CNR

Core Natural Resources stock has delivered very strong returns over the past five years, yet the broader valuation checks suggest the current share price leans expensive rather than clearly cheap. The stock trades on the richer side of market multiples, which sits awkwardly next to a low value score and a recent sharp move. Over 5 years the stock has returned about 349.4%, which places a lot of recent optimism into the current valuation. Expectations that Core Natural Resources can continue to convert its resource base into reliable cash flow may support the current price. Any pressure on project execution or funding needs could weigh heavily on what investors are willing to pay. The broader checks give Core Natural Resources a low value score, with only 2 of 6 indicators screening as attractive. This points to a stock that is not a clear bargain on this framework. The issue now is whether Core Natural Resources offers enough fundamental support to justify a share price that already reflects such a strong five year return profile. Spot potential alternatives to Core Natural Resources by scanning our hand picked 44 high quality undervalued stocks, which combine stronger value checks with solid fundamentals. The P/E multiple is a natural focus for Core Natural Resources because earnings are a key driver of how investors weigh oil and gas stocks. Core Natural Resources trades on a P/E of about 50.0x, which is well above the oil and gas industry average of 12.7x and also higher than the peer group average of 29.5x. The fair P/E ratio from this framework is 26.6x. That is roughly half of where the stock currently trades, which signals a rich earnings multiple even after adjusting for the company’s specific profile. On this view, investors are paying a premium price for each dollar of Core Natural Resources earnings compared with both the sector and closer peers. On the P/E measure, Core Natural Resources stock screens as overvalued relative to what this model suggests investors might usually pay for its earnings profile. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives for Core Natural Resources pick up from this valuation puzzle and explain what assumptions about Core Natural Resources' future growth, margins and earnings would need to hold for the stock to be worth materially more or materially less than today. Each narrative links a specific story about the company's potential catalysts and risks to an implied fair value. This helps you track over time which version of events seems closer to reality on the Community page. Community views on Core Natural Resources sit on very different paths, with one group focused on upside from coal demand and buybacks and the other on long term decarbonisation risk. Bull case: 13% undervalued Read the full Bull Case to see why Core Natural Resources could be undervalued Bear case: roughly fairly valued Read the full Bear Case to see why Core Natural Resources could be overvalued Do you think there's more to the story for Core Natural Resources? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! Core Natural Resources currently screens as overvalued on earnings multiples, especially against its industry and peer group. The broader checklist also looks weak, which suggests the valuation is leaning heavily on optimistic expectations rather than clear fundamental support. From here the key question is whether Core Natural Resources can deliver the cash flow and project execution that would make this premium P/E feel justified, or whether any stumble in those assumptions prompts a reset in what investors are willing to pay. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include CNR. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Core Natural Resources (CNR) could be a solid addition to your portfolio given a notable revision in the company's earnings estimates. While the stock has been gaining lately, the trend might continue since its earnings outlook is still improving. The upward trend in estimate revisions for this coal company reflects growing optimism of analysts on its earnings prospects, which should get reflected in its stock price. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. Our stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is principally built on this insight. The five-grade Zacks Rank system, which ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record of outperformance, with Zacks #1 Ranked stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 2008. For Core Natural Resources, strong agreement among the covering analysts in revising earnings estimates upward has resulted in meaningful improvement in consensus estimates for the next quarter and full year. The chart below shows the evolution of forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimate: For the current quarter, the company is expected to earn $0.83 per share, which is a change of +36.1% from the year-ago reported number. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Core Natural Resources has increased 38.33% because one estimate has moved higher compared to no negative revisions. For the full year, the earnings estimate of $4.92 per share represents a change of +265.1% from the year-ago number. In terms of estimate revisions, the trend for the current year also appears quite encouraging for Core Natural Resources. Over the past month, one estimate has moved higher compared to no negative revisions, helping the consensus estimate increase 20.82%. Thanks to promising estimate revisions, Core Natural Resources currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank is a tried-and-tested rating tool that helps investors effectively harness the power of earnings estimate revisions and make the right investment decision.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Our research shows that stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) significantly outperform the S&P 500. Investors have been betting on Core Natural Resources because of its solid estimate revisions, as evident from the stock's 8.4% gain over the past four weeks. As its earnings growth prospects might push the stock higher, you may consider adding it to your portfolio right away. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Core Natural Resources, Inc. (CNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Reports net income of $126 million and adjusted EBITDA1 of $324 millionGenerates net cash provided by operating activities of $250 million and free cash flow1 of $148 millionDrives significant per-ton cost and operating margin improvements in marquee high c.v. thermal and metallurgical segmentsSecures 16 million tons of advantageous new sales commitments for delivery in future periodsCompletes the settlement of its Leer South insurance claim for a full limit recovery netting $155 millionReturns $68 million to stockholders, bringing the total returned since February 2025 to $360 million CANONSBURG, Pa., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CNR) ("Core" or the "company") reported net income of $126.5 million, or $2.51 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2026. Additionally, Core reported adjusted EBITDA1 of $323.6 million in the quarter. During Q2, Core settled the Leer South insurance claim for the full limit recovery and recognized the remaining $125.4 million of proceeds. Second quarter revenues totaled $1.1 billion. "During Q2, the Core team made excellent progress in driving operational excellence across the combined mining platform while generating strong free cash flow and robust capital returns," said Jimmy Brock, Core's chairman and CEO. "With our marquee operating segments now shifting into high gear, we expect to showcase Core's full, cash-generating potential moving forward, thus powering a further acceleration of our already substantial capital return program." Operational and Marketing Update During the second quarter of 2026, Core's high calorific value thermal segment had coal sales of 8.4 million tons, representing a 9 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, and achieved realized coal revenue per ton sold1 of $58.11. The segment had cash cost of coal sold per ton1 of $38.58, representing a 9 percent quarter-over-quarter improvement. In Core's metallurgical segment during Q2, coking coal sales totaled 2.3 million tons, representing an 8 percent quarter-over-quarter improvement, and thermal byproduct sales totaled 0.3 million tons. The segment achieved realized coal revenue per ton sold1 for coking coal of $121.43, representing a slight decline versus Q1 2026. Realized coal revenue per ton sold1 for the metallurgical segment as a whole was $114.13. The metallurgical segment reported a cash cost of coal sold per ton1 of $85.65, representing a 7 percent improvement from the previous quarter. In the Powder River Basin segment, Q2 sales volumes totaled 10.2 million tons, reflecting seasonally depressed spring shipment levels. Realized coal revenue per ton sold1 was $14.28, which was generally in line with Q1 2026, and cash cost of coal sold per ton1 came in at $14.85, representing a 9 percent increase due to lower fixed cost absorption stemming from the lower shipment levels as well as increased fuel costs. Core expects a substantial improvement in the segment's sales volumes and unit costs in the year's back half. During Q2, the marketing team secured 16 million tons of new sales commitments across all segments for delivery in future periods, at prices expected to support advantageous margins. The following table presents operational results by reportable segment (in millions, except per ton information): Financial, Liquidity, and Capital Return Update Core's capital return framework targets the return to stockholders of around 75 percent of free cash flow1, with the significant majority of that return directed to share repurchases complemented by a sustaining quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. During Q2 2026, the company invested $63.0 million to repurchase 719,904 shares of its common stock at an average share price of $87.54. Core has now invested a total of $329.2 million to repurchase 4.3 million shares of common stock, or roughly 7.9 percent of total shares outstanding as of the program's launch, at an average share price of $77.04, and a total of $360.1 million, inclusive of dividend payments, in the capital return program overall. Since the inception of its capital return program in February 2025, Core has returned approximately 80 percent of its free cash flow1 to stockholders via its capital return program. As of June 30, 2026, Core had $670.8 million of remaining authorization under its existing $1.0 billion share repurchase program. In addition, the board declared a $0.10 per share quarterly dividend payable on September 18, 2026, to stockholders of record on August 31, 2026. "During Q2, Core continued to perform at world-class levels and once again demonstrated the value of its diversified, strategic, world-class mining portfolio by generating substantial levels of free cash flow and funding robust capital returns despite a relatively soft market environment," said Mitesh Thakkar, Core's president and chief financial officer. "Given Core's step-change in operational execution, strong cash balance, incremental cash proceeds from insurance settlements, projected drawdown of coal inventories, and an improving shipping outlook in the Powder River Basin, we believe the stage is set for even stronger capital returns — and an accelerated reduction in share count — in the year's second half." As part of the full limit recovery of its Leer South insurance claim, which netted a total of $154.5 million across all periods, Core collected $88.1 million of insurance proceeds in Q2 and the remaining $37.9 million in July. At June 30, 2026, Core had total liquidity of $1.0 billion, including $474.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Market Update While U.S. thermal coal demand was pressured by moderate temperatures, low natural gas prices, and inflated customer stockpiles during Q2, Core expects improving market dynamics in the year's second half and views the longer term outlook as promising. U.S. grid operators project substantial power demand growth through the remainder of the decade, spurred by reindustrialization and the AI-driven data center build-out. With the U.S. coal fleet operating at an average capacity factor of less than 50 percent – and with the Trump Administration moving aggressively to ensure the long-term viability of the U.S. coal fleet – Core expects U.S. thermal coal demand to climb. The outlook for seaborne industrial coal demand appears positive as well. India's cement demand is climbing at a significant pace, propelled by that country's infrastructure build-out, and the International Energy Agency expects global electricity demand to grow at 3.6 percent per year through the remainder of the decade. Seaborne metallurgical markets remain muted in the face of two years of contraction in global hot metal output, and coking coal price assessments on the U.S. East Coast continue to lag Australian price indices by a historically wide margin. Core expects U.S. East Coast prices to recover over time as global hot metal demand rebounds and as Asian buyers seek to take advantage of the wide price spread. Meanwhile, Core continues to make good progress in marketing its Leer brand coal as an advantageous and high value-in-use substitute for Australian premium low-vol coals. Core expects the ongoing, steel-dependent build-out of Southeast Asian economies – along with sustained investment in new blast furnace capacity across that region – to support a constructive, long-term market outlook for high-quality coking coals. Outlook "Looking ahead, we remain laser-focused on achieving world-class productivity and industry-leading cost performance across our entire mining portfolio while operating in tight alignment with our core values of safety and compliance, continuous improvement, and financial performance," Brock said. "Our goal is to drive strong and improving capital returns in the current soft market environment while laying the foundation for truly exceptional returns as coal markets rebound. We see compelling, long-term market opportunities ahead — including resurgent U.S. power demand, tightening global energy markets, and an ongoing infrastructure build-out in the developing world — and we are preparing Core to capitalize on all fronts." 1 - Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are non-GAAP financial measures and Realized Coal Revenue per Ton Sold and Cash Cost of Coal Sold per Ton are operating ratios derived from non-GAAP financial measures, each of which is reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures below, under the caption "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures." Cash Margin per Ton Sold is an operating ratio derived from non-GAAP financial measures and is defined as realized coal revenue per ton sold less cash cost of coal sold per ton. 2026 Guidance Availability of Additional Information Please refer to our website, www.corenaturalresources.com, for additional information regarding the company. In addition, we may provide other information about the company from time to time on our website. Investors seeking our detailed financial statements can refer to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q once it has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). About Core Natural Resources, Inc. Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CNR) is a world-class producer of high-quality metallurgical and high calorific value thermal coals for the global marketplace. Core's highly skilled workforce operates a best-in-sector portfolio of large-scale, low-cost longwall mines, including the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, Leer, Leer South, and West Elk mines, along with one of the world's largest and most productive surface mines, Black Thunder. The company plays an essential role in meeting the world's growing need for steel, infrastructure, and energy, while simultaneously serving the resurgent requirements of the U.S. power generation fleet. Core has an extensive and strategic logistical network – anchored by ownership positions in two East Coast marine export terminals – that provides reliable and efficient access to seaborne coal markets. The company's deeply ingrained culture is grounded in safety and compliance, continuous improvement, and financial performance, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement and stockholder returns. Core was created in January 2025 via the merger of long-time industry leaders CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources and is based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows The following table presents the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the three months ended June 30, 2026 (in thousands): Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures We define realized coal revenue as revenues reported in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) less transportation costs, transloading revenues and other revenues not directly attributable to coal sales. We define realized coal revenue per ton sold as realized coal revenue divided by tons sold. The following tables present reconciliations by reportable segment of realized coal revenue and realized coal revenue per ton sold to revenues, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure (in thousands, except per ton information): The following tables present breakdowns of the realized coal revenue per ton sold for the Metallurgical segment between coking coal and thermal byproduct (in thousands, except per ton information): We evaluate our cash cost of coal sold on an aggregate basis by segment and our cash cost of coal sold per ton on a per-ton basis. Cash cost of coal sold includes items such as direct operating costs, royalties, production taxes and credits and direct administration costs, and excludes transportation costs, indirect costs, other costs not directly attributable to the production of coal and depreciation, depletion and amortization costs on production assets. We define cash cost of coal sold per ton as cash cost of coal sold divided by tons sold. The following tables present reconciliations by reportable segment of cash cost of coal sold and cash cost of coal sold per ton to cost of sales, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure (in thousands, except per ton information): We define adjusted EBITDA as (i) net income (loss) plus income taxes, net interest expense and depreciation, depletion and amortization, as adjusted for (ii) certain non-cash items, such as loss on debt extinguishment and (iii) other adjustments, such as stock-based compensation, Merger-related expenses and fair value adjustments of commodity derivative instruments. Adjusted EBITDA may also be adjusted for items that may not reflect the trend of future results by excluding transactions that are not indicative of our operating performance or that arise outside of the ordinary course of our business. The following table presents a reconciliation by reportable segment of adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure (in thousands): Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure, defined as net cash provided by operating activities plus proceeds from sales of assets and unrestricted cash proceeds from the Merger with Arch Resources, Inc., less capital expenditures and investments in mining-related activities. Management believes that this measure is meaningful to investors because management reviews cash flows generated from operations and non-core asset sales after taking into consideration capital expenditures due to the fact that these expenditures are considered necessary to maintain and expand the company's asset base and are expected to generate future cash flows from operations. It is important to note that free cash flow does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures, since other non-discretionary expenditures, such as mandatory debt service requirements, are not deducted from the measure. The following table presents a reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure (in thousands): Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "years ahead," "look forward" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Core's current views about future events. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements contained in this communication will occur as projected, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, uncertainties regarding the ability of Core to mine, upgrade, process, and extract rare earth elements and critical minerals from its existing mines, including uncertainties regarding the financial impacts of such activities; risks related to the recently announced CEO transition; risks related to the prior occurrence of combustion-related activity at Core's Leer South mine and the risk of future occurrences; the increase in combustion-related gases at Core's Leer South mine; deterioration in economic conditions or changes in consumption patterns of our customers may decrease demand for our products, impair our ability to collect customer receivables and impair our ability to access capital; volatility and wide fluctuation in coal prices based upon a number of factors beyond our control; an extended decline in the prices we receive for our coal; significant downtime of our equipment or inability to obtain equipment, parts or raw materials; decreases in the availability of, or increases in the price of, commodities or capital equipment used in our coal mining operations; our reliance on major customers, our ability to collect payment from our customers and uncertainty in connection with our customer contracts; our inability to acquire additional coal reserves or resources that are economically recoverable; decreases in coal consumption patterns for steel production, electric power generation and industrial applications; the availability and reliability of transportation facilities and other systems that deliver our coal to market and fluctuations in transportation costs; a loss of our competitive position; inflation that could result in higher costs and decreased profitability; foreign currency fluctuations that could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal abroad; risks related to the fact that a significant portion of our production is sold in international markets (and may grow) and our compliance with export control and anti-corruption laws; coal users switching to other fuels in order to comply with various environmental standards related to coal combustion emissions; the impact of current and future regulations to address climate change, the discharge, disposal and clean-up of hazardous substances and wastes and employee health and safety on our operating costs as well as on the market for coal; the risks inherent in coal operations, including being subject to unexpected disruptions caused by adverse geological conditions, equipment failure, delays in moving longwall equipment, railroad derailments or strikes, security breaches or terroristic acts and other hazards, delays in the completion of significant construction or repair of equipment, fires, explosions, seismic activities, accidents and weather conditions; failure to obtain or renew surety bonds, letters of credit or insurance coverages on acceptable terms; the effects of coordinating our operations with oil and natural gas drillers and distributors operating on our land; our inability to obtain financing for capital expenditures on satisfactory terms; the effects of our securities being excluded from certain investment funds as a result of environmental, social and corporate governance ("ESG") practices; the effects of global conflicts on commodity prices and supply chains; the effect of new or existing laws, regulations, tariffs, executive orders or other trade measures; our inability to find suitable joint venture partners, acquisition targets or similar investments or integrating the operations of future acquisitions or investments into our operations; obtaining, maintaining and renewing governmental permits and approvals for our coal operations; the effects of asset retirement obligations, employee-related long-term liabilities and certain other liabilities; uncertainties in estimating our economically recoverable coal reserves; defects in our chain of title for our undeveloped reserves or failure to acquire additional property to perfect our title to coal rights; the outcomes of various legal proceedings; the risk of our debt agreements, our debt and changes in interest rates affecting our operating results and cash flows; information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss resulting from a terrorist attack or cyber incident; the potential failure to retain and attract qualified personnel of the company; failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; uncertainty with respect to the company's common stock, potential stock price volatility and future dilution; uncertainty regarding the timing and value of any dividends we may declare; uncertainty as to whether we will repurchase shares of our common stock; inability of stockholders to bring legal action against us in any forum other than the state courts of Delaware; the risk that the businesses of the company and Arch Resources, Inc. will not be integrated successfully after the closing of the Merger; the risk that the anticipated benefits of the Merger may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; and other unforeseen factors. All such factors are difficult to predict, are beyond Core's control, and are subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in Core's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K that are available on Core's website at www.corenaturalresources.com and on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made. Core does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/core-natural-resources-reports-second-quarter-2026-results-302844265.html

Warrior Met Coal (HCC) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.65 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.11 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +7.14%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $1.21 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.37, delivering a surprise of +13.22%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Warrior Met Coal, which belongs to the Zacks Coal industry, posted revenues of $509.69 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.68%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $297.52 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Warrior Met Coal shares have lost about 7.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13%. While Warrior Met Coal has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Warrior Met Coal was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.54 on $522.41 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.83 on $2 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Coal is currently in the top 14% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, Core Natural Resources (CNR), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 6. This coal company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +152.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Core Natural Resources' revenues are expected to be $1.09 billion, down 1.2% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Warrior Met Coal (HCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Core Natural Resources, Inc. (CNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Core Natural Resources (CNR) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.37 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.7 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +48.65%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this coal company would post a loss of $0.01 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.41, delivering a surprise of +4200%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Core Natural Resources, which belongs to the Zacks Coal industry, posted revenues of $1.14 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.77%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.1 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Core Natural Resources shares have lost about 5.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.8%. While Core Natural Resources has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Core Natural Resources was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.60 on $1.11 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $2.45 on $4.4 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Coal is currently in the top 13% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the broader Zacks Oils-Energy sector, Kolibri Global Energy Inc. (KGEI), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 13. This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.21 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +162.5%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Kolibri Global Energy Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $20.86 million, up 87.8% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Core Natural Resources, Inc. (CNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Kolibri Global Energy Inc. (KGEI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

SunCoke Energy (SXC) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.08 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.02 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +87.50%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this metallurgical coke producer would post earnings of $0.08 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.05, delivering a surprise of -162.5%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. SunCoke, which belongs to the Zacks Coal industry, posted revenues of $475.3 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.77%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $434.1 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. SunCoke shares have added about 30% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 6.9%. While SunCoke has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for SunCoke was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.09 on $422 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.20 on $1.74 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Coal is currently in the top 7% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Core Natural Resources (CNR), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 6. This coal company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +152.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Core Natural Resources' revenues are expected to be $1.09 billion, down 1.2% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SunCoke Energy, Inc. (SXC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Core Natural Resources, Inc. (CNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Over the past six months, Core Natural Resources’s shares (currently trading at $81.75) have posted a disappointing 8.5% loss, well below the S&P 500’s 8.5% gain. This might have investors contemplating their next move. Given the weaker price action, is now an opportune time to buy CNR? Find out in our full research report, it’s free. Tracing its origins to 1864 and operating some mines southwest of Pittsburgh, Core Natural Resources (NYSE:CNR) mines and exports metallurgical coal used in steelmaking and thermal coal for power generation. Cyclical industries such as Energy can make mediocre companies look great for a time, but a long-term view reveals which businesses can actually withstand and adapt to changing conditions. Over the last five years, Core Natural Resources grew its sales at an incredible 35% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average energy upstream and integrated energy company and shows its offerings resonate with customers. The scale of a company’s revenue base is an important lens through which to view the topline, as it signals whether a producer has gone from a vulnerable commodity taker into a durable operating platform. Larger producers generate revenue across many wells, pads, takeaway routes, and geographies rather than relying on a single field or drilling program. Core Natural Resources’s $4.23 billion of revenue in the last year is mid-sized for the industry. Adjusted EBITDA margin captures the true operating profitability of an energy producer by removing accounting noise around depletion and capitalized drilling costs. It reveals how much cash the asset base generates before capital structure and reinvestment requirements shape reported earnings. Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Core Natural Resources’s EBITDA margin decreased by 11 percentage points over the last year. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability. Core Natural Resources’s performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows that costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them onto its customers. Its EBITDA margin for the trailing 12 months was 17%. Core Natural Resources’s merits more than compensate for its flaws. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 4.7× forward EV-to-EBITDA (or $81.75 per share). Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free. ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively. Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — James Brock Chief Financial Officer — Mitesh Thakkar Senior Vice President, Marketing — Robert Braithwaite Senior Vice President, Strategy and Public Policy — Deck Slone James Brock: Thank you, Deck, and good morning, everyone. After a challenging 2025, I am excited to report a strong start to 2026. Our results for this quarter reflect the resilience of our business model and the commitment of our team members across the company. Our operating platform delivered efficient, reliable performance throughout the first quarter, underpinned by our safety-driven culture. As we turn the page from the Leer South fire, the mine set the pace, achieving strong production and cash cost performance throughout the quarter. As expected, the mining conditions have been favorable, and we are now running as a premier world-class longwall mine. In addition, West Elk shifted into high gear in BC, where geologic conditions are favorable, capturing significant operational efficiencies with an improved cost structure. Now let me dive a little deeper into our operational results. Coal sales within the High CV Thermal segment came in at 7.7 million tons in Q1 '26 compared to 7.8 million tons in Q4 of '25. During the quarter, our High CV Thermal segment reported realized coal revenue of $58.86 per ton compared to $58.11 per ton in the previous quarter. In Q1 '26, cash costs came in at $42.56 per ton compared to $41.42 per ton in Q4 '25. Segment cash costs for the current quarter were elevated due in part to this winter's Arctic outbreak, which drastically increased power costs at the Pennsylvania Mining Complex as well as a few weeks of tough mining conditions, which are now behind us at PMC. In the Metallurgical segment, coking coal sales came in at 2.1 million tons in Q1 '26. During the quarter, our Metallurgical segment reported realized coking coal revenue of $122.11 per ton, which represented a 7% improvement over the previous quarter. The segment as a whole, inclusive of the 300,000 tons of thermal byproduct sales achieved an average selling price of $112.03 per ton. Segment realization increased $6.58 per ton compared to the previous quarter. Cash costs for the quarter came in at $92.35 per ton compared to $103.49 per ton in the previous period, reflecting a full operating quarter at Leer South Mine. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment totaled $58 million, which was up $79 million from the previous period. In the Powder River Basin segment, coal sales within the segment came in at 11.9 million tons in Q1 '26. During the quarter, our PRB segment reported realized coal revenue of $14.39 per ton and cash cost of $13.64 per ton, which was in line with the prior quarter's cash cost of $13.62 per ton. Due to the current conflict in the Middle East, we are seeing significant increases in diesel prices. While there was a limited impact of higher diesel prices in Q1, we expect it to weigh on our PRB margins in the future periods if these elevated prices continue. Moving to the Core Marine Terminal. The CMT shipped 4.8 million tons during the first quarter of 2026 compared to 5 million tons in Q4 of '25. CMT reported $16 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q1 '26, which was in line with the previous quarter. As a result of our strong financial performance, we were again able to return significant value to our shareholders. As you know, our capital return framework targets the return to stockholders of around 75% of free cash flow, the majority of which will be returned via share repurchases. During Q1 '26, we returned $47 million to our shareholders or 85% of free cash flow with $42 million invested in share repurchases and $5 million in the form of dividends. Since the program's inception in February of 2025, we have deployed $292 million via the capital return program. Of that total, $266 million has been used to repurchase approximately 7% of the company's shares outstanding as of the program's inception. Now that the operating platform is at full strength, we expect strong shareholder returns to continue. Now let me turn the call over to Mitesh to provide the marketing and financial updates. Mitesh Thakkar: Thank you, Jimmy, and good morning, everyone. Let me start by providing an update on our financial performance. This morning, we reported solid first quarter financial results. For 1Q '26, we reported net income of $21 million or $0.41 per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA of $180 million compared to a net loss of $79 million and adjusted EBITDA of $103 million in 4Q '25 due to a strong contribution from our metallurgical coal platform. In the quarter, we spent $73 million on capital expenditures and generated $56 million in free cash flow, which was impacted by $52 million of negative working capital changes, including the timing impact of the 45X tax credit accrual versus cash benefit. At the end of the first quarter, we had total liquidity of $935 million, including $413 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. Now let me update you on the marketing front. Global energy markets have been quite volatile in recent months given the ongoing Middle East conflict. On the metallurgical export front, the threat of a global economic downturn caused by the conflict continues to broadly weigh on demand in these markets. Counterbalancing that fact, we are also seeing some challenges on the supply side. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is having a significant impact on diesel supplies into Australia and could lead to fuel rationing measures potentially reducing coal supplies. Those cost pressures come on the heels of heavy rainfall-related supply disruptions in Australia earlier this year. As a result, Australian PLV benchmark prices have remained elevated, and we continue to position Core to capitalize on that fact. In contrast, the international thermal markets are benefiting from energy supply disruptions and fuel switching tailwinds due to disrupted oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz. There is a view that European natural gas prices will remain elevated this summer to incentivize gas to coal switching to allow Europe to shore up its natural gas inventories ahead of the winter. The EU is also looking into returning legacy coal-fired power plants from capacity reserves to the wholesale markets, which could act to bolster coal demand. Petcoke prices in India have also risen significantly since the start of the year, which is benefiting the demand for our PAMC coal. In the domestic thermal market, coal consumption declined during the first quarter due to weak natural gas pricing and increased natural gas inventories. However, despite the decline in consumption, power plant coal inventories have reduced since the end of 2025. Longer term, we remain bullish on the outlook for domestic thermal coal demand given the robust planned data center build-outs. Recently, the state of Pennsylvania has taken steps to enable the Keystone and Conemaugh coal-fired power plants to continue operating through at least 2032 and potentially much longer. We strongly support this extension, which will boost the availability of affordable and reliable energy here in our backyard. During the quarter, we continued to build momentum on the contracting front, including further expanding our West Elk coal shipments into domestic utilities in the Eastern United States. As a reminder, since the fourth quarter, we have had good success with test burning West Elk coal at a number of Eastern power plants and have entered into a term contract. We appreciate the support of our railroad partners in helping unlock this opportunity and enabling reliable delivery into these markets. Since year-end 2025, our marketing team has made meaningful progress broadening and extending our sales book, securing an additional 11.5 million tons of contracted volume through 2028 at attractive prices. Building on that long-term foundation, we have also strengthened our near-term position for 2026 across each of our mine segments. Now let me provide an update on our outlook for 2026. On the guidance front, we are generally maintaining our guidance levels as indicated in the earnings release with the exception of our segment level sold positions. In the High CV Thermal segment, we added 5.6 million tons to our sold position, bringing our total contracted volume to 29.1 million tons. The High CV Thermal segment is now 94% contracted at the midpoint of the guidance range and average coal revenue on the committed and collar tons is projected to be $57.85 per ton. For the Metallurgical segment, we added 1.6 million tons to our sold position, bringing the segment to 8.3 million coking tons contracted for 2026 with approximately 3.8 million tons priced at an expected average coal revenue of $122.40 per ton. For the PRB segment, our contracted position now stands at approximately 48 million tons at an expected average coal revenue of $14.20 per ton. Lastly, on the cash SG&A front, we had, as expected, some residual integration-related costs in Q1, but expect those costs to phase out as we progress through the year. Finally, let me provide a quick update on our Core innovations group, which has been extremely busy growing our capabilities to support the aerospace and defense industries. During the first part of 2026, we completed a 30% expansion of our manufacturing facility in Triadelphia, West Virginia and spent $8 million on acquiring Sawyer Composite in Fort Worth, Texas to further accelerate our growth and elevate our profile in the aerospace supply chain. With these moves, we have built upon our coal-based C4 seam materials business to now become a full-service provider of high-performance materials, tooling, parts and assemblies to meet the growing needs of our nation's aerospace and defense sector. Between our West Virginia and Texas locations, our Aerospace venture now has 75,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 80 employees and serves more than 40 customers, including many of the top defense primes. We see a lot of opportunities for continued growth in this business. Now let me pass it back to Jimmy for some closing remarks before we open the call for Q&A. James Brock: Thanks, Mitesh. As we head into the second quarter and beyond, there are a few key areas of focus. First, we will continue to identify best practices across our operations while sustaining our safety-driven culture. Second, I am optimistic about our cost outcomes in the High CV Thermal and metallurgical segments, with both PAMC longwalls out of the tough mining conditions we saw in Q1 of '26, power prices normalizing and Leer transitioning to the North reserves, we expect our cost to improve relative to the first quarter. Third, we are actively pursuing insurance recoveries from the Leer South fire event. We are pleased with the results of Q1 '26 as they mark the first quarter after the merger with all our assets fully operational. I believe we have just scratched the surface with our capabilities, both operationally and financially. Going forward, we will focus on our controllables as the markets remain dynamic, given the global economic uncertainty. Our high-rank coals, however, continue to receive strong demand as we shift focus to the most advantageous market for our products. Throughout our operations, we continue to focus on cost-saving measures during this market uncertainty, and we fully anticipate carrying this positive momentum throughout the rest of the year. Finally, let me finish by recognizing our employees. Throughout last year, they worked tirelessly to integrate and develop Core Natural Resources into what it is today, a premier world-class company. Throughout 2025, the teams believed in the vision as we push to restart the Leer South longwall and focused on identifying best practices. We are accustomed to navigating the cyclical nature of the coal markets, and we will continue to manage our costs while focusing on our core values of safety and compliance, continuous improvement and financial performance. With that, I will hand the call back over to the operator to begin the Q&A portion of our call. Operator, can you please provide the instructions to our callers? Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from George Eadie with UBS. George Eadie: Firstly, just on the High CV segment, can you remind me the sensitivity of that 28.5 million to the API2 price given I think there was sort of 3 million or 4 million tons pegged to the API2 benchmark? Robert Braithwaite: Sure, George. This is Bob. So for the balance of the year, we have left to sell Q2 through Q4. It's just around 3 million tons is linked to API2. We also have a little bit, call it, 300,000 tons linked to High Vol B as well. The rest is fixed price. And right now, the sensitivity is roughly about $0.07 a ton across the segment. And that's assuming about $120 API2 price. Right now, API2 is around $110, $115, but we expect that to continue to be volatile, as you know, what's going on in the Middle East. George Eadie: Yes. And then just on the tons contracted for 2027 for each business segment, can you just remind me what percent of the business is contracted next year, please? Robert Braithwaite: Yes. So on the High CV side, we're sitting here roughly, give or take, around 50% of our volume contracted. And to be honest with you, if you look at PAMC and West Elk, it's basically 50-50 in terms of where we are against what our expected production is going to be in 2027. And the good news for us is we've certainly been able to take advantage of the situation in the Middle East over the last couple of months and lock in some volumes at some attractive pricing when API2 prices were up in that $130, $140 range. So we're not prepared to give exactly what we're looking at pricing-wise, but I can tell you the market, if you look at year-on-year, isn't getting there. George Eadie: Yes. And then lastly, Mitesh, sorry if I missed this earlier, but insurance prices, can you remind us the timing and latest on dollars as well there for the rest of the year? Mitesh Thakkar: Yes, George, sure. So as you know, the Baltimore bridge claim is settled on the Leer South front, we have submitted our final claims, which indicate a limit loss. The insurance companies are reviewing the claims and going through their internal review and approval process, which could take different times for different insurance companies. However, we are optimistic that we'll start seeing some approvals trickle here in 2Q. In aggregate, I would expect to collect another $100 million in incremental proceeds from insurance. p id="-1" name="Operator" /> The next question comes from Nick Giles with B. Riley Securities. Nick Giles: I just wanted to go back to High CV cash costs, obviously elevated here in 1Q, but you've maintained the guide. Can you just help us understand kind of the cadence of those cost improvements throughout the year, kind of sensitivity to electricity prices and then how much West Elk is contributing today? James Brock: Nick, it's Jimmy. Yes, we left our guidance alone when you look on the cost side of it because we had some things in Q1 that I feel like it's going to normalize, and we'll be back on track in Q2 and for the remainder of the year. So we had 2 of our longwalls that's in the Pennsylvania mining complex that were in sand rock intrusions. We've had those before. We've been able to dive down underneath them. These were a little different. They struggled. So we don't have that. Both those longwalls are out of that now. And then we also had -- as you stated earlier, we did have abnormal power pricing that hit us in Q1 that we think will normalize and come down here as the weather changes. It was mostly due to that Arctic blast, as we said in our comments. And then, of course, when you're going through those sand rock and rolls like that, it requires more supplies to mine the coal, higher bit pricing, you use more of those, you wear those out. So we think we're going to be in a really good spot there. Looking at West Elk, West Elk is running great. There was no far in West Elk. It's just the trains of us moving the coal away, and that has certainly improved. We've been working with our rail partners, and we improved. But what happened to West Elk, they couldn't run at 100% capacity because we didn't have the space in our inventory. So we think that's going to levelize and go away. So I really think -- I didn't want to raise the cost guidance. I believe that we're going to be back on track and be in that and even have some improved marks for the remainder of the year. Mitesh Thakkar: Yes. And just, Nick, following up on your question on sensitivity and just to give you some parameters around it, right? So if you think about PJM West power prices, I think in months like January, we were over $100 in power prices. Right now, we are already sub $50. And as you look at the curve, I think the curve is around that number. The summer months are a little bit higher and then fall, it comes back again. But just from a sensitivity perspective, about $1 megawatt change could be around $750,000 for us, just to keep that in mind. Nick Giles: Maybe along a similar vein in the PRB, you maintained the guide. I was curious on just what enables you to do that. And then if we were to assume that diesel prices were to remain elevated, any sense on how much kind of upward cost pressure that would create in the PRB? James Brock: I think when you look at PRB, there's a couple of things there. Number one, we lost a couple of weeks of production out there with the connecting link that was on the dragline boom, which obviously hurt the volumes a little bit. And then we're kind of in shoulder season out there now as well. And then we're also looking at other cost incentives out there, such as optimizing our truck fleet, looking at what we can do with the schedules that we're working. And the team out there is working really hard to bring that back within the guidance. And I think if you add those volumes back, if diesel prices do sort of normalize or reduce some, I think we'll be right back on track where our cost guidance is and even an opportunity to improve that. So it's something we continue to work on, Nick, and I have a pretty high degree of confidence that we're going to reach that. Operator: We now have a question from Nathan Martin with The Benchmark Company. Nathan Martin: Bob, maybe just going back to George's initial question. As we look at '26 in the High CV Thermal segment, you guys have 28.5 million, I think, million tons committed in price. Can we just get a breakdown of that between PAMC and West Elk and any sensitivities there? I think you said API2 was $0.07 off a 120 basis. I just want to make sure. Robert Braithwaite: Yes, that's correct. And right now, of the 29.1 million tons in total, 23.4 million is PMC, 5.7 million is West Elk. West Elk contributed 1.1 million tons toward the sales line in Q1. So we expect, as Jimmy mentioned, as our railroad partners are certainly doing better today than they were in Q1, we expect that volume to start increasing as we move forward throughout this quarter and the balance of the year to get to that 5.7 million ton level. I will tell you, too, based on that, we're being somewhat cautious since we're only in April right now or May, I should say. But there's still certainly some opportunities out there. The domestic market certainly is remaining somewhat strong, even though gas prices are down, we're still seeing a strong level of trains coming in, and offtake. And then in India as well, they're forecasting a strong El Nino, if that does happen, it will delay -- likely delay the monsoon season. And we're seeing, I'd say, more inquiries than we typically would this time of year. So very encouraging there, and we'll certainly look to place as much volume as we can and get as much volume out of PAMC as we can. So 5.7 million tons at West Elk, we're not sold out, but we're very close. So all the balance of the volume left to sell is at PAMC. And again, encouraging that the fact that where prices are today, I will tell you that those specific prices today are above where our guidance is. So there's a chance that we could see some improvement as we move forward. The volume that you're seeing that is not priced is linked to Newcastle. That's some of our business we have into Asia out of our West Elk mine. Nathan Martin: And then maybe just sticking with West Elk for a second. You guys talked about it last quarter, talked about it a little bit now. You're moving some domestic tons to power plants in the East. It sounds like that was mainly just a transportation problem, and I think you just mentioned inventory space. Any additional thoughts there? One of your peers also talking about exporting some more tons out of the West Coast. Maybe any thoughts you guys have as far as that goes as well. Robert Braithwaite: Yes. So for West Elk, I'm very encouraged by what we've seen from our domestic customers in the East. A lot of overlap there with our PAMC coal as well. So I could tell you to date, we have one long-term contract in place. We're working on several others. The coal has been well accepted. Traditionally, it wasn't really a core market for the legacy Arch folks. But today, I'd tell you it is as we try to ramp that mine up to 6 million tons as we move forward. On the West Coast, we are moving West Elk through the West Coast out of Long Beach today. We anticipate that continuing. And then -- in terms of additional West Coast capacity or additional export capacity off the West Coast, we're certainly looking into that for some opportunity to move some of our PRB coal as well. I know Oakland has been talked about by many. We're certainly in discussions there and then also some potential export capacity through Canada as well. James Brock: Yes. Nate, we look at -- as far as export and moving coal, we look at all the ports. And obviously, when you have to start looking at how long the vessels set there for demurrage, you look at the travel distance and everything else, we try to -- just like we run to the market, we try to do the same thing with the ports. We try to go out the ones that are most economical for us. And obviously, we prefer to go out of our own. But I mean, we certainly look at all those West Coast ports, Long Beach as well as we even look at Vancouver and some of those. Any way we can move the coal that makes economic sense, we certainly look at all of those. Nathan Martin: Got it. Appreciate that. And then, Jimmy, maybe just one more while I have you. Any comments or thoughts on the administration's Section 303 determinations that were passed as it applies to helping the coal supply chains in baseload power gen? James Brock: Yes. I'll start out with that and then turn it over to Deck to follow up on that. But we are very happy with the administration. I mean, particularly their ability to extend the life of some of these power plants. And we think it's certainly going to be needed if you look at the power, which has been basically flat for many, many years leading up to, say, 2024. But with the increase that everybody is projecting on power gen alone, we feel pretty good about what the administration has done to this point. And I always say they can't solve the problems for us, but they certainly can give a solution to where we can work on those and they've been very, very positive as far as coal goes. I know President Trump, he brought back the National Coal Council and a lot of positive momentum coming out of the administration and Deck and team are working with them every day to make sure that we take full benefit of everything that we get out of there. And with that, I'll let Deck add some comments. Deck Slone: Yes. Yes, thanks for that. And look, I totally agree with Jimmy. This administration is hugely supportive. And there are a whole range of areas where they're trying to be helpful. Look, I would say with the 2O2(c) authority, which is preventing some of these retirements prematurely of coal plants. We've got 5 2O2(c) orders in place right now. In aggregate, those plants used 10 million tons of coal last year. I think really clear then that they're needed. If they were running at that level last year, that capacity is needed. And we've talked about the fact that as we look out now, suddenly, there's been an inflection in terms of the outlook for U.S. power demand. The numbers are -- there are a range of numbers, but one of the ones we've been looking at recently, grid strategies is suggesting that over the next 5 years, you could see a 3.7% growth rate in U.S. power demand. In that scenario, this administration is getting the fact that you have to have these coal plants. So that's hugely helpful. I think also addressing just a raft of regulations really that were designed to drive some of these coal plants into closure, this administration is trying to unwind those and doing really a superb job. And the goal there is not just to keep the plants open, but to allow for reinvestment to make those plants young again because you can replace all the component parts. So that's useful. And obviously, as you know, look, the royalty rate reduction in the PRB has been helpful to us, and I think bodes well for the outlook there for a healthy industry in the PRB, the 45X production credit. So look, couldn't be more pleased with where this administration is going, and we're going to continue to work with them. We talked about the unlocking of export. That's another area where this administration is highly focused on finding ways to liberate more tons, get more tons into the seaborne market. So a range of areas where we're getting good support. James Brock: The administration has certainly given us a lot of resources to work on our problems that we have. So very, very appreciative and very thankful and very involved, quite frankly, with the administration. Operator: Now have a question from Matthew Key with Texas Capital. Matthew Key: In regards to the inflationary cost pressures, most notably diesel, while you obviously didn't raise your cost guidance. I was wondering if there's anything you could do to help manage those pressures such as hedging diesel or something like that? Mitesh Thakkar: Yes. Matt, good question. And there's an additional disclosure in our 10-Q that we did hedge some diesel prior to the war starting in the Gulf area. I think we were on a path to hedge a significant portion of our cost on the diesel front, but there was a sudden spike, and we pulled back a little bit because the volatility was just too much to justify hedging at that point. Things are settling down a little bit, and we'll continue to look and evaluate it. As you can imagine, the curve is in backwardation again now, which is great. And we'll continue to evaluate how we layer in those hedges to make sure that there is enough cushion between our selling price and the cost of mining. Matthew Key: And met coal benchmark pricing did improve at least directionally in 1Q '26, still seeing a very wide spread for High-Vol A pricing versus premium low-vol benchmark. I was wondering if you could provide just some color on what you're seeing in the met coal market, specifically as it relates to High Vol A. Mitesh Thakkar: Yes. I mean, again, we're in a really good position as we announced this morning, 8.3 million tons contracted for the balance for this year. And when you look at where we're at with what we have left to sell, majority of that is High Vol. There's some low vol as well. But I'd say the most encouraging thing, too, is the fact that we have over 30% of our volume this year linked to PLB prices. So Asia continues to grow for us, and that's where the growth and demand is. India certainly is growing. But we are seeing some opportunities back in Brazil and also into Europe right now, CBAM being one that is helping the European steel markets. And we're not seeing as much steel dumping into Brazil today as we did last year. So that's encouraging as well. So I think those spreads will likely remain for a little bit of time here just for the simple fact that the High Vol is a little bit oversupplied today. But I see that as, again, we start seeing some higher cost operations continue to exit the market, specifically here in the domestic or sitting here in the United States. I think you'll start to see those spreads shrink over time. But the team has done a great job, again, linking over 30% of our index volumes to PLB. James Brock: Matt, I would maybe just to echo those views of sort of where the market is. Look, I mean, if you look last year at U.S. exports, they were down around 6 million tons. Australian exports of coking coal down around 6 million tons. So that's 12 million tons. I think there's been a lot of focus on the production that's coming back into the market, but there had been substantial rationalization and step down. So look, I do think that's important. That's an important dynamic there. And I would also say, look, there are indications that operational challenges are starting to sort of crop up elsewhere, as you would expect, right? That's typically what happens is 5% to 10% of global supply is experiencing some level of challenge. So while the market remains under pressure, I do think there are counterbalances to, I think that top line story that, oh, there's some capacity that's come back into the market after some outage. Operator: [Operator Instructions] You have another question from Nick Giles with B. Riley Securities. Nick Giles: You kind of answered it there on the met side. But maybe I could just ask, as we try to model out met volumes throughout the course of the year, can you just remind us how many longwall moves you have scheduled, when those are scheduled in both just the Met segment and High CV? James Brock: Yes. If you look at Q1 that we just finished up, we had 4 longwall moves there in Q1. In Q2, we have 3. We have 1 at PMC. We have 2 at our met mines, one at Leer, one at Leer South. And then I think for the remainder of the year, our Q4 is kind of heavy, but we have 13 for the year. So that's pretty much where we are. And Nick, as I've always said, I love longwall moves because that means progress is being made. Nick Giles: Understood. No, I appreciate that, Jimmy. And maybe just on the synergy front, I'm not sure if you provided an update there, but I think of 2026 as one of the first full years that we can see the benefit of the synergies. So what metrics should we be paying attention to? And what should we use as the denominator as we try to measure that progress? Mitesh Thakkar: Yes. So Nick, again, there are a lot of ways the synergies are playing out. I will say the most obvious one for you to see is on the SG&A side. And if you look at -- I'm going back to 2024, the first full year prior to the merger for both -- the last full year prior to the merger for both the companies, I think the combined company had cash SG&A of about $153 million, excluding any merger-related expenses and stock-based comp, right? And right now, we are guiding to a top end of about $100 million. So that tells you that significant progress is being made on the synergy front when it comes to cash SG&A. Similarly, on the marketing side, if you look at the MIBS where we -- they are disclosed as thermal byproduct in our release, given where current met coal prices are on the legacy Arch side, which is mostly their product, you would have realized high 20s kind of a realization on the MIBS. We are blending it with some of our Pennsylvania mining complex and some of our other mines, and we have value uplifting it by almost $15 a ton, right? So when you add those pieces together, I think we are significantly ahead on the synergy achievement side. I think what is clouding it a little bit on the marketing front is also overall, met coal prices are just lower, which reduces the value of those synergies. And we are hoping as those prices normalize, I think you will see more impactful numbers on the synergy front. But even on the High CV Thermal side, as the prices improve, the value of MIBS go up just from blending activity as well. So those are the 2 lines that you can easily see on our financials. The other lines, I would say is we already talked about the financing synergy with the 3 bonds that we did, the rate that we got versus what each of those companies had it in the past. And on the insurance side, if you look at -- put all those 2 items together, there was $20-plus million in synergy on an annualized basis on that front as well. So net-net, when you add all those up, I think you are looking at over $160 million in synergy run rate, which is -- I think the last midpoint we provided was around $165 million at the midpoint, which was higher than -- I think originally, at the merger, we said $110 million to $140 million and then raised it to a midpoint of $165 million. So we are tracking towards that high end already. Nick Giles: Understood. Maybe one more, if I could. I think your commitment to shareholder return seems pretty clear to me. But kind of how do things stand on the M&A front? Are you seeing any opportunities across the M&A landscape, whether from a mine perspective, anything along the supply chain or anything from a logistics perspective that's worth looking at? James Brock: Nick, it's something that we evaluate daily. I mean we look at a lot of things that come toward us. And as I've always said, my job to allocate capital is for the highest rate of return. So we do look at a lot of things that come in. I will tell you, currently today, we don't have anything to -- that we can put certainty around that we've done. But we do look at every opportunity that comes to us. We owe it to our shareholders and our employees to do that, and we'll continue to do so. And if something comes out there that makes sense, we certainly have the liquidity. We have the ability to do it, and we would do it. Operator: There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Jimmy Brock for closing remarks. Please continue. James Brock: Well, we'd like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today and certainly look forward to the rest of the year to come. And as I said in my opening remarks, I think the best is yet to come for Core Natural Resources. So thanks for joining. 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