Share count
109Mpeak FY2021
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GLNG, Golar Lng Ltd
Our unique position as the only service provider allows LNG resource owners a liquefaction solution with a proven design, market leading operational track record and no capex requirement for the FLNG solution until cash flow from LNG sales start.
Golar's business is to actively seek monetization of attractive gas reserves globally utilizing our FLNG technology.
Floating liquefaction solutions enable monetization of proven stranded, associated and flare gas resources that can be sourced competitively compared to typical input gas cost for land-based liquefaction solutions.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2025
$394M
+51.1% YoY · 9% 5-yr CAGR
Vital signs · TTM, with 5-yr average
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- Revenue is Liquefaction services revenue (58%), Sales-type lease revenue (23%) and Vessel management fees and other revenues (19%).
- Situation
- Cyclical. Margins collapse and recover repeatedly across the record; a single year, good or bad, misstates the through-cycle earning power.
- What moves the needle
- Operating margin has run about 23% through the cycle, a solid margin the cost base and competition set as much as the price does. The margin is cyclical, swinging between −176% and 196% over the years, so the through-cycle figure carries more than any single year — and the balance sheet at the trough more than the peak. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on debt terms & refinancing, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has rarely cleared the cost of capital (median 2%, above 15% in 1 of 7 years). Owner earnings, the cash-based check, have been thin too. The cycle and the balance sheet decide this one; the worst year tells more than the median, and the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 20-F →Revenue spreads across 4 lines, the largest Liquefaction services revenue at 58%.
Revenue by product line, FY2025
- Liquefaction services revenue58%$227M
- Sales-type lease revenue23%$91M
- Vessel management fees and other revenues19%$74M
- Time and Voyage Charter Revenue0%$876K
From the segment footnote of the company's own 20-F. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2016–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2016’16 | 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMDec 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||||
| $80M | $144M | $431M | $449M | $261M | $260M | $268M | $298M | $260M | $394M | $394M | RevenueRevenue |
| ($141M) | ($85M) | $114M | $61M | $61M | $307M | $524M | $16M | $62M | $100M | $100M | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| −175.8% | −59.5% | 26.6% | 13.5% | 23.4% | 117.8% | 195.7% | 5.3% | 23.9% | 25.3% | 25.3% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| ($161M) | ($145M) | ($168M) | ($122M) | ($168M) | $561M | $939M | ($3M) | $81M | $113M | $113M | Net incomeNet inc. |
| — | — | — | — | — | 0% | -0% | — | -0% | 4% | 4% | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||||||||
| ($115M) | ($35M) | $117M | ($38M) | ($177M) | $254M | — | — | — | — | $146M | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $73M | $77M | $93M | $113M | $107M | $55M | $51M | $50M | $53M | $48M | $48M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| ($28M) | $34M | $191M | ($28M) | ($116M) | ($362M) | — | — | — | — | ($15M) | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $8M | $0 | $0 | $19M | $17M | $24M | — | — | — | — | — | BuybacksBuybacks |
| -3% | -2% | — | — | — | 9% | 19% | 0% | 2% | 3% | 3% | ROICROIC |
| -9% | -8% | -10% | -8% | -13% | 32% | 38% | -0% | 4% | 6% | 6% | Return on equityROE |
| −9% | −8% | −10% | −8% | −13% | 32% | 38% | −0% | 4% | 6% | 6% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | |||||||||||
| $224M | $215M | $218M | $180M | $86M | $232M | $879M | $679M | $566M | $1.2B | $1.2B | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| $7M | $7M | $7M | $1M | $2M | $536K | $692K | — | — | — | $692K | InventoryInvent. |
| $25M | $70M | $10M | $14M | $11M | $5M | $9M | $7M | $199M | $124M | $124M | Accounts payablePayables |
| ($17M) | ($63M) | ($3M) | ($13M) | ($9M) | ($4M) | ($8M) | — | — | — | ($123M) | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| $426M | $473M | $650M | $371M | $538M | $926M | $1.3B | $816M | $740M | $1.4B | $1.4B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| $769M | $1.6B | $1.0B | $1.4B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $414M | $546M | $842M | $555M | $555M | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 0.6× | 0.3× | 0.6× | 0.3× | 0.5× | 0.7× | 3.0× | 1.5× | 0.9× | 2.5× | 2.5× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| $4.3B | $4.8B | $4.8B | $4.6B | $4.3B | $4.9B | $4.3B | $4.1B | $4.4B | $5.3B | $5.3B | Total assetsAssets |
| $2.0B | $2.4B | $2.7B | $2.3B | $2.6B | $2.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.5B | $2.8B | $2.8B | Total debtDebt |
| $1.8B | $2.2B | $2.5B | $2.1B | $2.5B | $1.8B | $320M | $522M | $886M | $1.6B | $1.6B | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| -2.0× | -1.4× | 1.1× | 0.6× | 1.6× | 8.9× | 27.2× | — | — | 3.0× | — | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| $1.9B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.5B | $1.3B | $1.7B | $2.5B | $2.1B | $2.0B | $1.8B | $1.8B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | |||||||||||
| 93.9M | 101M | 101M | 101M | 97.6M | 110M | 109M | 107M | 105M | 109M | 101M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $0.85 | $1.43 | $4.28 | $4.46 | $2.68 | $2.37 | $2.47 | $2.80 | $2.47 | $3.59 | $3.88 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $-1.71 | $-1.44 | $-1.67 | $-1.22 | $-1.72 | $5.11 | $8.65 | $-0.03 | $0.77 | $1.03 | $1.11 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $19.84 | $17.05 | $17.33 | $14.88 | $13.25 | $15.78 | $23.03 | $19.39 | $19.13 | $16.83 | $18.19 | Book value / shareBVPS |
Per-share growththe realized rate an owner's share compounded
| 9-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | +17.3%/yr | +6.0%/yr |
| Book value / share | −1.8%/yr | +4.9%/yr |
The record, charted
FY2016–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
ROIC
3%low FY2016
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2016 the business turned a $161M loss into ($115M) of owner earnings: more cash than the profit line showed, after the non-cash charges and the capital it put back in.
| FY2016 | |
|---|---|
| Reported net income | ($161M) |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +$73M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | −$28M |
| Cash from operations | ($115M) |
| Capital expenditurecash put back in to keep running and to grow | — |
| Owner earnings | ($115M) |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | -144% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position .
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2025 20-F · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- Interest expense not tagged in the data
What this means
No usable interest-expense line was tagged in the filing data, but the balance sheet carries real net debt — so the interest burden here is unknown, not absent. Read the debt on the net-debt check below.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? $1.6B · 16.1× operating profitHeavy net debtCash $1.2B − debt $2.8B
What this means
Netting $1.2B of cash and short-term investments against $2.8B of debt leaves $1.6B owed, about 16.1× a year's operating profit (27.7× on the gross debt, before the cash). Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Is it a good business?
- Below average through the cycle7-yr median, range -3%–19%; 3% latest = NOPAT $96M ÷ invested capital $3.4BIndustry peers: median 4%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 7 years (it ran 3% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Not enough dataIndustry peers: median 12%
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Cash-backedCash from ops $146M ÷ net income $113M
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? —Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Graham’s defensive tests · 1 of 5 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size MissRevenue ≥ $2B · $394M
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity PassCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 2.55×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt MissDebt ≤ working capital · $2.8B vs $858M WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability MissA profit every year (10-yr record) · 6 loss years
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record MissUninterrupted dividends · none paid
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth —Earnings +33% over the record · —
What this means
Earnings were negative early in the record, a growth rate isn't meaningful.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $0.63/share (latest year $1.11), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $18.19/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2016–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 4 of 10
What this means
Lost money in 6 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Return on capital ≥ 15% 1 of 10 yrs
What this means
A moat shows up as a high return on invested capital that holds year after year, not one good vintage.
- Operating margin −70% → 18% (3-yr avg ends)
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin widened — about −70% early to 18% lately, median 23% — pricing power intact or improving.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Worst year 2016 · −175.8% op. margin
What this means
Operations went underwater in 2016, understand why before trusting the good years.
- Share count +1.7%/yr
What this means
The share count is rising, dilution works against you on a per-share basis.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
In its own filing Raised, but not as a competitor
The filing raises AI among its risks, but in other terms (security, regulation, energy or the like), not as a competitor to its product.
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Dec 31, 2025Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assets$1.4B
- Cash & short-term investments$1.2B
- Inventory$692K
- Other current assets$262M
Current liabilities$555M
- Debt due within a year$301M
- Accounts payable$124M
- Other current liabilities$131M
Current ratio2.55×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio2.54×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio2.07×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital$858Mthe cushion left after near-term bills
Debt due this year vs. cash$301M due · $1.2B cash
covered by cash on hand, no refinancing forced · both figures from the Dec 31, 2025 balance sheet
Deeper floors
Tangible book value$1.8Bequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset value($1.8B)Graham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leases$2.8B$2M of it operating leases
Deferred revenue$4Mcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Inverting the record
Invert: instead of why Golar Lng Ltd is a good business, the question is what would make owning it a mistake, and whether those marks are in the record. Disconfirming tests across 2016–2025.
1 of the 3 tests turned up something to look into; the other 2 came back clean.
- Look hereDid debt outgrow the business?$2.0B → $2.8B
Debt rose from $2.0B to $2.8B while owner earnings went from about ($115M) to ($115M): the borrowing grew and the earnings that would carry it are not there now. Debt raised for buybacks or deals rather than growth is the kind that bites in a downturn.
And these came back clean
- Is it less profitable than it was?
- Did receivables and inventory outpace sales?
Each test is read from the filings and is noisy alone; a flag can mark a cyclical trough or a year of heavy investment as easily as a problem. The filing says which.
Peers, Marine Shipping
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEXKirby | $3.4B | — | 7.7% | 4% | 10% |
| MATXMatson | $3.3B | 96% | 11.4% | 11% | 12% |
| TDWTidewater Inc. | $1.4B | — | -12.5% | -6% | 3% |
| INSWInternational Seaways Inc. Common Stock | $843M | — | 12.3% | 3% | 33% |
| PANLPangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. | $632M | — | 7.7% | 10% | 10% |
| LPGDorian LPG Ltd. | $482M | — | 35.2% | 7% | 38% |
| GLNGGolar Lng Ltd | $394M | — | 23.6% | 2% | — |
| GNKGenco Shipping & Trading Limited | $342M | — | -1.1% | -0% | 31% |
| Group median | — | — | 9.6% | 3% | — |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the US price, in dollars: the NYSE/Nasdaq quote you hold. Golar Lng Ltd's US listing is the ordinary share itself. The record tables elsewhere on this page remain as filed.
Golar Lng Ltd is profitable, but its owner-earnings base could not be formed from this filing’s tagged data (operating cash flow or capital spending is missing), so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.
$
The assumptions
Revenue, delivered6%/yr’20→’25
Enter a price to run it.
Owner earnings it must reach—
Margin the price demands—
Owner-earnings margin today—
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "Golar Lng Ltd (GLNG), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/GLNG, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← GLBS its page in the Manual GLOB →
Industry order: ← GLBS the Marine Shipping chapter GNK →