Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. SM scored 61.5, AR scored 61.8 — AR leads.
Compare another set
SM
SM Energy Company
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
61.5
$37.00 · $8.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
0.3
AR leads
AR
Antero Resources Corporation
Oil & Gas E&P · Quality-Growth
61.8
$35.90 · $11.0B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestSM6.6x
Fastest growthSM+65.9%
Strongest balance sheetAR0.55
Highest qualitySM73 / 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)
SM
stronger →← stronger
AR
73
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
66
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
64
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
72
SM and AR split the three pillars evenly.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
SM
AR
$743mC+
FCF
$899mC+
+65.9%A
Rev
+18.7%B+
0.95C+
D/E
0.55B
6.6xA
P/E
10.3xA-
0.62A-
PEG
0.42A
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
SM
AR
48% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
52% below
~-2%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-10%/yr
+53%
1-yr DCF upside
+97%
+94%
5-yr DCF upside
+110%
+174%
10-yr DCF upside
+132%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
SM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Cyclical growth
AR
Why this score
Cyclical growth
The companies
SMSM Energy Company
Oil & Gas E&P · $37.00 · beta 0.96
Why now
Oil & Gas E&P · market cap $8.8b. 11% off the 52-week high of $41.56. Revenue growing +66% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.62 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 17 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $44.18 (implying +19% 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 13% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Commodity exposure — earnings power tracks the price of the underlying commodity, not management execution. A 15-20% move in the commodity reprices the equity well before fundamentals catch up.
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.
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 SM and AR diverge
The two are effectively level on the headline score. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueSM 63.9 · AR 71.9AR +8.0
QualitySM 73.0 · AR 65.6SM +7.4
GrowthSM 50.0 · AR 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 AR or SM the better stock?
AR scores higher: AR 61.8, SM 61.5 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 AR and SM differ most?
The widest gap is value, where AR leads by 8 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are AR and SM 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.