Core Laboratories (CLB) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $760.38M
• Dividend Yield: 0.24%
• Average Volume (3M): 411.26K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 26.3
• Beta (1Y): 1.39
• Revenue Growth: -1.02%
• EPS Growth: 6.34%
• Country: US
• Employees: 3,400
• Sector: Energy
• Sector Strength: 52
• Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
• EPS (TTM): 0.21
• Shares Outstanding: 46,563,390
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 423,711
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 411,263
• PEG Ratio: 15.70
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.66
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.42
• P/FCF Ratio: 33.00
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.24
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.79
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 10.01
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 12.86
• 1Y Price Target: $11.50
• Price Target Upside: -29.58% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Sell
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): 0.77
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $522.66M

• Rating: 60 Neutral
• Price Target: $17.50 ▲(7.16% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/06/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/06/26

The score is driven primarily by solid—but not risk-free—fundamentals (revenue growth, sustained profitability, improved leverage) tempered by weaker 2025 cash-flow consistency and some margin pressure. Technicals are a meaningful drag due to clear bearish/oversold momentum signals, while valuation is only modestly supportive given a higher P/E and minimal dividend yield. Earnings call takeaways are mixed: guidance and capital returns help, but near-term headwinds and higher interest costs limit upside confidence.

Positive Factors

Proprietary technology and technical wins

Core's adoption and commercial validation of proprietary technologies (digital rock tomography, Pulverizer, SpectraStim tracers) underpin durable differentiation. These specialized tools drive technical stickiness, higher-value project work and international expansion, supporting recurring service demand and pricing resilience over multiple cycles.

Consistent revenue growth and 2025 re-acceleration

Revenue has trended upward through 2022–2025 with a marked re-acceleration in 2025, reflecting stronger international service demand and expanded lab work. Sustained top-line growth improves the durability of cash flow potential, supports scale in lab operations, and signals resilient underlying end-market demand beyond short-term cycles.

Material leverage reduction and stronger balance sheet

Significant debt paydown since 2019 and a markedly improved leverage ratio enhance strategic flexibility. A stronger balance sheet lowers refinancing risk, supports continued targeted buybacks/dividends and selective capex, and provides a buffer through commodity cycles—improving long-term solvency and investment optionality.

Negative Factors

Cash-flow volatility and weaker 2025 FCF

Free cash flow fell materially in 2025 and cash conversion has been inconsistent year-to-year. This volatility reduces predictability for capital allocation (buybacks, dividends, reinvestment), increases sensitivity to operational hiccups, and raises the risk that funding of growth or returns could be constrained if headwinds re-emerge.

Margin compression and earnings decline

Profitability has deteriorated from 2023 highs with double-digit declines in EBIT and net income in 2025. Sustained margin pressure—driven by cost inflation, provisioning and lower product mix—erodes free cash conversion and constrains reinvestment and shareholder returns unless structural pricing or efficiency improvements are implemented.

Exposure to U.S. onshore softness, tariffs and geopolitical disruptions

Core's product and some lab-service revenues are sensitive to U.S. onshore completion activity; tariffs, sanctions and geopolitical disruptions have interrupted crude assay work and raised materials costs. These structural demand and supply-cost risks can persist regionally and meaningfully depress product margins and throughput over quarters.

Core Laboratories Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Core Laboratories N.V. provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, reservoir fluid, and gas samples to enhance production and improve recovery of oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs. It offers laboratory-based analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and oil delivered products; and proprietary and joint industry studies. The Production Enhancement segment provides services and products relating to reservoir well completions, perforations, stimulations, and production. It offers integrated diagnostic services to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of well completions and to develop solutions to improve the effectiveness of enhanced oil recovery projects. In addition, the company markets and sells its products through a combination of sales representatives, technical seminars, trade shows, and print advertising, as well as through distributors. It operates approximately in 50 countries. The company was founded in 1936 and is based in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.

How the Company Makes Money

Core Laboratories generates revenue through a combination of service contracts, consulting agreements, and the sale of specialized equipment and technologies. The company's primary revenue streams include reservoir description services, which encompass the analysis of reservoir rocks and fluids to help clients optimize hydrocarbon recovery, and production enhancement services that focus on improving the efficiency of existing wells. Additionally, Core Laboratories earns income from its proprietary technologies and products, including advanced tools for reservoir management. Significant partnerships with major oil and gas companies further bolster its revenue, as these collaborations often lead to long-term contracts and recurring business. Market demand for energy and the ongoing need for enhanced production techniques also play crucial roles in driving Core Laboratories' earnings.

Core Laboratories Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Steady revenue growth and sustained profitability support the score, alongside materially improved leverage versus 2020. Offsetting this, 2025 cash flow weakened sharply versus 2024 and margins appear to have softened since peaking in 2023, leaving cash-flow consistency and remaining leverage as key risks.

Income Statement

Revenue has grown steadily from 2022–2025, with 2025 showing a sharp re-acceleration versus the low-growth 2024 level. Profitability has normalized well after the 2020 loss year, with positive operating profit and net income sustained from 2021–2025 and mid-single-digit net margins in 2024–2025. The key watch-out is that margins appear to have peaked in 2023 and have slightly softened in 2024–2025, suggesting some pricing/cost pressure despite the stronger top-line trajectory.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has improved materially over the cycle: debt relative to equity has come down sharply from very elevated 2020 levels to under 1.0 in 2023–2025, supported by a meaningful rebuild in equity. Returns on equity are positive and healthy in 2024–2025, indicating improved earnings quality versus the earlier recovery period. The main weakness is that debt remains meaningful for the size of the business (and ticked up in 2025 versus 2024), leaving less flexibility if the operating environment weakens.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is positive, with free cash flow remaining positive each year shown and generally tracking net income at a reasonable level. However, cash flow volatility is notable: 2025 operating cash flow and free cash flow dropped sharply versus 2024 (with a large negative free cash flow growth rate), and cash conversion versus earnings is not consistently strong year-to-year. Overall, the business is cash-flow positive, but the durability and consistency of cash generation is the key concern.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	526.52M	523.85M	509.79M	489.74M	470.25M
Gross Profit	94.28M	88.37M	94.05M	78.92M	83.84M
EBITDA	63.50M	73.27M	70.42M	58.69M	63.78M
Net Income	31.80M	31.40M	36.67M	19.45M	19.73M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	596.95M	590.41M	586.39M	578.35M	580.85M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	22.85M	19.16M	15.12M	15.43M	17.70M
Total Debt	206.33M	180.14M	215.38M	222.39M	250.26M
Total Liabilities	317.19M	332.67M	356.59M	389.40M	419.85M
Stockholders Equity	279.76M	251.99M	224.81M	184.26M	156.45M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	22.59M	43.36M	14.21M	14.74M	23.04M
Operating Cash Flow	37.18M	56.39M	24.79M	24.96M	36.58M
Investing Cash Flow	-2.23M	-6.39M	-6.65M	-3.86M	-10.22M
Financing Cash Flow	-31.25M	-45.96M	-18.45M	-23.38M	-22.46M

Core Laboratories Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 16.33
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CLB, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 16.33 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 17.62, below the 50-day MA of 18.23, and above the 200-day MA of 14.24, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.63 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 34.12 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 28.98 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for CLB.

Core Laboratories Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
OIS	66 Neutral	$751.37M	-3.63	-16.46%	―	-11.02%	―
TTI	66 Neutral	$1.16B	-19.01	1.05%	―	0.17%	7307.20%
Sector *	65 Neutral	$15.17B	7.61	4.09%	5.20%	3.87%	-62.32%
FTK	63 Neutral	$526.01M	6.43	30.71%	―	23.56%	242.78%
PUMP	61 Neutral	$1.49B	1,198.42	0.10%	―	-11.65%	87.57%
CLB	60 Neutral	$760.38M	26.31	12.31%	0.24%	-1.02%	6.34%
ACDC	52 Neutral	$1.06B	-1.57	-35.29%	―	-11.92%	-53.72%

Core Laboratories Corporate Events

Core Laboratories Eases Shareholder Threshold for Major Deals

On February 27, 2026, Core Laboratories Inc. amended and restated its bylaws to lower the shareholder voting threshold required for certain major corporate actions. The change reduces the approval requirement for mergers and change‑in‑control transactions from a 66‑2/3% supermajority to a simple majority of 50% plus one vote, potentially making it easier to authorize strategic deals and altering the balance of influence between management and shareholders.

The revised bylaws could streamline decision‑making on transformative transactions and may increase the company’s flexibility in responding to strategic opportunities or takeover proposals. For investors, the shift from a supermajority to a simple majority vote may enhance shareholder influence over major corporate decisions while also reducing a structural defense that previously made such transactions harder to consummate.

The most recent analyst rating on (CLB) stock is a Hold with a $20.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Core Laboratories stock, see the CLB Stock Forecast page.

Core Laboratories posts Q4 2025 results and dividend

On February 4, 2026, Core Lab reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $138.3 million, up 7% year over year, operating income of $15.8 million, GAAP EPS of $0.15, and free cash flow of $5.1 million while trimming net debt and repurchasing 363,207 shares; full-year revenue reached $526.5 million with $26 million in free cash flow and $18.7 million of net-debt reduction. The company declared a $0.01-per-share quarterly dividend payable March 9, 2026, underscoring its capital-return strategy as international demand for reservoir studies and adoption of proprietary PAC and SpectraStim technologies bolstered its asset-light model despite softer U.S. land activity and margin pressure.

The most recent analyst rating on (CLB) stock is a Buy with a $22.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Core Laboratories stock, see the CLB Stock Forecast page.