Sifting through countless of stocks in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in APA Corporation or Imperial Oil Limited because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally. APA Corporation was incorporated in 1954 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. It operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. Its Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil; blends refined products; and distributes and markets refined products. This segment also transports crude oil production and third-party crude oil to refineries by contracted and common carrier pipelines; owns and operates refineries; maintains a distribution system to move petroleum products to market by pipeline, tanker, rail, and road transport; owns and operates fuel terminals, natural gas liquids, and products pipelines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario; markets petroleum products under the Esso and Mobil brands; and sells petroleum products, including fuel, asphalt, and lubricants to industrial and transportation customers, independent marketers, resellers, and other refiners, as well as the agriculture, residential heating, and commercial markets through branded fuel and lubricant resellers. The Chemical segment manufactures and markets aliphatic solvents, plasticizer intermediates, and polyethylene resins; and markets refinery grade propylene. It also provides petrochemicals. The company was incorporated in 1880 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Imperial Oil Limited operates as a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and APA Corporation, Imperial Oil Limited Stock News

As of February 12, 2026, APA Corporation had a $9.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels median of $2.1 million. APA Corporation’s stock is up 10.1% in 2026, up 1.7% in the previous five trading days and up 15.49% in the past year.

Currently, APA Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 6.5. APA Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $9.4 billion with a 16.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -16.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.504 per share for the current fiscal year. APA Corporation currently has a 3.7% dividend yield.

As of February 12, 2026, Imperial Oil Limited had a $56.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 94th percentile of all stocks. Imperial Oil Limited’s stock is up 34.8% in 2026, up 7.4% in the previous five trading days and up 63.71% in the past year.

Currently, Imperial Oil Limited’s price-earnings ratio is 20.7. Imperial Oil Limited’s trailing 12-month revenue is $34.7 billion with a 6.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -12.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.947 per share for the current fiscal year. Imperial Oil Limited currently has a 3.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
APA Corporation	APA	A
Imperial Oil Limited	IMO	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

APA Corporation has a Growth Score of 81, which is Very Strong. Imperial Oil Limited has a Growth Score of 64, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: APA Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, APA Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Imperial Oil Limited. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, APA Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
APA Corporation	APA	A
Imperial Oil Limited	IMO	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

APA Corporation has a Quality Score of 96, which is Very Strong. Imperial Oil Limited has a Quality Score of 92, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
APA Corporation	APA	D
Imperial Oil Limited	IMO	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

APA Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 39, which is Negative. Imperial Oil Limited has a Earnings Estimate Score of 28, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither APA Corporation or Imperial Oil Limited has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if APA Corporation or Imperial Oil Limited is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, APA Corporation or Imperial Oil Limited Stock?

Overall, APA Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 81, Estimate Revisions Score of 39 and Quality Score of 96.

Imperial Oil Limited stock has a Growth Score of 64, Estimate Revisions Score of 28 and Quality Score of 92.

Comparing APA Corporation and Imperial Oil Limited’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.