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what it is
CRC pulls oil and gas from California, runs power plants, and is building carbon capture and solar projects.
how it gets paid
Last year California Resources made $2.9B in revenue. Oil production was the main engine at $1.20B, or 41% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 14.7% last year. Revenue jumped 212% vs. prior year, and EPS rose 422%.
what just happened
CRC's latest quarter posted $2.2B of revenue and $3.97 of EPS.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
10.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
9.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 54/100 — below average
What they do
CRC pulls oil and gas from California, runs power plants, and is building carbon capture and solar projects.
CRC is tied to 5 California basins (oil fields). That geography is the moat. You get $2.9B of annual revenue from 1,550 employees, or about $1.9M per worker. The other side is simple: your money is also parked in one state with one rulebook.
How they make money
$2.9B
annual revenue · their business grew +14.7% last year
Oil production
$1.20B
Natural gas production
$0.70B
Power generation
$0.50B
Carbon capture and solar
$0.50B
The products that matter
produces and sells hydrocarbons
Oil & Gas Production
$2.9B · nearly all current revenue
It generated $2.9B in revenue last year. This is still the whole economic engine, which means your upside and downside both start with commodity prices.
core cash flow
carbon capture and storage projects
Carbon Management
nov 2025 JV
This is the strategic pivot. The November 2025 joint venture with Capital Power gives the story a real timestamp, but the current revenue base is still coming from oil and gas.
future thesis
Key numbers
$2.9B
annual revenue
This is the whole top line. Bigger sales give CRC more room to absorb ugly oil days.
10.1x
trailing p/e
Price/earnings ratio → how much you pay for $1 of profit → 10.1x means you pay $10.10 for $1 of earnings.
2.6%
dividend yield
Yield → cash back to you each year → 2.6% is modest income from a cyclical business.
$956M
long-term debt
That is the company's long-term IOU stack. It is smaller than revenue, but big enough to matter when oil falls.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $956M (15% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CRC right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
CRC's latest quarter posted $2.2B of revenue and $3.97 of EPS.
Revenue jumped 212% vs. prior year, and EPS rose 422%. The company is still a commodity story, so the number that mattered was the sales surge, not a one-quarter mood swing.
$2.2B
revenue
$3.97
eps
20.5%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Revenue of $2.2B was the point. It shows the business can still throw off a giant quarter when prices and output line up.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is california permitting and climate policy pressure on in-state oil production.
high
California regulatory pressure
CRC's wells sit inside a state that is openly trying to reduce fossil fuel reliance. New permitting friction, compliance costs, or direct policy limits would hit the core business where it lives.
This risk sits on top of nearly all of the current $3B revenue base.
high
commodity price sensitivity
Oil and NGL sales are $2.3B, or 79% of revenue. Natural gas adds another $0.6B. When the underlying commodities weaken, the income statement feels it fast.
About $2.9B of current revenue is tied directly to hydrocarbon production and pricing.
med
carbon pivot execution
The carbon-management story is interesting because the legacy business is politically awkward. It is also early. If the November 2025 Capital Power joint venture stalls, investors are left with a plain commodity producer in a difficult state.
The valuation case gets thinner if the future business stays future tense.
med
management transition risk
CRC recently appointed a new VP of Finance and Controller. That is not a thesis-breaker on its own, but transitions matter more when a company is balancing capital returns, operations, and a strategic pivot at the same time.
Execution risk tends to show up first in capital allocation and guidance quality.
Nearly all of CRC's current economics still come from a $3B oil-and-gas business, so regulation, commodity prices, or a stalled carbon pivot would pressure the core before the future business is big enough to offset it.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
capital return
whether $513M was a peak or a policy
CRC returned $513M to shareholders in 2025. If buybacks slow sharply while the stock stays cheap, the value case loses one of its main supports.
regulation
California policy headlines
This stock does not just trade on barrels and cubic feet. It trades on permitting, climate policy, and how hard the state pushes the transition timeline.
carbon strategy
next milestone after the Capital Power JV
The November 2025 joint venture made the pivot tangible. The next real proof is progress from announcement to economics.
operations
whether production strength holds
CRC just posted a 25% increase in annual production output. If that fades while commodity prices soften, the low multiple stops looking like a bargain and starts looking accurate.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
10 / 100
Earnings predictability: 10 / 100. In human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to print clean, repeatable quarters.
risk rank
3
Risk rank: 3. That reads as middle-of-the-pack safety, which is about what you would expect from a mid-cap California producer.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CRC is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$45
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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