CluenexOccidental Petroleum Corporation OXY
Occidental Petroleum Corporation scores weak on business quality (4.5 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Occidental Petroleum Corporation does
Occidental Petroleum pumps crude oil and natural gas primarily from domestic basins, selling to refiners and industrial buyers. The company is leaning into carbon capture technology and large-scale asset integration to sustain production without relying solely on rising commodity prices.
- What it does best
Occidental extracts oil and gas with a gross margin of 77.8%, far outpacing peers like ExxonMobil at 28.7%. This edge stems from entrenched Permian Basin acreage and proprietary enhanced oil recovery techniques that are tough to replicate quickly.
- The main risk
Falling crude prices expose its $20.4 billion net debt pile to heavy strain. Since dividend payments and debt service require steady cash generation, a sharp drop in oil realizations immediately pressures liquidity.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 27.2% with a free cash flow margin ranking in the top decile of its sector at 80%. Scale helps preserve margins, but lower commodity prices could compress profitability further.
Its asset base sits in the top quartile of its sector for gross margin at 77.8%, locking in low-cost production. Rivals cannot easily duplicate this scale without massive, multi-year basin investments.
Revenue is contracting at a 1.9% rate, down from $36.6 billion in 2022. Growth is fading across core segments as older wells deplete faster than new production replaces them.
Debt stands at $22.4 billion against $2 billion in cash, leaving interest coverage at 5.7x. Free cash flow sits at $5.3 billion, but shrinking revenue history points to softening financial 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.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on OXY
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
Occidental Petroleum Corporation scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.5 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is strong, moat weak, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 9, 2026, after the close.
See OXY today
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/oxy/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.