At a glance
SM Energy Co is worth $9.41B, about 7 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 17.2% to $3.15B in fiscal 2025, with 20.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 22.9% a year. It pays a 2.17% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 4 years, and returned $655.2M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +98.2% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +6.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 88.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 44.2% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
SM Energy is an independent oil and gas producer. It explores for, drills and pumps crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs, such as propane), then sells them at market prices. All its operations are in the United States. Founded in 1908, it was once called St. Mary Land & Exploration. Profit depends on how much it produces, what buyers pay and what its wells cost to drill and run.
Oil is the main earner. In the year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was about $3.15 billion: crude oil supplied 81%, natural gas 11% and NGLs 7%. By region, the Midland Basin in West Texas (part of the larger Permian Basin) brought in 43.5%, South Texas 28.2% and the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah 27.7%. Production rose 21% from 2024, helped by a full year from Uinta Basin assets bought in October 2024.
The company changed shape on January 30, 2026, when it completed its merger with Civitas. That added the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado and the Delaware Basin in New Mexico and Texas; the 2025 figures above exclude Civitas. SM Energy has pledged at least $1.0 billion of asset sales within a year of closing, including part of its South Texas business, to help reduce debt.
Price history
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SM +98.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Crude Oil | $2.56B | 81.2% |
| Natural Gas | $353.0M | 11.2% |
| Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) | $224.0M | 7.1% |
By geography
| Midland Basin | $1.37B | 43.5% |
| South Texas | $891.0M | 28.2% |
| Uinta Basin | $875.0M | 27.7% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $2.50B, up 215.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $1.07B (+430.2%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $3.15B (+17.2% year over year; +22.9% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 20.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +22.9% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 31.7% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 13.5% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 7% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-6.00B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.13B | $-764.6M | — |
| FY2021 | $2.62B | $36.2M | — |
| FY2022 | $3.36B | $1.11B | — |
| FY2023 | $2.37B | $818.0M | — |
| FY2024 | $2.69B | $770.0M | — |
| FY2025 | $3.15B | $648.0M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $9.41B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 7 |
| Dividend yield | 2.17% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
SM Energy’s market value went from $5.99B at the end of 2016 to $9.41B on Oct 28, 2026, up 57%; since the end of 2025 it is up 120%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $9.41B | +119.6% |
| 2025 | $4.28B | -51.7% |
| 2024 | $8.87B | -1.5% |
| 2023 | $9.01B | +5.3% |
| 2022 | $8.55B | +19.4% |
| 2021 | $7.16B | +410.7% |
| 2020 | $1.40B | -44.7% |
| 2019 | $2.54B | -26.9% |
| 2018 | $3.47B | -29.6% |
| 2017 | $4.93B | -17.7% |
| 2016 | $5.99B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +116.1% | +98.2% | +1.9% | +6.4% | +2.7% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +116.1% |
| 2025 | -49.7% |
| 2024 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | +13.2% |
| 2022 | +18.6% |
| 2021 | +382.2% |
| 2020 | -44.9% |
| 2019 | -26.7% |
| 2018 | -29.6% |
| 2017 | -35.6% |
| 2016 | +75.9% |
| 2015 | -48.9% |
| 2014 | -53.5% |
| 2013 | +59.4% |
| 2012 | -28.5% |
| 2011 | +24.2% |
| 2010 | +72.5% |
| 2009 | +69.3% |
| 2008 | -47.2% |
| 2007 | +5.1% |
| 2006 | +0.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 69% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 82%, back to its old high 23.3 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 86.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 88.6%, back to its old high 9.8 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 38.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.2%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 3 sales ($1.6M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | Ramiro G Peru Director | sell | $834K |
| Aug 21, 2026 | James Barker Lebeck EVP, GC & Corp Secretary | sell | $648K |
| Sep 10, 2026 | Ashwin Venkatraman Director | sell | $140K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 14% | Feb 28, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.44% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| CPPIB Crestone Peak Resources Canada Inc. | 6.1% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Aristeia Capital, L.L.C. | 5.47% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.13% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 4.9% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 4.9% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in SM
| PSCE Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF | 5.78% |
| OILT Texas Capital Texas Oil Index ETF | 3.77% |
| SIXS ETC 6 Meridian Small Cap Equity ETF | 1.06% |
| GRPZ Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 GARP ETF | 0.88% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.67% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 0.53% |
| CVY Invesco Zacks Multi-Asset Income ETF | 0.48% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.45% |
What could go wrong
- Civitas merger may not deliver. The Civitas deal closed January 30, 2026. Combining two companies' operations, staff and systems could prove harder or costlier than planned, and expected savings on overhead, drilling and borrowing costs may fall short.
- A heavy debt load. As of June 30, 2026, debt was about $6.6 billion versus $620 million of cash. Cutting it relies partly on at least $1.0 billion of asset sales that may not close as planned.
- Reserves must be constantly replaced. Wells produce less over time. At 2025 output, the company's proved reserves would last about 8.9 years, down from 10.9 a year earlier. Replacing them takes heavy spending, and estimates may prove too high.
- Colorado drilling rules and environmental regulation. Colorado's Senate Bill 181 lets SM pool others' working or mineral interests into a drilling unit only if it controls over 45%, which may slow DJ Basin development. Fracking and emissions rules could raise costs.
- Pipeline bottlenecks and pay-anyway contracts. SM depends on pipelines and processing plants owned by others to reach buyers. Bottlenecks can force lower prices or halt sales, and some transport contracts require fixed payments even if volumes fall short.
- Profits ride on oil prices. Crude oil supplied 81% of 2025 revenue, and the average price the company received for oil fell 15% that year. Further drops would cut cash flow and could force write-downs of asset values.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement ended
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement ended
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement ended
- Quarterly results released
- Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
SM Energy pays a growing dividend. It paid $0.80 per share for 2025, its fourth straight annual increase and up from $0.01 in 2020. In its 10-K filed February 26, 2026, the company set an increased annual base dividend of $0.88 per share. Dividends used just 14.2% of 2025 earnings, and the yield was 2.17% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks totaled $384 million from 2021 through 2025 but fell to $13 million in 2025. The company warns that dividends and buybacks are not guaranteed.
The share price has swung hard in downturns. It fell 82% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 23 months from its low to recover. It dropped 88.6% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering by January 2021. In 2022 it rose 38.1% while the market fell, yet lost 44.2% in about a month that summer. It also fell 49.7% in 2025. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does SM Energy make money?
By producing and selling oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from wells in the United States. In the year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was about $3.15 billion: crude oil made up 81.2%, natural gas 11.2% and NGLs 7.1%. The Midland Basin in West Texas supplied 43.5% of revenue, South Texas 28.2% and Utah's Uinta Basin 27.7%. Those figures predate the Civitas merger, which added Colorado and New Mexico operations in January 2026.
Does SM Energy pay a dividend?
Yes. SM Energy paid $0.80 per share for 2025, its fourth straight annual increase, and its 10-K filed February 26, 2026 set an increased annual base dividend of $0.88 per share. The yield was 2.17% as of October 28, 2026, and dividends used 14.2% of 2025 earnings, a low payout. In 2020 and 2021 it paid just $0.01 per share a year, and the company warns it may not always pay dividends.
What did SM Energy's merger with Civitas change?
It made SM Energy a much larger company that operates in more regions. The deal was agreed on November 2, 2025 and closed January 30, 2026. It added operations in Colorado's Denver-Julesburg Basin and the Delaware Basin of New Mexico and Texas. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 was $2.5 billion, more than triple the figure a year earlier. The company plans at least $1.0 billion of asset sales within a year of closing, including some South Texas properties, to reduce debt.
How much debt does SM Energy have?
About $6.6 billion as of June 30, 2026, against roughly $620 million of cash and investments, leaving net debt near $6.0 billion. Shareholders' equity was about $7.8 billion. The company plans to cut debt using cash flow and asset sales. Its 10-K warns that heavy debt can limit access to financing and leave it more exposed to downturns. It also warns that lower oil and gas prices could shrink how much it can borrow under its bank credit agreement.
Is SM Energy stock volatile?
Yes, very. As of October 28, 2026, the shares were up 116.1% for 2026 to date and 98.2% over one year, after falling 49.7% in 2025. The largest peak-to-trough drop in about 21 years of price history was 98.8%. The worst drop within the past three years was 64.9%. Over 10 years, the share price rose an average of just 2.7% a year.