SM Energy Management
Management criteria checks 1/4
SM Energy's CEO is Beth McDonald, appointed in Sep 2025, has a tenure of less than a year. total yearly compensation is $4.48M, comprised of 12.9% salary and 87.1% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 0.002% of the company’s shares, worth $169.96K. The average tenure of the management team and the board of directors is 1.1 years and 0.3 years respectively.
Key information
Beth McDonald
Chief executive officer
US$4.5m
Total compensation
| CEO salary percentage | 12.88% |
| CEO tenure | less than a year |
| CEO ownership | 0.002% |
| Management average tenure | 1.1yrs |
| Board average tenure | less than a year |
Recent management updates
Recent updates
SM Energy: Strong Buying Trends Since February Merger Should Continue
Apr 29
SM: Civitas Merger And New CEO Will Drive Future Upside
Analysts have adjusted their price target for SM Energy slightly higher, to approximately $55.27 from about $55.01, reflecting updated assumptions around revenue growth, profit margins, and future P/E multiples. What's in the News Civitas Resources Inc.SM: Civitas Merger And New CEO Will Shape Future Upside
Analysts have raised their price target on SM Energy from $48.00 to about $55.01, citing updated assumptions around fair value, discount rate, revenue growth, profit margins, and future P/E expectations. What's in the News SM Energy completed a $12.8b merger with Civitas Resources, creating a combined oil and gas producer operating in Utah, Texas and Colorado's Denver Julesburg Basin.
SM: Post Merger Profit Margin Assumptions Will Pressure Future Share Performance
Analysts have raised their fair value estimate for SM Energy from $19.00 to $22.00, citing updated assumptions for profit margin, discount rate, revenue growth, and future P/E as key drivers of the new price target. What's in the News Civitas Resources Inc.
SM: Merger Integration And Production Outlook Will Shape Future Shareholder Upside
Analysts have trimmed their price target on SM Energy to $28.82 from $31.42, citing updated assumptions that reflect a lower discount rate, adjusted revenue growth expectations, higher projected profit margins, and a higher future P/E multiple. What's in the News SM Energy completed its merger with Civitas Resources in a transaction valued at $12.8b, with the combined company operating oil and natural gas assets in Utah, Texas and Colorado's Denver Julesburg Basin, and continuing to trade on the NYSE under the SM ticker (Executive Changes: CEO).SM: Merger Synergies And Margin Pressure Will Constrain Future Share Performance
Analysts have adjusted their price target on SM Energy from $27.00 to $19.00, reflecting updated views on the company’s growth outlook, margin profile, and future P/E assumptions. What's in the News SM Energy closed a $12.8b merger with Civitas Resources Inc.SM: Civitas Merger And New Leadership Will Drive Future Upside
Analysts have adjusted their price target on SM Energy to reflect an unchanged fair value estimate of $48.00, together with updated assumptions for discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin, and future P/E that indicate a different mix of risk and earnings than before. What's in the News SM Energy completed a $12.8b merger with Civitas Resources on January 30, 2026, creating a combined oil and gas producer operating in Utah, Texas and Colorado's Denver Julesburg Basin (Key Developments).SM: Production Guidance And Buybacks Will Support Future Shareholder Upside
Analysts have trimmed their price target for SM Energy by about $1 to reflect updated assumptions around fair value, discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin, and future P/E. What's in the News SM Energy has scheduled a special or extraordinary shareholders meeting for January 27, 2026, which could bring proposals that affect capital structure, governance, or other corporate matters (Key Developments).SM: Share Repurchases And Production Guidance Will Support Future Shareholder Upside
Analysts have trimmed their price target on SM Energy from about US$33.50 to roughly US$32.33, citing updated assumptions around fair value, discount rate, revenue growth, profit margins, and future P/E as the key drivers of the change. What's in the News SM Energy has scheduled a Special or Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting for January 27, 2026, giving investors a key date to watch for company level decisions (Key Developments).SM: Merger Talks And 2025 Production Outlook Will Drive Upside Potential
Analysts have trimmed their price target on SM Energy to approximately $48.00 from about $56.36. This reflects a view that sharply higher projected revenue growth is likely to be offset by expectations for lower profit margins and a more conservative valuation multiple.SM: Merger Talks And Share Repurchases Will Drive Future Shareholder Upside
Analysts have modestly reduced their price target on SM Energy from 33.92 dollars to 33.50 dollars. This reflects slightly lower assumptions for revenue growth and profit margins, even as valuation multiples edge higher.SM: Merger Prospects and Leadership Transition Will Unlock Shareholder Value
Analysts have revised their price target for SM Energy, lowering it from $36.64 to $33.92. This change is based on updated forecasts for revenue growth and profit margins.SM: Planned Merger and Leadership Transition Will Drive Future Performance
Analysts have lowered their price target for SM Energy from $37.54 to $36.64, citing reduced projections for revenue growth even though profit margins remain stable. What's in the News Civitas Resources Inc.SM Energy's (NYSE:SM) Weak Earnings May Only Reveal A Part Of The Whole Picture
Nov 10
Merger Prospects And Rising Oil Output Will Drive Future Gains
Analysts have slightly lowered their price target for SM Energy from $38.62 to $37.54. They cite more cautious estimates for revenue growth and profit margins as the reason for the adjustment.Uinta Basin Production Will Rise Despite Operational Hurdles
Narrative Update: SM Energy Analyst Price Target Adjustment Analysts have revised SM Energy’s fair value estimate downward from $40.00 to $38.62 per share. This adjustment is due to more conservative revenue growth assumptions, which are partially offset by improved profit margin projections and a lower future price-to-earnings ratio.Shareholders May Not Be So Generous With SM Energy Company's (NYSE:SM) CEO Compensation And Here's Why
May 15SM Energy's (NYSE:SM) Solid Earnings May Rest On Weak Foundations
May 10SM Energy: Exploring The Factors Behind The Recent -20% Fall
Apr 07SM Energy: A Look At Its Outlook For 2025
Feb 22SM Energy: Driving Growth With Innovation And Oil Market Tailwinds
Jan 28CEO Compensation Analysis
| Date | Total Compensation | Salary | Company Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31 2025 | US$4m | US$576k | US$648m |
| Sep 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$727m |
| Jun 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$813m |
| Mar 31 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$821m |
| Dec 31 2024 | US$4m | US$162k | US$770m |
Compensation vs Market: Beth's total compensation ($USD4.48M) is below average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD8.56M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Beth's compensation has increased by more than 20% whilst company earnings have fallen more than 20% in the past year.
CEO
Beth McDonald (46 yo)
Ms. Elizabeth Anne McDonald, also known as Beth, was Chief Operating Officer of SM Energy Company from September 9, 2024 until January 30, 2026 and serves as its President since September 8, 2025 and is it...
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | less than a year | US$4.48m | 0.0023% $ 170.0k | |
| Executive VP & CFO | 17.6yrs | US$3.86m | 0.17% $ 12.4m | |
| Executive VP | 3.3yrs | US$2.55m | 0.0062% $ 463.5k | |
| Executive VP & COO | less than a year | no data | no data | |
| VP, Controller & Principal Accounting Officer | 1.1yrs | no data | 0.00069% $ 51.7k | |
| Vice President of Marketing | 2.8yrs | no data | no data | |
| Vice President of Human Resources | 2.3yrs | no data | no data | |
| Senior Vice President of Finance | 1.1yrs | no data | 0.0053% $ 399.8k | |
| Senior Vice President of Utah Business Unit | 1.1yrs | no data | 0.012% $ 872.3k | |
| Vice President of Exploration & Geoscience | no data | no data | no data | |
| Senior Vice President of DJ Business Unit | less than a year | no data | no data | |
| Senior Vice President of Southwest Business Unit | no data | no data | no data |
Experienced Management: SM's management team is not considered experienced ( 1.1 years average tenure), which suggests a new team.
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | less than a year | US$4.48m | 0.0023% $ 170.0k | |
| Independent Director | 11.8yrs | US$300.02k | 0.017% $ 1.3m | |
| Independent Director | 11.7yrs | US$330.02k | 0.038% $ 2.8m | |
| Independent Director | 2.2yrs | US$285.04k | 0.011% $ 835.6k | |
| Independent Chairman of the Board | 19.8yrs | US$428.70k | 0.046% $ 3.4m | |
| Director | less than a year | no data | 0.030% $ 2.3m | |
| Director | less than a year | no data | 0.0073% $ 548.1k | |
| Director | less than a year | no data | 0.056% $ 4.2m | |
| Director | less than a year | no data | 0.026% $ 2.0m | |
| Director | less than a year | no data | 0.037% $ 2.8m | |
| Independent Director | 1.3yrs | US$280.02k | 0.0042% $ 312.2k |
Experienced Board: SM's board of directors are not considered experienced ( 0.3 years average tenure), which suggests a new board.
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2026/04/30 04:15 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2026/04/30 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2025/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2025/12/31 |
Data Sources
The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.
| Package | Data | Timeframe | Example US Source * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Financials | 10 years |
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| Analyst Consensus Estimates | +3 years |
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| Market Prices | 30 years |
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| Ownership | 10 years |
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| Management | 10 years |
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| Key Developments | 10 years |
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* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.
Analysis Model and Snowflake
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Industry and Sector Metrics
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Analyst Sources
SM Energy Company is covered by 41 analysts. 9 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.
| Analyst | Institution |
|---|---|
| Joseph Allman | Baird |
| Jeffrey Robertson | Barclays |
| Rudolf Hokanson | Barrington Research Associates, Inc. |