Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CNX scored 64.7, CRC scored 40.3 — CNX leads.
Compare another set
CNX
CNX Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
64.7
$34.03 · $5.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
24.4
CNX leads
CRC
California Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
40.3
$52.96 · $4.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthCNX+48.9%
Strongest balance sheetCRC0.40
Highest qualityCNX73 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueCNX-66%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CNX
stronger →← stronger
CRC
73
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
45
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
74
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
29
CNX is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CNX
CRC
$526mC+
FCF
$876mC+
+48.9%A
Rev
+15.1%B+
0.49B
D/E
0.40B+
5.5xA
P/E
—
1.93C+
PEG
0.45A
—
P/S
1.3xA-
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
CNX
CRC
66% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
66% below
~-13%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-20%/yr
+138%
1-yr DCF upside
+181%
+194%
5-yr DCF upside
+192%
+303%
10-yr DCF upside
+209%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CNX
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
Cyclical growth
CRC
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
Cyclical growth
The companies
CNXCNX Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · $34.03 · beta 0.69
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $5.0b. Down 22% from 52-week high of $43.62 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +49% — in hypergrowth territory. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $37.64 (implying +11% upside).
Moat
Net margin 44% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 21% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
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.
CRCCalifornia Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · $52.96 · beta 1.02
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $4.7b. Down 26% from 52-week high of $71.98 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +15%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.45 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $76.50 (implying +44% 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 -3.2%) — 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 CNX and CRC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 24.4 points in favor of CNX. The widest single difference is Value, where CNX leads by 44.4 points.
ValueCNX 73.6 · CRC 29.2CNX +44.4
QualityCNX 73.5 · CRC 44.8CNX +28.7
GrowthCNX 50.0 · CRC 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 CNX or CRC the better stock?
CNX scores higher: CNX 64.7, CRC 40.3 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 CNX and CRC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where CNX leads by 44 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. CNX also leads quality, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are CNX and CRC 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.