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Side-by-side financial comparison of Burford Capital Ltd (BUR) and NL INDUSTRIES INC (NL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

NL INDUSTRIES INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($37.7M vs $33.4M, roughly 1.1× Burford Capital Ltd). NL INDUSTRIES INC runs the higher net margin — -82.2% vs -112.2%, a 30.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. NL INDUSTRIES INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-4.7M vs $-29.3M).

Burford Capital is a financial services company that provides specialized finance to the legal market. Founded in 2009, it offers financing to corporate legal departments and law firms engaged in litigation and arbitration, asset recovery and other legal finance and advisory activities. It operates internationally with headquarters in Guernsey.

NL Industries, formerly known as the National Lead Company, is a lead smelting company currently based in Houston, Texas. National Lead was one of the 12 original stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of its creation on May 26, 1896.

BUR vs NL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
NL
NL
1.1× larger
NL
$37.7M
$33.4M
BUR
Higher net margin
NL
NL
30.1% more per $
NL
-82.2%
-112.2%
BUR
More free cash flow
NL
NL
$24.5M more FCF
NL
$-4.7M
$-29.3M
BUR

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Revenue
$33.4M
$37.7M
Net Profit
$-37.5M
$-31.0M
Gross Margin
32.1%
Operating Margin
-37.9%
7.6%
Net Margin
-112.2%
-82.2%
Revenue YoY
-1.9%
Net Profit YoY
-287.2%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.16
$-0.63

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$33.4M
$37.7M
Q3 25
$69.8M
$40.0M
Q2 25
$191.3M
$40.4M
Q1 25
$118.9M
$40.3M
Q4 24
$38.4M
Q3 24
$159.7M
$33.7M
Q2 24
$44.3M
$35.9M
Q1 24
$38.0M
Net Profit
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$-37.5M
$-31.0M
Q3 25
$-19.2M
$-7.9M
Q2 25
$88.3M
$355.0K
Q1 25
$30.9M
$667.0K
Q4 24
$16.5M
Q3 24
$53.7M
$36.0M
Q2 24
$-29.9M
$7.8M
Q1 24
$6.8M
Gross Margin
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
32.1%
Q3 25
27.6%
Q2 25
31.9%
Q1 25
30.2%
Q4 24
28.8%
Q3 24
28.1%
Q2 24
31.1%
Q1 24
25.5%
Operating Margin
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
-37.9%
7.6%
Q3 25
35.5%
4.6%
Q2 25
74.3%
6.9%
Q1 25
65.4%
7.8%
Q4 24
87.7%
Q3 24
76.1%
6.0%
Q2 24
32.0%
2.2%
Q1 24
3.6%
Net Margin
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
-112.2%
-82.2%
Q3 25
-27.4%
-19.7%
Q2 25
46.2%
0.9%
Q1 25
26.0%
1.7%
Q4 24
43.1%
Q3 24
33.7%
107.0%
Q2 24
-67.6%
21.8%
Q1 24
18.0%
EPS (diluted)
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$-0.16
$-0.63
Q3 25
$-0.09
$-0.16
Q2 25
$0.39
$0.01
Q1 25
$0.14
$0.01
Q4 24
$0.34
Q3 24
$0.24
$0.74
Q2 24
$-0.14
$0.16
Q1 24
$0.14

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$943.5M
$110.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.1B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.4B
$358.8M
Total Assets
$6.6B
$464.2M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.87×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$943.5M
$110.6M
Q3 25
$677.7M
$101.9M
Q2 25
$372.2M
$111.5M
Q1 25
$486.6M
$110.0M
Q4 24
$163.2M
Q3 24
$146.0M
Q2 24
$179.4M
Q1 24
$167.9M
Total Debt
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$2.1B
Q3 25
$2.1B
Q2 25
$1.8B
Q1 25
$1.8B
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$2.4B
$358.8M
Q3 25
$2.5B
$375.4M
Q2 25
$2.5B
$397.6M
Q1 25
$2.4B
$397.6M
Q4 24
$396.9M
Q3 24
$3.2B
$386.0M
Q2 24
$3.1B
$373.1M
Q1 24
$368.1M
Total Assets
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$6.6B
$464.2M
Q3 25
$6.7B
$500.2M
Q2 25
$6.3B
$523.7M
Q1 25
$6.2B
$520.0M
Q4 24
$578.3M
Q3 24
$585.6M
Q2 24
$580.0M
Q1 24
$568.8M
Debt / Equity
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
0.87×
Q3 25
0.86×
Q2 25
0.71×
Q1 25
0.72×
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-29.0M
$-4.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-29.3M
$-4.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-87.7%
-12.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.8%
1.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$21.4M
$-40.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$-29.0M
$-4.2M
Q3 25
$-20.1M
$7.9M
Q2 25
$-84.2M
$7.3M
Q1 25
$155.2M
$-47.5M
Q4 24
$9.0M
Q3 24
$-97.4M
$-5.7M
Q2 24
$53.0M
$15.5M
Q1 24
$6.7M
Free Cash Flow
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
$-29.3M
$-4.7M
Q3 25
$-20.1M
$7.0M
Q2 25
$-84.3M
$5.9M
Q1 25
$155.1M
$-48.3M
Q4 24
$8.7M
Q3 24
$-97.4M
$-6.1M
Q2 24
$52.9M
$15.1M
Q1 24
$6.4M
FCF Margin
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
-87.7%
-12.6%
Q3 25
-28.8%
17.4%
Q2 25
-44.1%
14.7%
Q1 25
130.5%
-119.9%
Q4 24
22.8%
Q3 24
-61.0%
-18.3%
Q2 24
119.5%
42.1%
Q1 24
17.0%
Capex Intensity
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
0.8%
1.6%
Q3 25
0.1%
2.5%
Q2 25
0.1%
3.3%
Q1 25
0.0%
2.0%
Q4 24
0.6%
Q3 24
0.0%
1.4%
Q2 24
0.1%
1.2%
Q1 24
0.8%
Cash Conversion
BUR
BUR
NL
NL
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
-0.95×
20.53×
Q1 25
5.02×
-71.18×
Q4 24
0.54×
Q3 24
-1.81×
-0.16×
Q2 24
1.98×
Q1 24
0.99×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BUR
BUR

Principal Finance Segment$29.1M87%
Other$3.5M10%
Management Fee Income$878.0K3%

NL
NL

Security Products$29.5M78%
Marine Components$8.2M22%

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