CluenexDiamondback Energy FANG
Diamondback Energy scores good on business quality (6.9 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Diamondback Energy does
Diamondback Energy explores and produces oil and natural gas, focusing on the Permian Basin where it extracts hydrocarbons and sells them to refiners and marketers. The company is advancing its operations through scheduled third quarter 2026 conference calls for both the parent firm and its Viper Energy subsidiary.
- What it does best
Diamondback focuses strictly on low-cost Permian Basin drilling, driving an operating margin of 35.4% that beats peer COP at 22.2%. This scale and basin concentration creates a durable efficiency edge that peers outside the region struggle to match.
- The main risk
Net debt sits at $14.4 billion against cash of $104 million, leaving the balance sheet exposed to sudden commodity price drops that could pinch cash flow and force capital expenditure cuts.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Gross margin reached 68.0% and free cash flow margin hit 21.5%, driving a steady profitability profile that scales efficiently with production volume.
Its structural moat relies on prime Permian acreage locking in low extraction costs, supported by an operating margin ranking in the sector top quartile at the 72nd percentile.
Revenue growth surged 35.8% to $17.1B, placing it in the top decile of its sector at the 87th percentile and accelerating sharply from historical levels.
Total debt is $14.5 billion with a debt to equity ratio of 0.39, while free cash flow rebounded to $3.7B, signaling a stabilizing financial position.
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.
7 sold $22.2M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on FANG
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
Diamondback Energy scores good on the Cluenex quality check (6.9 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth fast and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 7 sold $22.2M outside pre-planned sales.
Nov 2, 2026, after the close.
See FANG today
- Today's verdict on FANG, 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, “Diamondback Energy (FANG)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/fang/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.