The business behind the dividend
| Measure | CKX | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 7.3% | 11.7% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $1.06m | $632.00m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $186.12k | $746.10m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | — | — | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | 93.3% | 10.2% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | — | — | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | — | — | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 25.97x | 1.25x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 0.22x | 1.78x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
Not computed here: Debt to equity, Long-term debt to working capital, Interest cover, Return on capital employed — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 14.0% | 1.3% | 0.8% | -7.6% | 4.9% | 2.1% | 1.6% | 7.3% | 3.7% | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| Operating margin | — | 7.7% | 8.2% | -166.7% | — | 56.4% | 23.6% | — | 47.3% | 21.7% | 21.7% |
| Net margin | — | 16.4% | 9.6% | -119.2% | — | 50.5% | 30.8% | 93.3% | 45.7% | 19.8% | 30.8% |
| Current ratio | 24.73x | 36.26x | 18.95x | 31.10x | 30.62x | 20.67x | 29.11x | 25.97x | 20.31x | 34.25x | 25.97x |
| Cash conversion | 0.15x | 0.82x | 6.13x | — | -0.32x | 0.41x | 0.78x | 0.22x | 0.77x | 1.65x | 0.77x |
How it compares in energy
Among the 31 energy companies here measured on free cash flow, CKX Lands pays out less than 1 of them. The median for that group is 35.7%, against this company’s 125.2%.
Closest on free cash flow
- Chevron (CVX) 76.9%
- Murphy Oil (MUR) 82.0%
- Helmerich & Payne (HP) 86.4%
- Core Natural Resources (CNR) 124.1%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 40 in energy →