC has built a benefits structure that truly stands out among large publicly traded companies. It combines a strong 401(k) match, a company-funded pension, and access to retiree healthcare benefits. Together, those three pieces are becoming increasingly rare. 

Taken together, these benefits create something far more valuable than a collection of individual programs. They help employees build significant retirement wealth from multiple sources, reduce dependence on markets alone, and address one of the greatest financial uncertainties retirees face: healthcare costs. 

We see the results every day.  

Most Marathon employees retire in a wonderful financial position, not because every decision went perfectly, but because the structure around them gave them a real advantage over time. 

That is why our advisors at Hixon Zuercher Capital Management wrote The Ultimate Guide to Retiring from Marathon Petroleum Corporation. It grew out of years of working through these decisions with real people. Once employees understand how all of the pieces fit together, the conversation changes. It is no longer just about whether they have saved enough. It becomes about how to use what they already have in the most effective way. 

From an investment standpoint, this matters because benefits like these are rarely accidental. A company does not maintain a strong 401(k) match, a company-funded pension, and retiree healthcare unless it is willing to think beyond the next quarter. Those choices say something about how management views people, retention, execution, and long-term value creation. 

That alone does not prove the stock should outperform. It simply makes MPC’s performance worth viewing through the same long-term lens. 

As of July 29, 2026, MPC had delivered a 77.88% total return over the prior year. Over longer periods, its annualized returns were 34.74% over three years, 43.85% over five years, and 26.55% over ten years. That put MPC well ahead of both the energy sector and the broader market. 

Those numbers will move with the market, and they do not make MPC’s benefits program a standalone investment thesis. They do, however, support the broader point. When a company pairs strong financial results with a serious, long-term investment in employees, it may be a sign of something more durable than average. 

Those are the types of businesses that can hold up, compound, and deliver over the long run. 

If you are at Marathon, or know someone who is getting close to retirement, this matters more than you might think. The benefits are strong, but they are also complex. Most people do not fully optimize what is available to them. 

If you or someone you know is planning to retire from MPC, reach out to me. I’ll send you a copy of the book. It is an excellent resource, and it can make a real difference in how you approach those decisions. 

For current or former Marathon employees, what benefit decision do you think deserves more attention before retirement? 

Austin Wilson is a Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Hixon Zuercher Capital Management, a registered investment advisor in Findlay, Ohio managing over $500 million for over 370 families and institutions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are solely those of Austin Wilson and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management. Hixon Zuercher Capital Management and its clients may hold positions in securities mentioned. Nothing in this blog constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Please consult your financial advisor to ensure any investment aligns with your objectives and risk tolerance. Indices are unmanaged and not directly investable. Any investment in securities, funds, or other financial instruments will involve costs and fees, including but not limited to fund expense ratios, management fees, and transaction costs. This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to comply with the requirements of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or any other applicable securities laws. Past performance is not indicative of future results.