The takeaway
Occidental Petroleum Corporation shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 6 years of data — strongest in March (+11.8%) and softest in April (−12.0%).
Right now
In July, the stock has fallen 60% of years, averaging −0.7%, roughly 2.9 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
Occidental Petroleum Corporation's most dependable month has been March, higher in 4 of 5 years; April has been its least reliable, up just 0% of the time.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win rate % | ||||||||||||
| Median return % | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in February (+11.6 pts); it has trailed the market most in April (−13.7 pts).
“vs S&P” is Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, March has closed higher 80% of the time versus 80% across the last 6 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) March return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 6(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 6-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
The seasonal story is really one month's story — March. It has closed higher in 4 of 5 Marches, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+11.8%) and median (+9.5%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. That reliability comes with real swings, mind — even March ranges by 15.1% from year to year, so any single year can land far from the average. Better still, that strength is the stock's own and not just a buoyant market — March has outpaced the S&P 500 by +10.8 points on average. Few peers keep such company in March — the typical stock clears it just 56% of the time.
March anchors a run, too: the January-through-March window has been the stock's reliable season. At the other end of the calendar, April has been the soft spot — the weakest of 4 months that average a loss (−12.0%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in April, October, and July. Its roughest month on record was a −31.8% April in 2025 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
For a stock this dependable in March, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on. With a short 6-year record and returns that swing hard year to year, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the stock's best month (March), its worst (April), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2020 its best month (March, +11.8%) has run well ahead of its worst (April, −12.0%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
March has been the strongest, averaging +11.8% and closing higher in 4 of 5 years since 2020.
It's the weakest, averaging −12.0% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade