Which Is a Better Investment, APA Corporation or Phillips 66 Stock?

By Tudor Pop
February 13, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
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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 Phillips 66 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 Phillips 66 compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About APA Corporation and Phillips 66

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.

Phillips 66 operates as an integrated downstream energy provider in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, Marketing and Specialties (M&S), and Renewable Fuels. The Midstream segment provides crude oil and refined petroleum product transportation, terminaling, and processing services, as well as natural gas and natural gas liquids transportation, storage, fractionation, gathering, processing and marketing services. It also exports liquefied petroleum gas. The Chemicals segment produces and markets ethylene and other olefin products; aromatics and styrenics products, such as benzene, cyclohexane, styrene, and polystyrene; and various specialty chemical products, including organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalysts, and chemicals used in drilling and mining. The Refining segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. The M&S segment purchases for resale and markets refined products, including gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. This segment also manufactures and markets specialty products, such as automotive, commercial, industrial, and specialty lubricants, as well as base oils. The Renewable Fuels segment processes renewable feedstocks into renewable products, as well as supplies sustainable aviation fuel. This segment also procures renewable feedstocks, manages certain regulatory credits, and markets renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel, and other renewable fuels. The company markets its products under the Phillips 66, Conoco and 76, JET, Kendall, Red Line, and other private label brands. Phillips 66 was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and APA Corporation, Phillips 66 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 NA in 2026, NA 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.

Currently, Phillips 66’s price-earnings ratio is 42.7. Phillips 66’s trailing 12-month revenue is $132.0 billion with a 3.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -2.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.632 per share for the current fiscal year. Phillips 66 currently has a 3.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare APA Corporation and Phillips 66 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 Phillips 66’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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APA Corporation and Phillips 66 Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
APA Corporation APA A
Phillips 66 PSX C

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

APA Corporation has a Value Score of 96, which is Deep Value. Phillips 66 has a Value Score of 59, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: APA Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, APA Corporation is considered to have better value than Phillips 66. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, 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 Phillips 66’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
APA Corporation APA A
Phillips 66 PSX C

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. Phillips 66 has a Quality Score of 57, which is Average.

The Quality Grade Winner: APA Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, APA Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Phillips 66. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, APA Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. 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 Phillips 66’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
APA Corporation APA B
Phillips 66 PSX B

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

APA Corporation has a Momentum Score of 62, which is Strong. Phillips 66 has a Momentum Score of 63, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both APA Corporation and Phillips 66 have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

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Other APA Corporation and Phillips 66 Grades

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

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

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 Phillips 66 pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, APA Corporation or Phillips 66 Stock?

Overall, APA Corporation stock has a Value Score of 96, Momentum Score of 62 and Quality Score of 96.

Phillips 66 stock has a Value Score of 59, Momentum Score of 63 and Quality Score of 57.

Comparing APA Corporation and Phillips 66’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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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