For the quarter ended December 2024, SM Energy (SM) reported revenue of $852.22 million, up 40% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.91, compared to $1.56 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.34% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $855.13 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.86, the EPS surprise was +2.69%.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how SM Energy performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Average daily production - Total: 208 millions of barrels of oil equivalent versus 211.97 millions of barrels of oil equivalent estimated by five analysts on average.
• Average daily production - Natural gas: 424.8 millions of cubic feet versus 423.21 millions of cubic feet estimated by four analysts on average.
• Average daily production - Crude oil: 106.9 millions of barrels of oil compared to the 110.16 millions of barrels of oil average estimate based on four analysts.
• Average daily production - NGLs: 30.3 millions of barrels of oil compared to the 31.93 millions of barrels of oil average estimate based on four analysts.
• Average realized price - Crude oil - Including hedging per bbl: $70.54 versus $68.23 estimated by three analysts on average.
• Average realized price - Natural gas - Including hedging per mcf: $2.50 compared to the $2.49 average estimate based on three analysts.
• Production - NGLs: 2.8 MBBL compared to the 2.99 MBBL average estimate based on two analysts.
• Operating revenue- Oil, gas, and NGL production revenue- Crude oil: $682.21 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $721.43 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +45.1%.
• Operating revenue- Oil, gas, and NGL production revenue- Natural gas: $85.49 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $85.11 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +3.5%.
• Operating revenue- Oil, gas, and NGL production revenue- NGL: $68.16 million versus $61.85 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +26.4% change.
• Operating revenue- Oil, gas, and NGL production revenue: $835.86 million versus $868.38 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +37.7% change.
• Operating revenue- Other operating income: $16.36 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1.62 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +775.5%.

View all Key Company Metrics for SM Energy here>>>

Shares of SM Energy have returned -14.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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