Core Natural Resources vs Liberty Energy
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Core Natural Resources and Liberty Energy side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Core Natural Resources is the larger business, with $4.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.0B for Liberty Energy.
- Core Natural Resources grew revenue faster (86.2%, against −7.2%).
- Liberty Energy kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (1.8% operating margin, against −4.4%).
- Liberty Energy earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (2.2%, against −5.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Liberty Energy’s earnings: a P/E of 67.0x against 44.5x for Core Natural Resources.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Core Natural Resources
CNR
3/10
Revenue growthFCF marginNet debt / EBITDA
Liberty Energy
LBRT
6/10
5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CNR FY25 | LBRT FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.5B | $2.6B |
| Revenue | $4.2B | $4.0B |
| Free cash flow | $21.2M | $14.1M |
| Net income | −$153M | $148M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 86.2% | −7.2% |
| 5-year growth | 32.5% | 32.9% |
| Share count change | 72.4% | −2.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 20.9% |
| Operating margin | −4.4% | 1.8% |
| Net margin | −3.7% | 3.7% |
| FCF margin | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Return on capital | −5.7% | 2.2% |
| Return on equity | −5.8% | 7.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $20.3M | $527M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $251M | $79.4M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 44.5x | 67.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.