Is Antero Resources (AR) Among the Best Large Cap Energy Stocks?

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) is an independent natural gas and liquids company operating in the Appalachian Basin. The company is the most integrated natural gas and NGL business in the US and one of the largest suppliers to the country’s LNG market.

A technician making adjustments to a natural gas pipeline entering a processing facility.

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) had a tough start to the year, falling below both earnings and revenue forecasts in the first quarter of 2025. The company reported adjusted EPS of $0.78 against estimates of $0.88, while its revenue of $1.35 billion also fell below expectations by $44.45 million, despite growing by over 20% YoY.

However, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) generated free cash flow of $337 million in Q1, benefiting from strong natural gas and NGL premiums relative to their benchmarks. The company used this cash to accelerate its share repurchase program, repurchasing $92 million of stock or nearly 1% of its shares YTD through April 30, 2025. AR has approximately $1 billion of capacity remaining on its current share repurchase program. Moreover, the energy firm used its liquidity to reduce its net debt by $204 million.

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) made significant progress in improving its drilling and capital efficiencies during the first quarter, with CEO Paul Rady highlighting in the company’s earnings call:

“We increased our completed feet per day to an average of 2,452 feet. This represents an increase of 15% from the 2,140 feet per day average in 2023. During the first quarter, we averaged 12.3 completion stages per day. This continues the upward trend when comparing to our performance the past two years. Notably, we set a new company record in the first quarter, achieving 18 completion stages per day on 1 pad in March.”

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Disclosure: None.