APA vs DVN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. APA and DVN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined APA and DVN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

APA Corporation is the Houston-based parent of Apache, an independent exploration and production company. Its asset base spans the Permian Basin in West Texas (its core cash generator, expanded through the 2024 Callon Petroleum acquisition across the Delaware and Midland basins), high-margin production sharing contracts in Egypt operated with partners including the Egyptian government and Sinopec, a 50% interest in the deepwater Block 58 in Suriname developed alongside operator TotalEnergies, and legacy North Sea assets it is winding down. As of year-end 2025 the company reported roughly 1,056 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves, about 74% of which sat in the United States.

Full APA guide

Devon Energy is a large US independent exploration and production company that finds and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio is anchored in the Delaware Basin (part of the Permian) and includes positions in the Anadarko Basin, Eagle Ford, Williston, and other onshore US plays. As a producer that sells raw commodities into global markets, Devon is largely a price-taker: its revenue, margins, and shareholder payouts are driven mainly by oil and gas prices and by how efficiently it can drill and complete wells, rather than by any single product or brand.

Full DVN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• APA drivers: Permian cash engine and Callon integration; Egypt high-margin production.
• DVN drivers: Oil and gas prices drive the story; Coterra merger and Permian scale.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: APA's results are directly tied to oil and natural gas prices, so a downturn in commodity prices can sharply reduce revenue, cash flow, and the pace of shareholder returns. For DVN, the dominant risk is commodity price cyclicality: with revenue tied to oil and gas prices, a global slowdown, an OPEC+ supply shift, or weak natural gas prices can compress cash flow and shrink the variable dividend and buybacks quickly.

Pick APA if you believe its drivers more; DVN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the APA and DVN guides.

APA. APA trades at a low single-digit-to-high-single-digit earnings multiple typical of a cyclical E and P producer, reflecting both cheap-looking commodity earnings and the market's discount for price volatility. Q1 2026 beat estimates on revenue and adjusted EPS, helped by lower lease operating expenses and U.S. oil output above guidance, yet the stock still fell after the report. Figures are approximate and move with oil and gas prices.

DVN. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting, especially since the Coterra merger recently reshaped the combined company's scale. For a commodity producer, a low P/E can mislead because it may reflect high-price-cycle earnings that will not repeat if oil and gas prices fall. Free cash flow, breakeven cost per barrel, and the sustainability of the variable dividend are more useful lenses than a trailing earnings multiple.

Headline figures (approximate, Q1 2026): APA shows revenue (ttm) ~$9B, q1 2026 revenue ~$2.33B, q1 2026 adjusted eps ~$1.38, market cap ~$11-15B; DVN shows 2026 production guidance roughly 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (combined), including ~500,000 barrels of oil per day, 2026 capital spending ~$4.9 billion, with more than 60% directed to the Permian and roughly 31 rigs, shareholder returns framework targets returning up to ~70% of free cash flow via dividends and buybacks, coterra merger completed May 7, 2026; combined enterprise value reported around $58 billion.

APA and DVN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined APA and DVN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.