CVR Energy (CVI) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

CVR Energy is an American energy company that refines crude oil into fuels like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. It also makes nitrogen fertilizers used by farmers to grow crops. The company operates two main businesses: petroleum refining and fertilizer production, selling mostly to customers in the central United States.

CVR Energy makes money by buying crude oil, processing it, and selling the refined products at a markup — a spread called the "crack spread." It also earns revenue from selling ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers. The company operates refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma and a fertilizer plant in Kansas, making it a regional player rather than a national giant. Refining margins have been under pressure recently, which explains the negative operating margin. The biggest risk CVR faces is that crack spreads can shrink quickly when crude oil prices rise faster than fuel prices, squeezing profits with little the company can do to control it.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+20.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-56.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (1%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

70.8%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$512M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

CVR Energy is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 20%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

0.0% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 100.5M (2021) → 100.5M (2025)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin

-14.5%

Thin — -14.5% gross margin

Operating Margin

-16.5%

Losing money on operations — -16.5%

ROCE

-14.1%

Weak — -14.1% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+1.4%

Nearly flat sales (1.4% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

Data not available

FCF Margin

0.9%

Thin free cash flow (0.9%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

3.29

Heavy debt load (3.29)

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.65%

Small dividend — 1.65% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

-64.4%

Dividend cut (-64.4% YoY) — warning sign

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