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Chicago, IL – July 30, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK, CVR Energy, Inc. CVI, ProPetro Holding Corp. PUMP, Antero Midstream AM and Antero Resources Corp. AR.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
The oil/energy industry is navigating a tough environment in the second quarter of 2025, with crude oil prices on the decline and profit margins under strain. While increased demand for natural gas has provided some resilience, it hasn't been enough to fully counteract the sector's broader difficulties.
The oil market continues to be challenged by global economic uncertainty and fears of excess supply, leading to a projected downturn in energy-related earnings. This downturn contrasts sharply with the growth seen in other sectors. The root of this pressure lies in the opposing trends of crude oil and natural gas prices, which are shaping both operational outcomes for companies and the overall mood among investors.
In the second quarter of 2025, oil prices saw a significant decline. The average price of West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $64.63 per barrel, representing a 20.9% decrease compared to the previous year's price of $81.71. This decrease was primarily due to escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, sparking concerns about a potential global economic slowdown and the prospect of an oil surplus. Additionally, higher fuel inventories and reduced demand forecasts further pressured oil prices.
On the other hand, natural gas prices saw a considerable rise. The Henry Hub spot price averaged $3.19 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) during the same period, marking a 50% increase from $2.09 per MMBtu in the second quarter of 2024. The surge in natural gas prices was attributed to several factors, including strong demand driven by colder weather, increased electricity consumption, and substantial LNG exports that strained domestic supply. Furthermore, lower-than-usual inventory levels and persistent supply concerns contributed to the price hike.
This sector is facing a challenging earnings season, with roughly 25.9% of S&P 500 energy companies having reported second-quarter results, revealing significant profitability challenges largely due to depressed crude prices impacting financial performance. The recent Zacks Earnings Trends report shows a troubling trend, with analysts anticipating a 24.7% year-over-year decline in second-quarter profits for oil and gas companies.
This marks a worsening from the previous quarter's 11.1% contraction, suggesting that there will be no immediate relief from current market conditions. The sector now stands alongside the automotive and construction industries as one of the market's weakest segments.
When examining broader market performance, the energy sector's struggles become particularly apparent. While the S&P 500 collectively expects 6.9% earnings growth, this figure jumps to 9% when excluding energy companies. This substantial difference highlights how heavily oil and gas firms are dragging down overall market performance. The sector's difficulties extend beyond earnings, with revenues estimated to decline 8.7% against the 4.5% growth expected across the broader index.
Several factors contribute to this ongoing downturn. Profit margins continue to shrink due to a combination of weak pricing power and rising operational expenses. These challenges appear structural rather than temporary, suggesting that companies may need to fundamentally adapt their business models. Meanwhile, other sectors show remarkable resilience, with consumer discretionary firms projecting 107.9% earnings growth, Computer & Tech companies expecting 13% increases, and financial institutions anticipating 17.4% improvements.
This growing divergence in corporate performance presents both risks and opportunities for investors. Market participants will be closely watching how individual energy companies navigate these headwinds through second-quarter earnings reports.
Key differentiators will likely include each firm's product mix, cost management strategies, and ability to capitalize on any pockets of strength, particularly in natural gas markets where some companies may find partial relief from crude oil weakness. This earnings season will reveal which firms are best positioned to weather the current storm. We focus on four prominent oil/energy companies as they get ready to announce their second-quarter earnings results.
In light of these factors, we take a closer look at how oil and energy companies are positioned for their second-quarter earnings on July 30, 2025, and how they're tackling the industry's current challenges.
Our proprietary model indicates that a company needs to have the right combination of two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — to increase the odds of an earnings beat.
Comstock Resources, Inc. is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the market opens. The chances of a Frisco, TX-based oil and gas exploration and production company delivering an earnings beat this time around are low, as it has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Comstock Resources' earnings is pegged at 9 cents per share, suggesting a 145% increase from the prior-year reported figure. Regarding earnings surprises, Comstock Resources' earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate twice in the last four quarters and missed twice, delivering an average surprise of 172.15%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
In the same vein,CVR Energy, Inc. is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the market opens. The chances of this Sugar Land, TX-based oil and gas refining and marketing company delivering an earnings beat this time around are low, as it has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVR Energy's earnings is pegged at a loss of 8 cents per share, suggesting a 188.89% decrease from the prior-year reported figure. In terms of earnings surprises, CVR Energy's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the last four quarters and missed once, delivering an average negative surprise of 9.77%.
ProPetro Holding Corp. is slated to report quarterly earnings before the market opens. The chances of this Midland, TX-based oil and gas equipment and services company delivering an earnings beat this time around are low, as it has an Earnings ESP of +7.14% and a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ProPetro Holding's earnings is pegged at 3 cents per share, suggesting a 200% increase from the prior-year reported figure. When it comes to earnings surprises, ProPetro Holding's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the last four quarters and missed once, delivering an average surprise of 53.13%.
On a more optimistic note, Antero Midstream is slated to report quarterly earnings after the market opens. The chances of the company delivering an earnings beat this time around are high, as it currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Antero Midstream's earnings is pegged at 24 cents per share, suggesting a 33.33% increase from the prior-year reported figure. Looking at earnings surprises, Antero Midstream's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the last four quarters, were in line once and missed once, delivering an average negative surprise of 5.50%.
Lastly,Antero Resources Corp. is slated to report quarterly earnings after the market opens. The chances of this Denver, CO-based oil and gas exploration and production company delivering an earnings beat this time around are low, as it has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Antero Resources' earnings is pegged at 48 cents per share, suggesting a 352.63% increase from the prior-year reported figure. Regarding earnings surprises, Antero Resources' earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate twice in the last four quarters and missed twice, delivering an average negative surprise of 61.25%.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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