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what it is
Hallador sells coal to power plants and keeps a smaller side bet in oil and gas assets.
how it gets paid
Last year Hallador Energy made $469M in revenue. steam coal sales was the main engine at $399M, or 85% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 16.2% last year to about $469M. A typical quarter runs near ~$117M (roughly a fourth of the year) — not $368M as a single quarter next to that annual bridge.
what just happened
Latest quarter revenue near ~$117M with EPS around $0.97 can still look strong vs comps — ignore $368M / +150% vs. prior year next to +16.2% FY growth.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
21.9x trailing p/e — priced about right
14.7% return on capital — nothing to write home about
−$1.42 fy2024 EPS — full-year loss, not a positive print
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Hallador sells coal to power plants and keeps a smaller side bet in oil and gas assets.
This is not a brand moat. It is a balance-sheet moat. Hallador has just $3 million of long-term debt, or 0% of capital, while many commodity producers drag around leverage. If coal prices or volumes wobble, you still have a company that is less likely to get pushed around by its lenders.
How they make money
$469M
annual revenue · their business grew +16.2% last year
steam coal sales
$399M
+16.2%
contract mining and related services
$38M
+16.2%
transportation and handling
$19M
+16.2%
oil and gas interests
$9M
flat
other operating revenue
$4M
flat
The products that matter
mines and sells thermal coal
steam coal
$469.5M revenue base
it's the core business, and it produced $469.5M in revenue last year, up 16.2% from the prior year. One line does most of the explaining here.
core revenue stream
captive utility demand
merom generating station
1,000+ MW facility
this 1,000+ MW plant matters because it gives Hallador a built-in coal customer. That helps demand visibility. It does not remove commodity or regulatory risk.
vertical link
contracted sales pipeline
forward sales book
$866.9M for 2026–2029
management says it has $866.9M of forward sales across 2026–2029. In plain English: a lot of the near-term revenue argument is already spoken for.
visibility
Key numbers
−$1.42
FY2024 EPS
EPS → profit per share → so what: Hallador swung from $1.25 in 2023 to a −$1.42 loss in 2024 — earnings flip fast in coal.
$3M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed beyond one year → so what: Hallador carries only $3 million of it, giving you more room to survive bad coal markets.
16.2%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: Hallador kept 16.2 cents from each revenue dollar before interest and taxes.
14.7%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on invested money → so what: every $1 Hallador puts to work produced about $0.15 in operating return.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $3M (0% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for HNRG right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Quarter revenue near ~$117M with EPS about $0.97 — still volatile after a −$1.42 FY2024.
Coal quarters swing hard, but $368M / +150% vs. prior year does not reconcile to a ~$469M year up 16.2%. FY2024 EPS was a −$1.42 loss, then operations recovered into positive prints.
~$117M
quarter revenue (approx.)
$0.97
eps (Q)
16.2%
op. margin (FY)
the number that mattered
Whether operating EPS can stay positive after a −$1.42 FY2024 — quarter revenue belongs near ~$117M, not $368M, vs a ~$469M year.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
Hallador's risk stack is unusually concentrated: one fuel, one visible revenue line, one big contract book, and one market that still assumes coal demand fades over time.
high
coal demand falls faster than the contracts can protect
Hallador's $866.9M forward sales book matters because it buys visibility. The catch is that the underlying fuel is still coal. If plant retirements accelerate, the cushion gets thinner fast.
this risk hangs over essentially the entire $469.5M revenue base
med
customer concentration around Midwest utilities and Merom
the captive plant helps, but it also concentrates the story. A few utility relationships matter more here than they would at a broader power company.
losing one major contract could take a visible chunk out of the $866.9M forward sales book
med
power and fuel economics move against coal
Hallador does not control the commodity backdrop. Natural gas prices, regional power pricing, and dispatch economics all help decide whether coal burn still makes sense.
profitability can swing even if tonnage stays sold
low
thin public data on segment mix
the current snapshot does not give you a clean breakdown between coal sales and power economics. That makes the story readable, but not tidy.
when disclosure is thin, your margin for error should be wider
coal exposure is the common thread. If demand weakens, the same business that produced $469.5M of revenue last year feels it across contracts, pricing, and plant economics.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
the key metric
forward sales book
management cited $866.9M of forward sales across 2026–2029. If that book grows, the near-term case gets stronger. If it shrinks, the market will notice fast.
calendar
miso capacity auction results
Merom's economics run through regional power markets. The annual MISO auction helps tell you whether that plant is getting paid enough to matter.
balance sheet
use of the $120M credit facility
the facility closed march 5, 2026 and matures in 2029. Watch whether it funds opportunistic growth, working capital, or defensive liquidity.
industry trend
coal demand versus policy drag
the whole thesis lives in the gap between near-term utility demand and long-term coal retirements. If that gap narrows, the rerating story narrows too.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
10 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see a stable earnings pattern here. expect lumpy results, not clockwork.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for HNRG is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$21
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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