Core Laboratories Inc. (CLB) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Core Laboratories's P/E of 26.6 is above its own 5-year median of 24.0.

P/E above the industry

Core Laboratories's P/E of 26.6 is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 18.9.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Core Laboratories's EV/EBITDA of 9.5 is below its 5-year median of 13.0.

P/B above the industry

Core Laboratories's price-to-book of 1.49 is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 1.29.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $9.04 is above our fair value estimate of $8.17.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 10.7% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 2.4% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 14.5% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -0.1% over the last twelve months; the Oil and Gas Field Services median is 4.6%.

Guidance raised

Core Laboratories raised its third quarter 2026 Core’s third quarter 2026 revenue outlook on Jul 29, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 19.1% over the last twelve months, against 19.9% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 5.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 13.3% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 6.0%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Core Laboratories's return on equity of 5.7% is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 1.2%.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 3.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.4%.

Net margin above the industry

Core Laboratories's net margin of 3.0% is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 0.9%.

High debt

Debt is 40.5% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 22.0% of total debt.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 3.5 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 2.19 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone

The Altman Z-score is 2.57; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Core Laboratories paid dividends worth 0.3% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 0.3% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Core Laboratories yields 0.3%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 5 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 11.9% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 17.8% of free cash flow.