APA Value Scorecard - APA Corporation

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5, plus moat evidence

39/60

moderate value score

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

1/5

Diluted EPS: $11.02 (2022), $9.25 (2023), $2.27 (2024), $3.99 (2025). The latest figure is half the 2022 figure or less; the framework scores that as 1.

ROE Trend

5/5

ROE (net income / common equity): 868.6% (2022), 107.5% (2023), 15.2% (2024), 23.5% (2025). Median 65.5%, lowest 15.2%; the framework scores a median above 20% as 5.

ROIC

5/5

ROIC of 20.3%: operating income of $3.09B divided by $15.19B of capital (total assets $17.76B minus current liabilities $2.57B), fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores above 20% as 5.

Profit Margins

4/5

Net margin of 19.6%; the framework scores 10-20% as 4; gross margin 78.3%, operating margin 56.3%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

4/5

Debt-to-equity of 0.49; the framework scores 0.3-0.8 as 4 (total debt $3.88B, total cash $444.00M).

Free Cash Flow

2/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): $2.54B (2022), $772.00M (2023), $709.00M (2024), $1.78B (2025). It ended at or below 2022; the framework scores that as 2.

Retained Earnings

1/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): -$5.81B (2022), -$2.96B (2023), -$2.15B (2024), -$721.00M (2025). The latest balance is negative (an accumulated deficit); the framework scores that as 1.

Valuation models

Graham IV

2/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $4.73 x (8.5 + 2 x 0.0) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $39.31 (EPS CAGR -34.3% floored at 0%; the formula returns a negative value below -4.25% growth). Current price $49.15; price is 25.0% above the model value.

DCF Value

5/5

FCF/share = $6.127, stage 1 growth = 3.8% for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $25.83, PV of terminal value = $67.46, DCF value = $93.29. Current price $49.15; price is 47.3% below the model value.

Margin of Safety

3/5

Graham value $39.31 (price is 25.0% above the model value); DCF value $93.29 (price is 47.3% below the model value).

Price-to-Book

3/5

P/B of 2.45; the framework scores 1.5-3.0 as 3.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 4 of 6 years (2020-2025); lowest -35.9%, highest 54.4%.

Gross margin, each year

Not reported: the filings don’t state a gross profit or cost of revenue figure, as is common for oil and gas companies, banks and insurers.

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Feb 26, 2026

The oil and gas industry is highly competitive in the exploration for and acquisitions of reserves, the acquisition of oil and gas leases, equipment, and personnel required to find and produce reserves, and the gathering and marketing of oil, gas, and NGLs. The Company’s competitors include national oil companies, major integrated oil and gas companies, other independent oil and gas companies, and participants in

The opening of the company’s “Competitive Conditions” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

4/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in every year (pass); $2.98B paid out against $5.80B of free cash flow (pass); total debt $5.62B to $4.59B, down 18.3%, 0.9x EBITDA (pass: not up more than 10%); shares outstanding 0.31B to 0.35B, up 13.3% (fail: up more than 2%). 3 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 4.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated

  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $4.73, g = 0.0%, Y = 4.5
    g floored at 0.0% (3-year EPS CAGR was -34.3%; below -4.25% the formula returns a negative value)
    IV = $39.31
    Current price $49.15 vs Graham value $39.31 — price is 25.0% above the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $6.127
    Stage 1 growth = 3.8% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
      Y1: $6.360 → PV $5.782
      Y2: $6.602 → PV $5.456
      Y3: $6.853 → PV $5.149
      Y4: $7.113 → PV $4.858
      Y5: $7.384 → PV $4.585
    Stage 1 PV sum = $25.83
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $108.64
    PV of terminal value = $67.46
    DCF value = $93.29
    Current price $49.15 vs DCF value $93.29 — price is 47.3% below the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $49.15. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

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