SM Energy Company (SM) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

SM Energy is an oil and natural gas company. It finds oil and gas underground, pulls it out of the earth, and sells it. Its main products are crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company operates in two key areas in the United States: the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Midland Basin, plus assets in South Texas.

SM Energy makes money by selling the oil and gas it produces directly to refiners, pipelines, and energy traders. It is a mid-sized U.S. producer with a market cap around $7.4 billion, competing against much larger companies like ExxonMobil and Pioneer. Its competitive position depends heavily on keeping its drilling costs low and its acreage productive. The biggest risk the company faces is falling oil and gas prices, which it does not control — when commodity prices drop, revenue and profits can fall sharply even if the company is doing everything right operationally.

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

-14.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-42.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

0.9%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Runway

~2 months

$368M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

SM Energy Company has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

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.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

18.9%

Thin — 18.9% gross margin

Operating Margin

0.6%

Thin — 0.6% operating margin

ROCE

0.1%

Weak — 0.1% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+18.1%

Fast-growing sales (18.1% YoY)

EPS YoY

-15.7%

Earnings shrinking (-15.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

310%

Turns 310% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

-7.7%

Burning cash (-7.7%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.48

Conservative — low debt load (0.48)

Interest Cover

1.90x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.9x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

26.0x

no trend

Growth-priced — P/E 26.0

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward

+22.7

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (26.0 → 3.4)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

3.13%

no trend

Moderate income — 3.13% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend Growth

+5.0%

no trend

Dividend growing modestly (5.0% YoY)

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