Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AR scored 61.8, EXE scored 64.9 — EXE leads.
Compare another set
AR
Antero Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
61.8
$35.90 · $11.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
3.1
EXE leads
EXE
Expand Energy Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
64.9
$88.22 · $20.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestEXE7.6x
Fastest growthEXE+188.8%
Strongest balance sheetEXE0.19
Highest qualityEXE76 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueAR-52%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AR
stronger →← stronger
EXE
66
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
76
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
72
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
72
EXE is stronger on 1 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AR
EXE
$899mC+
FCF
$2.5bB
+18.7%B+
Rev
+188.8%A
0.55B
D/E
0.19A-
10.3xA-
P/E
7.6xA-
0.42A
PEG
0.82B+
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
EXE
52% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
49% below
~-10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-10%/yr
+97%
1-yr DCF upside
+87%
+110%
5-yr DCF upside
+97%
+132%
10-yr DCF upside
+112%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AR
Why this score
Cyclical growth
EXE
Why this score
Buying back stock
Cut its dividend
Cyclical growth
The companies
ARAntero Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · $35.90 · beta 0.54
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $11.0b. Down 22% from 52-week high of $45.75 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.42 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 21 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $49.14 (implying +37% upside).
Moat
Net margin 19% 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.
EXEExpand Energy Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · $88.22 · beta 0.40
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $20.4b. Down 30% from 52-week high of $126.62 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +189% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.82 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 27 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $123.22 (implying +40% upside).
Moat
Net margin 22% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 15% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Down 30% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Reserve-replacement treadmill — every barrel or ounce extracted has to be replaced through exploration or acquisition; underspending on replacement reserves shows up in production declines 2-3 years out.
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 EXE diverge
On the headline score the gap is 3.1 points in favor of EXE. The widest single difference is Quality, where EXE leads by 10.1 points.
QualityAR 65.6 · EXE 75.7EXE +10.1
ValueAR 71.9 · EXE 72.1level
GrowthAR 50.0 · EXE 50.0level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value 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.
Common questions
Is EXE or AR the better stock?
EXE scores higher: EXE 64.9, AR 61.8 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do EXE and AR differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where EXE leads by 10 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. The other two pillars are close enough to call level, so this is the one place they genuinely separate.
How are EXE and AR scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.