EROK vs TPL: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 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: TPL 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. EROK and TPL 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 EROK and TPL 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.

EagleRock Land does not drill. It owns the ground other companies drill on: roughly ~236,000 surface acres across the Delaware and Midland sub-basins, plus about ~70,000 acres tied to water infrastructure assets. Operators pay it for surface use, easements and rights of way, for road and pipeline construction on its land, for caliche and topsoil used to build pads and lease roads, and for water on both ends of the well cycle (fresh and brackish supply going in, produced water gathered, recycled or disposed going out). It also holds oil and gas royalty interests under some of that acreage. The customer list reads like a roll call of the basin: Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Devon, Diamondback, EOG Resources, Matador, Permian Resources and Double Eagle. The company was formed in 2023 and backed by EnCap Investments and TCW Group before listing.

Full EROK guide

Texas Pacific Land Corporation owns roughly 880,000 surface acres across West Texas, most of it sitting on the Permian Basin, along with oil and gas royalty interests under about 195,000 net royalty acres. It drills nothing and operates no wells. Large operators including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon do the drilling on its land, and TPL collects a royalty on the production plus fees for pipeline easements, surface leases, road use, and materials. A second segment, Texas Pacific Water Resources, sells brackish source water for completions and earns royalties on produced water disposed of on TPL acreage. In the second quarter of 2026, oil and gas royalties brought in ~$145.6 million, water sales ~$39.7 million, produced water royalties ~$37.1 million, and easements and other surface income ~$23.7 million.

Full TPL guide

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

• EROK drivers: Acreage operators cannot route around; Water on both ends of the well.
• TPL drivers: Royalty volumes on other people's capital; Water: source, produced water royalties, and desalination.

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: The valuation is the first-order risk: roughly ~41 times trailing revenue on a ~$3.0B market capitalisation leaves very little room for a slower Permian year, and the trailing GAAP result is a loss of about ~$69M rather than a profit. For TPL, the valuation is the dominant risk: at roughly 26 times sales and around 45 times trailing earnings, TPL is priced far above producers and mineral peers, so a slowdown in Permian activity gets amplified in the stock rather than cushioned.

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 EROK if you believe its drivers more; TPL 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 EROK and TPL guides.

EROK. The two headline numbers point in opposite directions: the pro forma quarter shows an ~87% Adjusted EBITDA margin, while the trailing GAAP line is a loss, because pre-IPO structure, the April 2025 Accelerated Water Resources acquisition and equity compensation sit inside the reported figures. Revenue also grew from ~$17.7M in 2024 to ~$72.2M in 2025, so trailing multiples flatter or punish the stock depending on which twelve months are used. The August 10, 2026 Q2 report is the first clean public quarter, and the six analysts covering it carry an average twelve-month target of about ~$25.83.

TPL. TPL trades at roughly 26 times trailing sales and around 45 times trailing earnings, well above its own five-year median and far above any Permian producer. The defense of that multiple is the margin structure and the balance sheet: ~88% adjusted EBITDA margins, ~60% net margins, essentially no debt, and free cash flow that arrives without TPL spending on drilling. The offense against it is that royalty revenue still swings with commodity prices, so the multiple has to survive a soft oil year to be considered durable.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): EROK shows revenue (ttm) ~$88M, up ~308% year over year, net income (ttm) ~-$69M (2025 net loss ~$73.1M on revenue of ~$72.2M), q1 2026 pro forma revenue ~$32.8M, Adjusted EBITDA ~$28.6M (~87% margin), net income ~$14.7M, market cap ~$3.0B, about ~41x trailing revenue; TPL shows revenue (ttm) ~$897M, q2 2026 revenue ~$246M (+31% YoY), q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$216M (~88% margin), q2 2026 net income ~$154M (~$2.23 diluted EPS).

EROK and TPL 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 EROK and TPL exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.