Core Laboratories Inc. Common Stock (CLB)

FairStock Score: 35/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look at Core Laboratories as a cyclical oil-service business, not a consumer franchise. It sells reservoir description and production enhancement work to oil and gas producers, so demand depends on their spending. That limits any wide moat; customers can cut budgets quickly. The latest filed figures show the pressure. In fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, revenue was $124.6 million, net income was $6.0 million, and diluted EPS was $0.13. A year earlier, in fiscal Q2 2025, the quarter ended 2025-06-30, revenue was $130.2 million, net income was $10.6 million, and diluted EPS was $0.22. Fiscal Q1 2026, the quarter ended 2026-03-31, even lost $789,000. The longer trend is also soft: fiscal year 2023, the year ended 2023-12-31, net income was $36.7 million; fiscal year 2024, the year ended 2024-12-31, net income was $31.4 million; and fiscal year 2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, net income was $29.7 million. Fiscal year 2025 revenue of $526.5 million rose slightly from fiscal year 2024 revenue of $523.8 million. FairStock's calculations at the 2026-10-13 close show a P/E of 19.54, P/B of 1.71, ROE of 9.05%, ROCE of 4.45%, EV/EBITDA of 9.71, and a Graham Number of $8.34. With the price at $10.16, the margin of safety is negative 21.82%. Trailing free cash flow was $10.7 million, only a 2.3% FCF yield. The Piotroski F-Score of 9/9 and positive FCF are encouraging, but the Altman Z-Score of 1.82 and D/E of 0.59 suggest limited slack. I see a fair-to-full price for a cyclical, low-return business whose earnings are still searching for a bottom.

In plain English: Core Laboratories helps oil and gas companies study reservoir rocks and fluids and improve production from their wells. The business is cyclical and looks weak right now: sales are slipping and profits have fallen sharply from a year ago, though it still earns a small profit. At the recent $10.16 close, the shares look expensive compared with a simple check of profits and assets, so they do not appear cheap on those figures.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer