MRO vs APA Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
MRO (Marathon Oil) and APA (APA Corporation) are both mid-cap E&P companies with Permian presence — Marathon Oil as a U.S.-only, capital-return-focused operator, versus APA with its international diversification (North Sea) and Suriname exploration upside. Marathon prioritizes near-term cash returns; APA offers longer-dated exploration optionality.
MRO vs APA is U.S.-only capital discipline versus diversified international E&P with exploration upside — Marathon's buyback-focused free cash flow return against APA's Suriname discovery option with North Sea income.
MRO and APA are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want a U.S.-only E&P company with disciplined capital return through buybacks and no international geopolitical exposure
- Value Marathon Oil's multi-basin flexibility to high-grade capital to best-returning U.S. shale basins
- Prefer capital return maximization over exploration upside — Marathon returned to a pure U.S. E&P focus through strategic divestitures
- Want Permian Basin E&P exposure plus international diversification and a Suriname offshore exploration call option on potential large discovery
- Value the North Sea's cash flow contribution as a second cash-generating region alongside U.S. Permian operations
- See Suriname as a high-upside long-dated option that could transform APA if offshore development produces at expected rates
| Metric | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | N/A | 27.7 |
| AI ranki | N/A | #1254 |
| Latest closei | N/A | $44.49 |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | N/A | $20.54K (+105.4%) started 2025-11-05 |
| 5Y ago | N/A | $17.86K (+78.6%) started 2021-11-08 |
| 10Y ago | N/A | $11.85K (+18.5%) started 2016-11-07 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | N/A | $15.67B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 9.44 |
| Forward P/Ei | N/A | 10.18 |
| Price/Salesi | 2.39 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | N/A | 2.34 |
| Analyst targeti | N/A | $45.52 |
| Target upsidei | N/A | +1.77% |
| Metric | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | N/A | 9.20% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 26.30% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +26.30% |
| FCF margini | N/A | +25.04% |
| Operating margini | N/A | 56.33% |
| Profit margini | N/A | 19.56% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | 26.66% |
| Return on equityi | N/A | 26.66% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 2.24% |
| Payout ratioi | N/A | 21.14% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.32 | 0.37 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | 48.85 |
| Current ratioi | N/A | 0.95 |
| Quick ratioi | N/A | 0.69 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | N/A | +105.40% |
| CAGRi | N/A | +105.60% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 46.69% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | 1.71 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | 2.52 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 28.20% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 14.28% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 8.48% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 11.60% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 13.63% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 14.28% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | N/A | +60.58% |
| CAGRi | N/A | +9.95% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 47.90% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | 0.35 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | 0.49 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 70.47% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 14.28% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 30.70% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 35.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 16.48% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 33.60% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | N/A | -5.16% |
| CAGRi | N/A | -0.53% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 58.61% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | 0.22 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | 0.31 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 93.49% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 19.10% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 47.33% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 50.84% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 53.86% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 68.12% |
| Category | MRO | APA |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Marathon Oil Corporation | APA Corporation |
| Sector | Energy - Oil & Gas E&P | Energy |
| Industry | N/A | Oil & Gas E&P |
| Core business | Marathon Oil is a U.S.-focused independent E&P company with operations in the Eagle Ford (Texas), Bakken (North Dakota), Permian Basin, and Oklahoma, following its strategic exit from international oil operations and refining through corporate divestitures. | APA Corporation (formerly Apache) operates oil and gas E&P across the U.S. Permian Basin, North Sea (UK and Egypt), and offshore Suriname where significant hydrocarbon discoveries create potential long-term development opportunity. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Marathon Oil's multi-basin U.S. production efficiency, capital discipline (maintaining flat capex through the cycle), strong free cash flow generation, and return to shareholders through buybacks. | Investors track APA's Permian production, North Sea cash flow, Suriname exploration results as a key long-term upside catalyst, and capital returns as the company manages its international and domestic portfolio. |
- U.S.-only portfolio following international divestitures provides simplified, domestically focused production base without geopolitical risk
- Disciplined capital allocation framework targeting maintenance-level production with maximum free cash flow return to shareholders via buybacks
- Diversified multi-basin position across Eagle Ford, Bakken, Permian, and Oklahoma provides optionality for high-grading capital to best-returning basins
- Suriname offshore exploration represents a potentially transformative option — adjacent block discoveries by TotalEnergies suggest APA's acreage could hold significant undeveloped resources
- Diversified U.S. and international portfolio across three distinct geographies reduces single-region production concentration
- North Sea assets provide international cash flow diversification beyond U.S. unconventional production
- Post-international divestiture, Marathon Oil is purely a U.S. E&P company — growth depends on U.S. oil price assumptions and domestic well productivity
- Buyback-heavy capital return means shareholders benefit most from stock price appreciation, while those seeking dividend income may prefer other operators
- Eagle Ford is a more mature basin — well productivity trends in mature shale plays historically decline over time
- Suriname development requires massive capital investment and carries long timelines — first production could be a decade away from current exploration results
- North Sea assets are mature with natural production decline — ongoing investment is required to maintain output at existing levels
- International operations add geopolitical, tax, and currency complexity that U.S.-only operators avoid
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