CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LIMITED vs PEMBINA PIPELINE CORPORATION, two Oil & Gas stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
What is priced in: Pembina at 24 times earnings is priced as a midstream toll operator with contracted pipeline cash flows, Canadian Natural at 10.4 as an oil producer exposed to the commodity. Pembina earns 10.1% on equity against Canadian Natural's 24.4%, the toll model's stability against the producer's leverage to price. Pembina nets 21.8% of revenue on pipeline economics; Canadian Natural 27.9% on production. Both run debt-free on this page. Pembina yields 8.85% in free cash, Canadian Natural 13.5%. The pair prices a pipeline against a producer, both Canadian, both cash-generative; Pembina's contracted throughput commands the premium multiple for stability, Canadian Natural's barrels the higher return for taking commodity risk.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CNQ | PBA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.49 | $47.20 |
| Market cap | $82.6B | $27.4B |
| Sector | Oil & Gas | Oil & Gas |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | -2.7% |
| P/E | 10.4 | 24.0 |
| P/B | 2.53 | 2.22 |
| P/S | 2.90 | 4.80 |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.9 | 13.2 |
| Revenue growth | +8.4% | +2.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 41.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 36.1% |
| Net margin | 27.9% | 21.8% |
| Return on equity | 24.4% | 10.1% |
| Return on assets | 11.8% | 4.8% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 12.9% |
| FCF yield | 13.4% | 8.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 0.95 | 0.61 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.34 | 1.64 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.