COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026
AR vs CRC
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AR scored 63.9, CRC scored 54.1 — AR leads.
Compare another set
AR
Antero Resources Corporation
63.9
$37.94 · $11.7B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
9.8
AR leads
CRC
California Resources Corporation
54.1
$53.24 · $4.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- Fastest growthAR+25.8%
- Strongest balance sheetCRC0.40
- Highest qualityAR66 / 100
- Largest discount to fair valueCRC-42%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AR
stronger →← stronger
CRC
66
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
40
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
46
79
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
86
AR is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AR
CRC
$899mC+
FCF
$385mC
+25.8%A-
Rev
+4.5%C+
0.55B
D/E
0.40B+
10.9xB+
P/E
—
0.49A
PEG
0.32A
—
P/S
1.4xB+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AR
CRC
7% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
42% below
~0%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~-3%/yr
+11%
1-yr DCF upside
+46%
+7%
5-yr DCF upside
+72%
+3%
10-yr DCF upside
+119%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AR
Why this score
- Cyclical growth
CRC
Why this score
- Diluting shareholders
The companies
ARAntero Resources Corporation
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $11.7b. 17% off the 52-week high of $45.75. Revenue growing +26% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.49 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $49.40 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
Net margin 18% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 14% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Jurisdictional + permitting risk — mining and extraction operations concentrate exposure to political stability, royalty regimes, and environmental review timelines that can stall production for years.
CRCCalifornia Resources Corporation
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $4.7b. Down 26% from 52-week high of $71.98 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.32 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $77.55 (implying +46% upside).
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
Currently unprofitable (margin -3.6%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk. ROE -4% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate. Jurisdictional + permitting risk — mining and extraction operations concentrate exposure to political stability, royalty regimes, and environmental review timelines that can stall production for years.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AR and CRC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 9.8 points in favor of AR. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
- QualityAR 66.3 · CRC 39.8AR +26.5
- ValueAR 78.6 · CRC 86.1CRC +7.5
- GrowthAR 50.0 · CRC 46.3AR +3.7
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.