Forensic Analysis · Energy / Oil & Gas · as of Jun 27, 2026
California Resources Corp (CRC)
A forensic read on California Resources Corp built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
A · High-quality compounder
Forensic grade
Grey Zone
Financial health
2.3
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
-13.8%
ROE
$4.8B
Market cap
2.96%
Dividend yield
California Resources Corp earns a A (High-quality compounder) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 2.3, placing it in the Grey zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by share-count dilution.
What the filings flag
+4.2%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +13% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+4.2%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~4.2% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~13%.
+11.6%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +11.6% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit sits in receivables, inventory or capitalized costs rather than cash. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -11% of net operating assets.
7%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 7% and slipping from 20% — around its ~8% cost of capital, so growth is roughly value-neutral — watch the trend.
94% of FCFShareholder returns.Returned $513M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 94% of free cash flow. Right at the limit of what free cash flow covers — little room before it's funded by debt or the balance sheet.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin9.9%
Debt / Equity0.38x
Free Cash Flow$543.0M
Latest Revenue$3.67B
Return on Equity9.9%
Revenue Growth YoY+14.7%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on California Resources Corp:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about CRC's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown