Core Laboratories N.V. (CLB)
NYSE:CLB
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Core Laboratories
(NYSE:CLB)
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Rating:61Neutral
Price Target:
$18.50
▲(10.38% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/24/26
The score is driven mainly by improved multi-year financial health (steady revenue growth, sustained profits, and better leverage), tempered by weaker and less consistent cash flow in 2025 and some margin softening. Technicals are also a headwind with negative momentum versus key moving averages, while valuation looks only moderately supportive given the 26.3 P/E and very low dividend yield. Earnings call takeaways are mixed: operational wins and capital returns are positives, but profit decline and near-term disruptions/higher interest costs limit upside.
Positive Factors
Improved leverage and balance sheet
Material deleveraging since 2019 and a year-end leverage ratio near 1.1 give Core Labs greater financial flexibility. Lower leverage supports capacity for cyclical downturns, continued buybacks/dividends, and targeted investments without immediate refinancing pressure, durable over 2–6 months.
Negative Factors
Inconsistent cash generation
Volatile free cash flow reduces the reliability of internal funding for capex, dividends, buybacks and debt paydown. Sharp FCF declines in 2025 signal sensitivity to working capital and project timing, leaving less margin for error if activity weakens or capital needs rise.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Improved leverage and balance sheet
Material deleveraging since 2019 and a year-end leverage ratio near 1.1 give Core Labs greater financial flexibility. Lower leverage supports capacity for cyclical downturns, continued buybacks/dividends, and targeted investments without immediate refinancing pressure, durable over 2–6 months.
Read all positive factors
Core Laboratories (CLB) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$771.81M
Dividend Yield0.24%
Average Volume (3M)411.26K
Price to Earnings (P/E)26.3
Beta (1Y)1.25
Revenue Growth-1.02%
EPS Growth6.34%
CountryUS
Employees3,400
SectorEnergy
Sector Strength52
IndustryOil & Gas Equipment & Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.21
Shares Outstanding46,050,434
10 Day Avg. Volume423,711
30 Day Avg. Volume411,263
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio15.70
Price to Book (P/B)2.66
Price to Sales (P/S)1.42
P/FCF Ratio33.00
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.24
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.81
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit10.13
Enterprise Value/Ebitda13.02
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$11.50Price Target Upside-31.38% Downside
Rating ConsensusModerate Sell
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)0.72
Revenue Forecast (FY)$518.50M
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 Enhancem...
How the Company Makes Money
Core Laboratories makes money by selling specialized, largely laboratory- and technology-driven services and products to oil and gas producers and service companies, with revenue reported primarily across two operating segments.
1) Reservoir Desc...
Core Laboratories Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Core Laboratories Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 04, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
Mixed/Neutral—The company reported modest top-line growth overall (notably in international service revenue and reservoir description) and continued strong operational wins, share buybacks and substantial debt reduction since 2019. However, profitability and earnings declined year-over-year, product sales and some margins were pressured by lower U.S. onshore activity, geopolitical sanctions, tariffs, bad debt and one-time receivable provisions. Guidance for Q1 2026 is constructive but reflects near-term seasonal and weather-related headwinds and slightly higher interest costs in 2026.Positive Updates
Quarterly and Annual Revenue Growth
Q4 revenue of $138.3M, up 3% sequentially and up 7% year-over-year; full year 2025 revenue $526.5M, slightly higher than 2024.
Negative Updates
Profitability and Earnings Decline
Full year 2025 EBIT ex items declined 10% to $58.7M from $65.3M in 2024; net income ex items for full year down 15% to $35.4M from $41.6M; full year EPS ex items $0.75, down 14% from 2024; GAAP net income $31.8M and GAAP EPS $0.68.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Quarterly and Annual Revenue Growth
Q4 revenue of $138.3M, up 3% sequentially and up 7% year-over-year; full year 2025 revenue $526.5M, slightly higher than 2024.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Core guided first-quarter 2026 revenue of $124.0–130.0 million, with Reservoir Description revenue of $82.0–86.0 million (operating income $6.8–8.2 million) and Production Enhancement revenue of $42.0–44.0 million (operating income $2.8–3.8 million), implying company operating income of $9.7–12.2 million and an approximate operating margin of 9%; EPS for 2026 was reiterated at $0.11–0.15 and the guidance excludes FX while assuming an effective tax rate of 25%. The outlook incorporates a modest increase in interest cost from a $50.0 million term loan drawn 01/12/2026 (about 200 basis points higher than the fixed-rate debt retired to repay roughly $45.0 million of 2021 notes), projects 2026 capital expenditures (excluding the UK rebuild) of $15.0–18.0 million and G&A ex‑items of $42.0–45.0 million, and notes near-term headwinds from typical Q1 seasonality, weather disruptions, tariffs, and sanction-related crude assay impacts; macro references include IEA/EIA/OPEC+ global oil demand growth of ~900,000–1,400,000 barrels per day in 2026.Core Laboratories Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
58
Neutral
| 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
Positive
16.76
Price Trends
17.50
Negative
17.13
Positive
14.70
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.12
Negative
54.73
Neutral
55.77
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CLB, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 16.76 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 16.35, below the 50-day MA of 17.50, and above the 200-day MA of 14.70, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.12 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 54.73 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 55.77 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CLB.
Core Laboratories Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (65)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
71 Outperform | $569.72M | 19.13 | 29.42% | ― | 23.56% | 242.78% | |
66 Neutral | $1.12B | -19.01 | 1.05% | ― | 0.17% | 7307.20% | |
65 Neutral | $15.17B | 7.61 | 4.09% | 5.20% | 3.87% | -62.32% | |
61 Neutral | $771.81M | 26.31 | 11.94% | 0.24% | -1.02% | 6.34% | |
61 Neutral | $1.69B | 1,198.42 | 0.10% | ― | -11.65% | 87.57% | |
60 Neutral | $689.36M | -3.63 | -16.46% | ― | -11.02% | ― | |
52 Neutral | $1.12B | -1.69 | -41.79% | ― | -11.92% | -53.72% |
* Energy Sector Average
CLB
Core Laboratories
16.76
4.07
32.05%
FTK
Flotek
15.75
8.62
120.90%
OIS
Oil States International
11.45
7.69
204.52%
TTI
Tetra Technologies
8.33
5.99
255.98%
PUMP
Propetro Holding
13.84
8.21
145.83%
ACDC
ProFrac Holding
6.17
0.87
16.42%
Core Laboratories Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Core Laboratories Cuts Q1 2026 Guidance Amid Mideast Turmoil
Negative
Mar 23, 2026
Core Laboratories Inc. is a leading provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description and production enhancement services and products used to optimize petroleum reservoir performance. The company operates more than 70 offices in over 50 ...
Business Operations and StrategyRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Core Laboratories Eases Shareholder Threshold for Major Deals
Positive
Mar 5, 2026
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‑...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Core Laboratories posts Q4 2025 results and dividend
Positive
Feb 4, 2026
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 s...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.