Core Laboratories (CLB) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $860.03M
• Dividend Yield: 0.24%
• Average Volume (3M): 411.26K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 27.2
• Beta (1Y): 1.35
• 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: 1.21
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.98
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 11.04
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 14.19
• 1Y Price Target: $11.50
• Price Target Upside: -37.57% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Sell
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 65 Neutral
• Price Target: $20.00 ▲(8.58% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 02/07/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 02/07/26

The score is driven primarily by improving profitability and a strengthened balance sheet, tempered by inconsistent/declining 2025 cash flow. Technicals are broadly supportive over longer timeframes but neutral in the near term, while valuation looks somewhat expensive on P/E despite a very high dividend yield. The latest earnings call adds a mixed outlook with constructive guidance but notable near-term cost and macro headwinds.

Positive Factors

Balance sheet leverage

Sustained reduction in leverage to a 0.15 debt/equity ratio materially lowers financial risk and interest burden. Over 2-6 months this enhances resilience through oil-cycle volatility, increases financial flexibility for capex, M&A, dividends and buybacks, and supports long-term strategic execution.

Free cash flow conversion

High FCF conversion indicates the business consistently turns accounting profits into cash, enabling durable funding of operations, dividends, buybacks and selective investments. Strong cash generation mitigates cyclical revenue swings and supports reinvestment in proprietary services and technologies.

Proprietary tech and strategic M&A

Successful deployment of proprietary reservoir technologies and a targeted acquisition (Solintec) strengthen differentiated service offerings and international footprints. These durable capabilities deepen client relationships, increase recurring lab/consulting demand and raise barriers to entry versus commoditized competitors.

Negative Factors

Declining product sales

A persistent decline in product sales, tied to reduced U.S. onshore completion activity, suggests structural exposure to capital-spend cycles in key end markets. Lower product volumes can compress segment margins and limit the company's ability to grow hardware-linked revenues during prolonged slowdowns.

Flat year-over-year revenue

Stagnant top-line growth despite margin initiatives signals challenges scaling services or offsetting cyclical declines. Over several quarters this constrains sustainable earnings growth, raises reliance on buybacks/cost cuts for EPS support, and reduces room to fund organic expansion without M&A.

Geopolitical and tariff exposure

Significant international exposure means geopolitical tensions and tariffs can disrupt cross-border projects, client budgets and pricing for lab services. This structural risk increases revenue volatility and planning uncertainty, complicating multi-quarter project pipelines and capital allocation decisions.

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

Income statement and balance sheet trends are solid (steady revenue growth, sustained profitability, leverage improved to under 1.0 debt-to-equity in 2023–2025), but cash-flow quality is the key drag: operating cash flow and free cash flow fell sharply in 2025 versus 2024 and have been volatile, and debt ticked up in 2025.

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: Neutral
• Last Price: 18.42
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 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 Neutral. The current price of 18.42 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 19.00, above the 50-day MA of 18.12, and above the 200-day MA of 13.92, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.05 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 47.55 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 52.76 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CLB.

Core Laboratories Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
TTI	75 Outperform	$1.49B	12.23	53.71%	―	0.17%	7307.20%
OIS	66 Neutral	$563.40M	26.67	-17.49%	―	-11.02%	―
Sector *	65 Neutral	$15.17B	7.61	4.09%	5.20%	3.87%	-62.32%
CLB	65 Neutral	$860.03M	27.16	12.31%	0.24%	-1.02%	6.34%
FTK	63 Neutral	$522.71M	19.51	29.09%	―	23.56%	242.78%
PUMP	61 Neutral	$1.34B	1,716.42	-2.05%	―	-11.65%	87.57%
ACDC	52 Neutral	$998.41M	-2.74	-31.46%	―	-11.92%	-53.72%

Core Laboratories Corporate Events

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.