# Viper Energy Ut (VNOM.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/VNOM

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:32:54.593Z. Financial observations: FY2013–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $43.73 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $16.11 per share, central $22.98 per share, high $26.98 per share. Buy at or below the central value $22.98 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:32:54.593Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 6.8% at the stated quote. About 6.8% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 2 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 2

- Years with a net loss: 3

- Operating margin variation: 0.65×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -0.12×

- FY2017: 0.66×

- FY2018: 0.70×

- FY2019: 0.65×

- FY2020: 0.21×

- FY2021: 0.72×

- FY2022: 0.00×

- FY2023: 0.75×

- FY2024: 0.66×

- FY2025: 0.43×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 19.7pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 11.8%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 0.1%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 19.7 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 67.7%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 47.9%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 144.0%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 0.5%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -1.1%

- FY2017: 11.6%

- FY2018: 21.8%

- FY2019: 12.8%

- FY2020: 1.7%

- FY2021: 12.1%

- FY2022: 0.1%

- FY2023: 27.4%

- FY2024: 20.6%

- FY2025: 6.9%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 0.65×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $784M

- Net income, five-year total: $1.2B

- Return on incremental invested capital: 8.8%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 0.4 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 4.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 18.8%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: 1.00×

- FY2022: 1.09×

- FY2023: -0.52×

- FY2024: 0.51×

- FY2025: 1.00×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 11.6% vs 20.6%

- Per-share earnings: 0.31 to 2.70 (three-year endpoint medians)

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 6.0%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 16.1%

- Market cap gain: $4.2B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$1.9B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 6.0%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 16.1%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value growth: 31.3%

- Per-share value change: $2.39

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $0.31

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $2.70

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.71

- Average buyback yield: 3.4%

- Buyback history: 6 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $0

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $1.3B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 11.6%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 20.6%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -$0.13

- FY2017: $1.07

- FY2018: $2.01

- FY2019: $0.75

- FY2020: -$2.84

- FY2021: $0.85

- FY2022: $8.66

- FY2023: $2.70

- FY2024: $3.82

- FY2025: -$0.48

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -8.8%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.23×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -11.9%

- FY2017: -2.7%

- FY2018: -6.1%

- FY2019: -6.8%

- FY2020: -15.8%

- FY2021: -8.2%

- FY2022: -1.5%

- FY2023: -11.0%

- FY2024: -5.1%

- FY2025: -8.8%

## Holders

- [Howard Marks](https://gigainvestors.com/oc): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Price needs cash profits to grow 14.7% a year for ten years · sales +56.6%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:48.800Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to grow 14.7% a year for ten years

- 2025-08-21: Viper Energy Closes Sitio Deal, Raises Q3 Production Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/viper-energy-closes-sitio-deal-134000608.html))

- 2026-02-26: VNOM Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Production Volume ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vnom-q4-earnings-beat-estimates-162500004.html))

- 2026-04-20: VNOM’s $100 Oil Windfall Revives Dividend Safety After 2025 Price Collapse ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/vnom-100-oil-windfall-revives-131542927.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +56.6%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1602065/000160206525000010/vnom-20241231.htm; observed 2025-02-26.

- FY2016: $79M 

- FY2017: $172M 

- FY2018: $289M 

- FY2019: $298M 

- FY2020: $250M 

- FY2021: $504M 

- FY2022: $866M 

- FY2023: $827M 

- FY2024: $860M 

- FY2025: $1.3B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 47.9%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1602065/000160206525000010/vnom-20241231.htm; observed 2025-02-26.

- FY2016: 55.3% 

- FY2017: 70.3% 

- FY2018: 73.0% 

- FY2019: 67.4% 

- FY2020: 51.8% 

- FY2021: 73.1% 

- FY2023: 76.2% 

- FY2024: 68.0% 

- FY2025: 47.9% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in oil & gas midstream; annual sales are USD 1.3 billion.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2025: revenue 1346000000; grossProfit 645000000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 47.9% to 76.2% during 2023–25; it earns 11.8% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 76.2%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1602065/000160206525000010/vnom-20241231.htm (filed 2025-02-26); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 68%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 47.9%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,-0.011158764231589008],[2017,0.11576457138905077],[2018,0.21840038905733217],[2019,0.12788271316979183],[2020,0.017245437094592336],[2021,0.1208808274456532],[2022,0.000560280140070035],[2023,0.27426627621905936],[2024,0.2064782154121639],[2025,0.06908473040326235]]; median 0.11832269941735199. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years; bought back USD 194 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2017: growth capex 303560000; upkeep 40519000; owner earnings 111478000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 2.7230484938732307.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2018: growth capex 555988000; upkeep 58830000; owner earnings 143958000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 3.862154239430945.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2021: growth capex 178189000; upkeep 102987000; owner earnings 57939000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 3.0754586720516404.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 62931000; owner earnings 713560000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1602065/000160206525000010/vnom-20241231.htm (filed 2025-02-26); FY2024: growth capex 188235590.318797; upkeep 508006409.681203; owner earnings 184274350.569831. Growth capex / owner earnings = 1.021496424959397.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); Dividend observations: [[2016,64824000],[2017,130876000],[2018,253483000],[2019,240366000],[2020,107956000],[2021,176627000],[2022,416938000],[2023,324753000],[2024,473681000],[2025,328000000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); FY2025: cash repurchases 194000000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 0.2% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); VNOM.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 0.22300000000000003 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits grow 14.7% yearly over ten years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2025-02-26); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate 0.1995495549056553. Price 43.73; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2015 owner earnings/share 0.20003261128601352 → FY2025 -0.4770925419209991. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $14.68 per share

- 2016-11: $15.70 per share

- 2016-12: $16.00 per share

- 2017-01: $16.49 per share

- 2017-02: $17.80 per share

- 2017-03: $17.98 per share

- 2017-04: $16.95 per share

- 2017-05: $17.02 per share

- 2017-06: $15.70 per share

- 2017-07: $17.00 per share

- 2017-08: $16.90 per share

- 2017-09: $18.64 per share

- 2017-10: $19.60 per share

- 2017-11: $20.98 per share

- 2017-12: $23.33 per share

- 2018-01: $24.19 per share

- 2018-02: $22.62 per share

- 2018-03: $25.41 per share

- 2018-04: $28.80 per share

- 2018-05: $32.58 per share

- 2018-06: $31.91 per share

- 2018-07: $31.98 per share

- 2018-08: $38.91 per share

- 2018-09: $42.10 per share

- 2018-10: $35.96 per share

- 2018-11: $30.03 per share

- 2018-12: $26.04 per share

- 2019-01: $31.71 per share

- 2019-02: $32.91 per share

- 2019-03: $33.16 per share

- 2019-04: $33.62 per share

- 2019-05: $28.00 per share

- 2019-06: $30.82 per share

- 2019-07: $32.26 per share

- 2019-08: $28.97 per share

- 2019-09: $27.67 per share

- 2019-10: $24.07 per share

- 2019-11: $23.72 per share

- 2019-12: $24.66 per share

- 2020-01: $21.81 per share

- 2020-02: $17.83 per share

- 2020-03: $6.63 per share

- 2020-04: $9.28 per share

- 2020-05: $10.49 per share

- 2020-06: $10.36 per share

- 2020-07: $10.34 per share

- 2020-08: $10.18 per share

- 2020-09: $7.52 per share

- 2020-10: $7.01 per share

- 2020-11: $11.20 per share

- 2020-12: $11.62 per share

- 2021-01: $13.74 per share

- 2021-02: $15.68 per share

- 2021-03: $14.56 per share

- 2021-04: $18.01 per share

- 2021-05: $18.03 per share

- 2021-06: $18.83 per share

- 2021-07: $18.01 per share

- 2021-08: $18.52 per share

- 2021-09: $21.85 per share

- 2021-10: $22.05 per share

- 2021-11: $21.56 per share

- 2021-12: $21.31 per share

- 2022-01: $27.04 per share

- 2022-02: $29.41 per share

- 2022-03: $29.57 per share

- 2022-04: $28.73 per share

- 2022-05: $33.56 per share

- 2022-06: $26.68 per share

- 2022-07: $30.74 per share

- 2022-08: $30.52 per share

- 2022-09: $28.66 per share

- 2022-10: $33.35 per share

- 2022-11: $33.03 per share

- 2022-12: $31.79 per share

- 2023-01: $31.75 per share

- 2023-02: $28.63 per share

- 2023-03: $28.00 per share

- 2023-04: $29.44 per share

- 2023-05: $25.78 per share

- 2023-06: $26.83 per share

- 2023-07: $27.12 per share

- 2023-08: $27.82 per share

- 2023-09: $27.88 per share

- 2023-10: $28.48 per share

- 2023-11: $30.82 per share

- 2023-12: $31.38 per share

- 2024-01: $31.22 per share

- 2024-02: $36.14 per share

- 2024-03: $38.46 per share

- 2024-04: $38.16 per share

- 2024-05: $38.46 per share

- 2024-06: $37.53 per share

- 2024-07: $42.67 per share

- 2024-08: $47.60 per share

- 2024-09: $45.11 per share

- 2024-10: $51.90 per share

- 2024-11: $54.11 per share

- 2024-12: $49.07 per share

- 2025-01: $46.90 per share

- 2025-02: $46.57 per share

- 2025-03: $45.15 per share

- 2025-04: $40.33 per share

- 2025-05: $39.69 per share

- 2025-06: $38.13 per share

- 2025-07: $37.66 per share

- 2025-08: $39.85 per share

- 2025-09: $38.22 per share

- 2025-10: $37.56 per share

- 2025-11: $36.53 per share

- 2025-12: $38.63 per share

- 2026-01: $42.34 per share

- 2026-02: $46.54 per share

- 2026-03: $46.99 per share

- 2026-04: $49.38 per share

- 2026-05: $45.50 per share

- 2026-06: $42.40 per share

- 2026-07: $44.61 per share

- 2026-08: $44.79 per share

- 2026-09: $39.89 per share

- 2026-10: $43.73 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2017: low $5.13 per share, central $5.81 per share, high $6.72 per share

- FY2018: low $12.94 per share, central $14.71 per share, high $17.06 per share

- FY2019: low $11.23 per share, central $12.78 per share, high $14.84 per share

- FY2021: low $9.69 per share, central $10.97 per share, high $12.67 per share

- FY2022: low $14.37 per share, central $16.35 per share, high $18.99 per share

- FY2024: low $14.36 per share, central $20.48 per share, high $24.05 per share

- FY2025: low $14.75 per share, central $21.07 per share, high $24.75 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1602065/000160206525000010/vnom-20241231.htm); period 2024-12-31, filed 2025-02-26.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.