Houston, Texas-based APA Corporation (APA) is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. With a market cap of $5.7 billion, APA’s operations span the United States, Egypt, and the North Sea.

The energy major is gearing up to announce its first-quarter results after the markets close on Wednesday, May 7. Ahead of the event, analysts expect APA to report an adjusted EPS of $0.81, up 3.9% from $0.78 reported in the year-ago quarter. While the company has surpassed Street’s bottom-line estimates once over the past four quarters, it has missed the projections on three other occasions.

For the full fiscal 2025, APA is expected to deliver earnings of $3.07 per share, marking a massive 18.6% decline from $3.77 per share reported in fiscal 2024. While in fiscal 2026, its earnings are expected to further decline 11.1% year-over-year to $2.73 per share.

APA stock prices have tanked 49.3% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.2% gains and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLE) 14.2% decline during the same time frame.

APA stock prices dropped 7.2% in the trading session after the release of its disappointing Q4 results on Feb. 26. The company’s topline for the quarter increased 32.2% year-over-year to $2.5 billion, which surpassed the Street’s expectations by almost 10%. However, due to abysmal expense management, the company’s adjusted net income dropped 17.6% year-over-year to $290 million, and its adjusted EPS of $0.79 missed the consensus estimates by 18.6%, making investors jittery.

Analysts remain cautious about APA’s prospects. The consensus view on the stock remains neutral with a “Hold” rating overall. Of the 26 analysts covering the APA stock, opinions include six “Strong Buys,” one “Moderate Buy,” 15 “Holds,” one “Moderate Sell,” and three “Strong Sell.” As of writing, the stock is trading notably below its mean price target of $23.42.