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Energy

Downstream Energy

15 investable US stocks · data to Saturday, October 24, 2026

Acquirer's Multiple percentile today22nd percentile
Dearer than in 50% of quarters since 1999Its usual range since 1999 is the 5th to 61st percentile (the middle 80% of quarters), with a median of the 22nd. Lower is cheaper: the 10th percentile is cheaper than 90% of the investable US market; the 50th is the middle.

Is it cheap because returns are depressed?

The industry is in its usual range on the multiple, and returns on assets are strong (higher than in 94% of quarters). Free cash flow yield is in its usual range. A low multiple can be warranted when returns on assets are low, and a high one when they are high, so the multiple reads best next to returns and free cash flow, each against the industry's own history.

Over- or under-earning?

Over-earning

Return on assets ranks at the 82nd percentile of investable US stocks, against a median of the 58th and a low of the 17th since 1999. That is well above its usual level, so it may be over-earning, and today's multiple is likely too low on a normalized basis. If earnings normalize, the multiple would likely fall: from the 22nd percentile today (cheaper than 78% of investable US stocks) to around the 18th (cheaper than 82% of investable US stocks), judging by where it sat in past quarters when returns were at their usual level. If returns fell to their low, it would be around the 81st (dearer than 81% of investable US stocks).

PercentileTodayReturns normalReturns at low
Return on assets (higher is better)82nd58th (median)17th (low)
Acquirer's Multiple (lower is cheaper)22nd18th81st
Downstream Energy's return on assets as a percentile, quarterly since 1999. The shaded band is its usual range; the dashed line its median.
025507510020002005201020152020202582▲ better

Percentiles among investable US stocks. Return on assets is operating income over total assets, trailing 12 months. The last two columns show where it sat in past quarters when returns were within 7.5 points of their median (34 quarters) and of their low (2). The past, not a forecast.

Against its own history

Each chart is the industry's median stock as a percentile of all investable US stocks, quarterly since 1999. For the Acquirer's Multiple and debt to equity, lower is better. The shaded band is its usual range (the middle 80% of quarters); the dashed line is its long-run median; the dot is today. Green shading marks the better end of each scale and red the worse, and today's dot takes the colour of where it sits.

Acquirer's MultipleUsual rangePercentile of enterprise value ÷ operating income: lower is cheaper. Dearer than in 50% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202522▼ better
Free cash flow yieldUsual rangePercentile of free cash flow yield: higher is a bigger yield. Higher than in 57% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202572▲ better
Shareholder yieldLower than usualDividends plus buybacks, as a percentile: higher is a bigger yield. Lower than in 78% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202557▲ better
Dividend yieldLower than usualPercentile of dividend yield: higher is a bigger yield. Lower than in 73% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202568▲ better
Return on assets, 5-yrNear its bestPercentile of five-year return on assets: higher is better. Higher than in 94% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202577▲ better
Debt to equityMore debt than usualPercentile of debt to equity: lower is less debt. More indebted than in 87% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202571▼ better
Company sizeUsual rangePercentile of market cap: higher is larger. Larger than in 68% of quarters since 1999.
025507510020002005201020152020202572

Downstream Energy stocks in the screens today

In today's screens, cheapest first. ● marks one of a screen's 30 tracked picks.

StockScreenAcquirer's MultipleFCF yieldShareholder yield

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Other Energy industries

Fossil Fuel Exploration and Production cheaper than 68%Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations cheaper than 66%Midstream Energy cheaper than 57%Coal and Uranium Mining dearer than 96%

Quarterly since 1999 from point-in-time data. Each quarter, every investable US stock (price above $3, market cap above $75M, average daily trading above $850,000, no OTC, ADRs or MLPs) is placed in a percentile (0-100) against all the others on each metric. An industry's value is the median percentile of its stocks. Industries follow FactSet's RBICS classification. Percentiles describe the past; they are not investment advice or a forecast.