CLB
Core Laboratories N.V.
CLB's fundamentals are weak: its operating margin fell 3 points to 7.5% and free cash flow fell 72%. At 27x earnings, it's trading in line with its usual 29x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
CLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
CLB's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its cash flow is under pressure.
CLB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $9.01 | — |
| Cheap | 20x | $6.69 | -26% |
| Current | 27x | $9.01 | — |
| Fair | 29x | $9.85 | +9.4% |
| Expensive | 67x | $22.78 | +153% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CLB's PE is in its fair range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect CLB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
CLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.64 | +88% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.34 | -49% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.52 | -16% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.61 | +3.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | -4.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.67 | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.62 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.59 | -25% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.66 | -14% |
CLB's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.34 over the past year, against $2.28 in late 2019.
CLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $132.1M | -1.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $124.6M | -4.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $121.8M | -1.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $138.3M | +7% |
| Q3 2025 | $134.5M | +0.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $130.2M | -0.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $123.6M | -4.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $129.2M | +0.8% |
CLB's revenue fell from its 2019 peak and has held roughly level since: $132M last quarter, down 1.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.1% | -6.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3% | -4.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.6% | -2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +0.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 16% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6% | -3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | -0.4 points |
CLB's operating margin was 9.1% last quarter, down 6.4 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7M | -73% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.1M | -70% |
| Q1 2026 | $517K | -87% |
| Q4 2025 | $5M | -69% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.5M | -37% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.4M | -27% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.9M | +56% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2M | -2.7% |
CLB still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $10M over the past year.
CLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -167K shares |
| 1 year | -0.8% | -367K shares |
| 3 years | -1.9% | -893K shares |
| 5 years | -0.9% | -414K shares |
| Available history | +5.1% | +2.3M shares |
CLB has 47M diluted shares, down 0.8% from a year ago, with $10M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $2.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $4M |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $5M |
| Q2 2025 | $2.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $2M |
| Q4 2024 | $4.9M |
CLB spent $10M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 29% from the year before.
CLB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5x | Healthy |
CLB's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.3 years a year ago.
CLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 33.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 17.0 | Oversold |
CLB's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 17 (oversold).
CLB PE vs Energy Sector
| Metric | CLB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 13x | 102% above |
| PE % | 44 | 61 | 17 pts below |
CLB is trading at 27x earnings, a 102% premium to the Energy sector's median of 13x.
CLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $9.85 | 8.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $11.0 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $14.1 | 36% below |
| 100 week MA | $13.9 | 35% below |
| 200 week MA | $17.2 | 48% below |
CLB is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 48% below its 200-week average.
CLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $46.9 | $26.1 | -44% |
| 2021 | $26.1 | $23.3 | -11% |
| 2022 | $23.3 | $19.7 | -15% |
| 2023 | $19.7 | $17.7 | -10% |
| 2024 | $17.7 | $16.7 | -5.2% |
| 2025 | $16.7 | $16.4 | -2.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $16.4 | $9.01 | -45% |
CLB has finished every year since 2020 lower, and it's down 45% so far in 2026.