At a glance
California Resources Corp is worth $4.86B, about 13 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 14.7% to $3.67B in fiscal 2025, with 9.9% kept as profit; over 4 years it has grown 18.1% a year. It pays a 2.99% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 4 years, and returned $1.58B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +20.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +6.9% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 28.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 10 months after the low.
The business in plain English
California Resources Corp (CRC) produces oil and gas, mainly in California, with a smaller footprint in Utah. It pumps crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs, liquids such as propane that are separated from gas) and natural gas. It sells them at prices tied to commodity markets, so its income moves with energy prices. The company calls itself the largest operator in California. For the year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was $3.67 billion and net income was $363 million.
CRC reports two segments: oil and natural gas, and carbon management. The 10-K gives no clean split of revenue by segment or region, so production is the clearest guide to where the business sits. Output averaged about 138 MBoe/d in 2025, and 79% of it was oil. MBoe/d means thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day, a unit that counts gas in oil terms. The San Joaquin basin supplied about 110 MBoe/d, and its largest fields there include Belridge and Elk Hills. The Los Angeles basin, which includes the Wilmington field, added about 17 MBoe/d.
The carbon management arm, called Carbon TerraVault, builds and runs equipment that captures carbon dioxide. It also runs the assets that transport the gas and underground sites that store it, partly through a joint venture with Brookfield. In December 2025, CRC closed an all-stock merger with Berry. The deal added neighboring California fields, Utah fields and C&J Well Services, a business that services wells and shuts down old ones.
Price history
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CRC +20.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.30B, up 32.6% from a year earlier, and net income was $514.0M (+198.8%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $3.67B (+14.7% year over year; +18.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2025) with a 9.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2025) | +18.1% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 16.3% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 14.8% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 9.9% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 4.9% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.23B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | $2.63B | $-28.0M | $221.0M |
| FY2021 | $1.89B | $612.0M | $466.0M |
| FY2022 | $2.71B | $524.0M | $311.0M |
| FY2023 | $2.80B | $564.0M | $468.0M |
| FY2024 | $3.20B | $376.0M | $355.0M |
| FY2025 | $3.67B | $363.0M | $543.0M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.86B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 13.2 |
| Dividend yield | 2.99% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
California Resources’s market value went from $1.97B at the end of 2020 to $4.86B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.5 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 30%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.86B | +29.9% |
| 2025 | $3.74B | -21.3% |
| 2024 | $4.76B | +26.8% |
| 2023 | $3.75B | +17.4% |
| 2022 | $3.20B | -6.9% |
| 2021 | $3.43B | +74.7% |
| 2020 | $1.97B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRC price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +25.0% | +20.1% | +4.7% | +6.9% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +25.0% |
| 2025 | -10.8% |
| 2024 | -2.5% |
| 2023 | +28.8% |
| 2022 | +3.7% |
| 2021 | +81.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 5.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 28.5%, back to its old high 9.9 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 11 sales ($223.4M), 5 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2026 | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board 10% owner | sell | $213.8M |
| May 12, 2026 | Michael L. Preston EVP, Chf Strategy Officer & GC | sell | $1.6M |
| Mar 9, 2026 | Omar Hayat EVP & Chief Operating Officer | sell | $1.5M |
| Mar 11, 2026 | Christopher D. Gould EVP & Chief Sustainability Off | sell | $1.5M |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Mark Allen McFarland Director | sell | $1.1M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 13% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Solar Projects LLC | 6.84% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.94% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Sourcerock Group LLC | 5.1% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| First Trust Portfolios L.P. | 0.36% | Mar 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in CRC
| PSCE Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF | 5.34% |
| NBET Neuberger Berman Energy Transition & Infrastructure ETF | 1.73% |
| FTIF First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF | 1.54% |
| VRAI Virtus Real Asset Income ETF | 1.02% |
| FDIV MarketDesk Focused U.S. Dividend ETF | 0.84% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.8% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 0.73% |
| DSMC Distillate Small/Mid Cash Flow ETF | 0.47% |
What could go wrong
- California permits and laws can block drilling. Most production is in California, where state action, local restrictions and permit delays can limit or stop drilling. Permits for new wells resumed only in early 2026 after a pause, according to the 10-K.
- Shrinking California refining and pipeline capacity. CRC depends on refineries and pipelines in California to sell its oil. If they close or cut capacity, selling production could get harder and the prices CRC receives could fall.
- Wildfire, earthquake and drought exposure. Because operations are concentrated in California, a wildfire, earthquake or drought could disrupt output. Pollution or catastrophic events could also bring large liability claims, and insurance may not fully cover them.
- Carbon business relies on incentives and new rules. Carbon TerraVault needs tax and financial incentives to be economical, and much of its regulation is still being written. Incentives could be cut or delayed, and large projects may never be built.
- Berry merger savings may fall short. CRC targets $80 million to $90 million a year in savings within twelve months of the December 2025 closing. Combining Berry's fields and well-servicing business could take longer or cost more than planned.
- Oil price swings drive results. Revenue depends on volatile oil and gas prices, and a long slump would cut cash flow and investment. Hedging locks in prices ahead of time. It softens declines but limits gains when prices rise.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
For income and retirement investors
CRC pays a growing dividend, but the record is short. Regular dividends rose from $0.17 a share in fiscal 2021 to about $1.57 in fiscal 2025, four straight annual increases. The 2025 payout used 37.5% of earnings and 25% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). The dividend yield was 2.99% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks have been larger: $1.17 billion over fiscal 2021–2025, against $403 million in dividends. Even so, the share count rose 10.5% from October 2021 to June 2026, partly because CRC issued shares for the Berry merger.
The stock's trading history doesn't reach back to the 2008 crisis or the 2020 COVID crash. Across the 2022 bear market (January 3 to October 12), it lost 5.6%. Within that stretch it fell 28.5% from an August peak, then recovered by July 2023. Its deepest peak-to-trough drop in the three years to October 28, 2026 was 44.7%. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does California Resources make money?
Mainly by selling crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas from its fields in California and Utah. Oil made up 79% of average net production of about 138 MBoe/d (thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day) for the year ended December 31, 2025, so oil prices drive results. Revenue was $3.67 billion that year. A second segment, Carbon TerraVault, aims to earn money by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. The 10-K does not split revenue cleanly between the two.
Does California Resources raise its dividend every year?
It has for four straight fiscal years through 2025. The regular dividend rose from $0.17 per share in fiscal 2021 to $1.5675 in fiscal 2025, with no special dividends. The yield was 2.99% as of October 28, 2026. In 2025, dividends took 37.5% of earnings and 25% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). The company also spent $377 million on buybacks that year. The 10-K warns that future dividends and buybacks are subject to risks.
What is Carbon TerraVault?
Carbon TerraVault is California Resources' carbon management segment. It builds, installs, operates and maintains equipment that captures carbon dioxide, along with transport assets and underground storage sites. It also owns a stake in a joint venture with Brookfield, which the company says reduces its own capital spending. In its 10-K filed March 2, 2026, the company expected to start capturing emissions at its Elk Hills gas plant in early 2026 for permanent storage. The projects depend on tax and financial incentives that could be reduced or ended.
What did California Resources get from the Berry merger?
It gained oil fields next to its own in California, plus fields in Utah and C&J Well Services, one of California's largest businesses for servicing wells and shutting down old ones. The deal added 56 MMBoe (million barrels of oil equivalent) of proved developed reserves, meaning oil and gas expected from existing wells. The all-stock deal closed December 18, 2025. CRC issued 5,572,115 new shares, so former Berry holders owned about 6% of the combined company. Management targeted $80 million to $90 million in yearly savings within twelve months.
What are the biggest risks for California Resources stock?
Oil prices and California politics. Results swing with commodity prices, and the company's producing properties are mainly in one state. The 10-K flags permit delays and new California laws that could restrict or ban drilling in some areas. It also flags shrinking refining and pipeline capacity in the state, plus wildfire and earthquake risk. Debt was $1,281 million against $56 million of cash as of June 30, 2026. The stock's largest peak-to-trough fall over the three years to October 28, 2026 was 44.7%.