Just checked CVR Energy's Q4 numbers and the earnings picture is pretty mixed. They posted a quarterly loss of $0.8 per share, which actually beat expectations of $0.84 - so technically an earnings beat, but still a loss. The thing is, CVR's revenue came in at $1.81 billion, which did beat consensus estimates by over 4%, so at least the top line held up better than the bottom line.

What caught my attention though is the year-over-year comparison. Last year CVR had a $0.13 loss per share, and now it's nearly six times worse. Revenue also dropped from $1.95 billion a year ago to $1.81 billion this quarter. That's not great for a refining and marketing company in a supposedly recovering energy sector.

Looking at the stock performance, CVR shares are down about 11.5% since the start of the year while the S&P 500 is basically flat. The analyst consensus on CVR is currently a Hold rating, with next quarter expected to show a loss of $0.02 per share on $1.72 billion in revenue. The refining and marketing industry overall is ranked in the bottom 14% of sectors right now, which explains why CVR and similar energy plays are struggling. Probably worth monitoring earnings revisions over the next few weeks to see if the outlook improves, but for now it looks like a wait-and-see situation for most investors.