CNQ vs SOBO vs MUR Stock Comparison

Canadian Natural Resources, South Bow and Murphy Oil Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CNQ CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES Ltd
$55.10 +16.2% 1M +76.2% 1Y
Market cap
$114.69B
P/E
14.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.47B
Div. yield
5.64%
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Energy
8 wins
SOBO South Bow Corp
$35.67 +5.0% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.43B
P/E
16.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.00B
Div. yield
5.61%
Oil and Gas Pipelines Energy
2 wins
MUR Murphy Oil Corp
$44.23 +21.7% 1M +52.9% 1Y
Market cap
$6.34B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.00B
Div. yield
3.11%
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Energy
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Canadian Natural Resources leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Canadian Natural Resources 8, Murphy Oil 2, South Bow 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCNQSOBOMURLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $114.69B $7.43B $6.34B CNQ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.3x 16.1x 21.6x CNQ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.5x 19.0x 11.3x MUR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% -2.1% +7.3% MUR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 24.0% 23.0% 9.8% CNQ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.2% 5.8% SOBO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 4.4x 0.7x CNQ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 5.64% 5.61% 3.11% CNQ
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +76.2% +36.5% +52.9% CNQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.0%/yr — +10.2%/yr CNQ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.0% 22.8% 46.5% SOBO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 58/100 49/100 CNQ

Percentile Scorecard

CNQSOBOMUR

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCNQSOBOMUR
Valuation 77 #24 of 99 65 #13 of 35 71 #29 of 99
Growth 81 #19 of 97 55 #16 of 34 24 #74 of 97
Profitability 84 #16 of 96 67 #12 of 34 58 #41 of 96
Financial Health 94 #7 of 102 50 #18 of 35 55 #47 of 102
Shareholder Returns 44 #43 of 76 53 #15 of 31 37 #48 of 76
Overall 76 58 49
  • CNQ ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • SOBO ranked among 35 companies in Oil and Gas Midstream
  • MUR ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCNQSOBOMURSPY
1 month +16.2%+5.0%+21.7% -0.8%
3 months +23.0%-4.5%+17.9% +3.5%
6 months +22.4%+11.1%+12.4% +7.0%
Year to date +62.8%+29.9%+41.5% +12.2%
1 year +76.2%+36.5%+52.9% +13.0%
3 years +73.7%—-2.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +20.2%—-0.8% +23.1%
5 years +170.0%—+62.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +22.0%—+10.2% +11.0%
10 years +245.5%—+48.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.2%—+4.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCNQSOBOMURSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.0%22.8%46.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.6%22.2%48.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.50-0.20-0.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.461.601.14 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.9%-20.2%-61.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-7.8%-0.3% -1.8%
52-week high $55.10$38.69$44.35 $779.14
52-week low $30.59$25.26$26.57 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCNQSOBOMUR
P/E now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 13.5x 16.1xmedian 21.0x 21.6xmedian 13.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.1x 3.7xmedian 2.7x 2.1xmedian 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 5.9x 10.9xmedian 11.0x 4.6xmedian 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 11.0x 11.6xmedian 16.6x 20.7xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.5x 2.8xmedian 2.6x 1.2xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.27median 2.27 —median 1.92 -0.67median 2.27

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCNQSOBOMUR
Revenue $33.47B $2.00B $3.00B
Gross profit $26.58B $1.72B –
Operating income $24.77B – $558.07M
Net income $8.48B $460.00M $346.53M
Free cash flow $18.68B $640.00M $306.28M
R&D – – $208.92M
EPS (diluted) $3.83 $2.20 $2.01
Cash & equivalents $1.84B $726.00M $483.88M
Total debt $49.14B $5.73B $6.00B
Shares (diluted) 2.10B 208.80M 146.15M
Enterprise value $111.70B $5.05B $4.82B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCNQSOBOMUR
P/E 14.3x 16.1x 21.6x
P/FCF 6.1x 11.6x 20.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.9x 8.9x 4.0x
P/S 3.4x 3.7x 2.1x
P/B – 2.8x 1.2x
P/Tangible book – 2.8x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 3.9x 10.9x 4.6x
EV/EBIT 5.0x 14.0x 13.3x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 6.2x 2.5x
EV/FCF 6.7x 19.4x 24.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.7x 14.8x 4.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.27 – -0.67

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCNQSOBOMUR
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% -2.1% 7.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.3% – -7.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% 1.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -3.2% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -26.5% – 11.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -15.2% – -28.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 42.1% 53.3% 1.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.2% – -32.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 408,311% 134.7% 1.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 53.8% – -32.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 30.3% 30.1% 3.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% – -7.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 33.0% 14.9% -32.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.6% – -26.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCNQSOBOMUR
Gross margin 79.4% 85.8% –
EBITDA margin 94.6% 56.9% 53.4%
Operating margin 74.0% – 18.6%
Pretax margin 32.2% 27.8% 16.2%
Net margin 24.0% 23.0% 9.8%
FCF margin 55.8% 32.0% 10.2%
Operating cash flow margin 38.5% 41.9% 52.3%
Return on equity – 17.3% 6.5%
Return on assets – 4.1% 3.4%
Return on invested capital – 9.2% 5.8%
Return on capital employed – 9.1% 6.2%
Asset turnover – 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.8x 4.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% – 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCNQSOBOMUR
Debt / assets – 50.4% 15.1%
Debt / equity – 2.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 4.4x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 9.0x 5.1x
Liabilities / assets – 76.6% 47.4%
Equity / assets – 23.4% 52.6%
Interest coverage 38.3x 2.7x 5.5x
Current ratio – 1.5x 0.9x
Quick ratio – 1.2x 0.9x
Cash ratio – 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 1.03 2.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCNQSOBOMUR
Dividend yield 5.6% 5.6% 3.1%
Net buyback yield -0.3% -0.1% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 5.4% 5.5% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 42.5% – 55.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 19.3% – 63.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) -8.3% – 6.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -111.0% – 5.7%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCNQSOBOMUR
Forward P/E 11.5xFY2026 19.0xFY2026 11.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.79FY2026 $1.88FY2026 $3.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +84.9%FY2026 -4.6%FY2026 +184.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -15.9% +4.8% -7.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.12BFY2026 $2.07BFY2026 $3.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +34.8%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026 +24.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.5% +3.7% -9.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCNQSOBOMUR
Held by institutions 71.6% 62.0% 88.2%
Institutions holding 745 305 434
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.0% -2.3% -0.6%
Institutions buying 386 126 212
Institutions selling 242 92 139
Buyers to sellers 1.60 1.37 1.53

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CNQSOBOMUR
CNQ 1.00 0.50 0.67
SOBO 0.50 1.00 0.41
MUR 0.67 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CNQ, SOBO and MUR?

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) $114.69B, South Bow (SOBO) $7.43B, Murphy Oil (MUR) $6.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, CNQ, SOBO and MUR?

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 14.3x, South Bow (SOBO) 16.1x, Murphy Oil (MUR) 21.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Murphy Oil (MUR) is cheapest (Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 11.5x, South Bow (SOBO) 19.0x, Murphy Oil (MUR) 11.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Murphy Oil (MUR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) +6.7%, South Bow (SOBO) -2.1%, Murphy Oil (MUR) +7.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) has the highest net margin (Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 24.0%, South Bow (SOBO) 23.0%, Murphy Oil (MUR) 9.8%). On return on invested capital, South Bow (SOBO) leads (South Bow (SOBO) 9.2%, Murphy Oil (MUR) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) returned the most: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) +76.2%, South Bow (SOBO) +36.5%, Murphy Oil (MUR) +52.9%. Over five years, Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) compounded fastest (Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) +22.0%/yr, Murphy Oil (MUR) +10.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) has the highest dividend yield: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 5.64%, South Bow (SOBO) 5.61%, Murphy Oil (MUR) 3.11%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, South Bow (SOBO) has been the steadiest (Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) 31.0%, South Bow (SOBO) 22.8%, Murphy Oil (MUR) 46.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CNQ, SOBO and MUR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.