CRGY vs MTDR: 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.

Reading it: CRGY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

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. CRGY and MTDR 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 CRGY and MTDR 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.

Crescent Energy Company is a Houston-based independent exploration and production (E&P) business that describes itself as a disciplined consolidator: it buys long-life oil and gas assets, integrates them, and returns capital to shareholders through a fixed dividend and buybacks. Its portfolio is concentrated in key US basins including the Eagle Ford, Permian, and Uinta, and it blends stable cash-flow-generating production with development inventory and a mineral and royalty component. In December 2025 it closed the acquisition of Vital Energy, a deal that materially scaled the company and positioned it as one of the larger liquids-weighted US independents.

Full CRGY guide

Matador Resources drills, completes and produces oil and natural gas from the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware Basin, the western lobe of the Permian, with roughly 483 employees and a founder, Joseph Foran, who has run the company since 2003. Production averaged ~215,631 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2026, ~58% of it crude oil, and proved reserves reached ~703 million BOE at June 30, 2026 against ~667 million at the end of 2025. Alongside the wells, Matador owns 51% of San Mateo, a gathering and processing joint venture with Five Point Infrastructure that moves natural gas, crude and produced water for Matador and for third-party customers. San Mateo's acquisition of Cardinal Midstream, which closed on July 31, 2026, pushed its designed processing capacity above one billion cubic feet per day.

Full MTDR guide

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

• CRGY drivers: Growth by acquisition and integration; Free cash flow and capital returns.
• MTDR drivers: Four inventory transactions closed or pending in one year; Higher-quality rock and better lease economics.

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: Crescent carries a debt balance above $5 billion and net leverage near 1.5x, which amplifies the effect of commodity swings on equity value. For MTDR, commodity price is the dominant variable: second-quarter earnings leaned on ~$98 per barrel realised oil, and a return toward the $64 realised in the same quarter of 2025 would compress cash flow sharply against a raised capital budget.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CRGY if you believe its drivers more; MTDR 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 CRGY and MTDR guides.

CRGY. CRGY trades at a low market cap relative to revenue and enterprise value, which is common for leveraged E&P names because debt sits ahead of shareholders. Trailing GAAP earnings have been negative due to large hedging (derivative) losses, so headline P/E is not meaningful, while a forward multiple on adjusted earnings is far lower, around the mid-single digits by some estimates. The stock traded near $9 to $10 in early July 2026, within a 52-week range of roughly $7.68 to $14.29.

MTDR. The single-digit trailing multiple and ~1.1x price-to-book are typical of US shale producers, which the market prices on reserve life and commodity assumptions rather than on reported earnings. Netting ~$26 million of cash against ~$4.2 billion of long-term debt gives an enterprise value near $11 billion, roughly four times trailing operating cash flow of ~$2.6 billion. Reported figures also swing with mark-to-market derivative results, which is why the first quarter of 2026 showed a small GAAP net loss while adjusted net income stayed positive at ~$189.5 million.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): CRGY shows revenue (ttm) ~$4B, q1 2026 revenue ~$1.18B (+24% YoY), q1 2026 production ~341 MBoe/d (record), total debt ~$5.2B (net leverage ~1.5x); MTDR shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.8B, net income (ttm) ~$724M, diluted eps (ttm) ~$5.83, market cap ~$6.9B.

CRGY and MTDR 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 CRGY and MTDR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.