CluenexChord Energy CHRD
Chord Energy scores average on business quality (4.9 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Chord Energy does
Chord Energy explores and produces crude oil and natural gas, generating revenue by selling hydrocarbons extracted primarily from the Williston Basin to refiners and marketers. The business is navigating a transition focused on optimizing its asset base, evidenced by recent sustainability reporting and capital allocation toward buybacks and dividends.
- What it does best
Chord executes efficient shale drilling in the Williston Basin, supporting a gross margin of 49.7% that outpaces MTDR at 82.3% in top-line retention but trails VNOM's 93.4% royalty model. This operational scale provides steady cash flows despite commodity price swings.
- The main risk
Commodity price volatility directly threatens cash generation, with free cash flow dropping from $1.4B in 2022 to $631M recently. Any sharp drop in oil realization prices immediately compresses operating margins currently sitting at 18.9%.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins rest at 18.9% with an ROE of 10.4%, down significantly from prior peak years as capital intensity rises. Margins are compressing, showing limited operating leverage in current commodity cycles.
Chord holds entrenched acreage in the Williston Basin, locking in localized pipeline and midstream infrastructure. Its operating margin ranks in the 40th percentile of the energy sector, showing modest competitive insulation.
Revenue contracted 7.1% recently, sliding from $5.3B in 2024 to $4.9B in 2025 annual periods, reflecting a fading top-line growth rate that severely lags the broader energy sector at the 7th percentile.
Debt-to-equity sits at 0.2 with interest coverage of 12.1x, making debt costs manageable. Free cash flow reached $631M alongside $308M in buybacks, keeping the balance sheet on a stable footing.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
3 sold $3.4M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on CHRD
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Chord Energy scores average on the Cluenex quality check (4.9 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health strong.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 3 sold $3.4M outside pre-planned sales.
Nov 4, 2026, after the close.
See CHRD today
- Today's verdict on CHRD, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Chord Energy (CHRD)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/chrd/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.