Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

As a financially-literate decision-maker, have you truly analyzed how a static, non-operating entity like Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) manages to sustain an annualized distribution yield of 8.6% in 2025 amidst volatile energy markets? This unique statutory trust, founded in 1991 by XTO Energy, operates solely as a pass-through vehicle, meaning its nearly $57 million market capitalization is tied directly to net profits from established oil and gas properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. To be fair, while its revenue for the first nine months of 2025 was $4.15 million, its model means unit holders face direct exposure to commodity price swings, so understanding its fixed asset base and the mechanics of its monthly $0.036930 per unit distribution is defintely crucial before you commit capital.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) History

You're looking for the foundational story of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust, and it's a bit different from a typical startup. This entity was created not by a handful of entrepreneurs, but by a major energy company to pass through cash flow to investors. It's a structure, a financial vehicle, not an operating business, so its history is tied directly to the assets and the company that manages them.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Founding Timeline

Year established

The Trust was formally established on February 12, 1991.

Original location

It was formed under the laws of Texas, with its current corporate trustee, Argent Trust Company, operating out of Dallas, Texas.

Founding team members

The Trust was not founded by a team of individuals. It was created by XTO Energy Inc. (which was previously known as Cross Timbers Oil Company) through the conveyance (legal transfer) of specific net profits interests.

Initial capital/funding

Instead of raising capital, the Trust was endowed with assets. XTO Energy conveyed two primary sets of interests: a 90% net profits interest in certain royalty and overriding royalty properties, and a 75% net profits interest in certain working interest properties, all located primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Evolution Milestones

The Trust's trajectory is defined by structural changes in its underlying operator and the financial markets. The biggest shift wasn't an internal business decision, but the massive acquisition of its parent company.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Transformative Moments

The Trust's history is best viewed through three lenses: its static asset base, its operator's ownership, and the ongoing challenge of excess costs on working interests.

The most defintely transformative moment was the June 2010 acquisition of XTO Energy by Exxon Mobil Corporation for a total value of approximately $41 billion, including debt. While the Trust itself did not change, its sole source of income-the net profits from the underlying properties-became managed by a supermajor. This fundamentally changed the counterparty risk profile for unitholders, shifting it from an independent producer to a subsidiary of the world's largest publicly traded oil company.

Another key factor is the nature of the 75% net profits interests, which are subject to production and development costs (working interest properties). This creates a perpetual risk of 'excess costs' that can halt distributions from those specific properties until the costs are recovered. As of November 2025, the underlying cumulative excess costs remaining on the Texas Working Interest net profits interests totaled $5,320,000. This is a concrete, non-recoverable expense that directly impacts distributable cash flow.

• Passive Structure: The Trust's assets are static; no new properties can ever be added to the portfolio.
• Operator Shift: Management of the underlying assets moved from XTO Energy to a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil in 2010.
• Cost Headwind: The cumulative excess costs of $5.32 million on the Texas Working Interest properties act as a continuous drag on net profits.
• 2025 Financial Snapshot: The trailing twelve-month revenue as of mid-2025 was $6.56 million, with a market capitalization around $52.1 million.

If you want to dive deeper into how these historical events translate to current financial performance, you should draft a Breaking Down Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors report for a full analysis of the cash flow mechanics.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Ownership Structure

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) operates as a publicly traded express trust, meaning its ownership is distributed among unitholders, and it does not have the typical corporate structure of a traditional operating company. The control is largely decentralized, with the majority of the beneficial interest units held by individual investors, while the day-to-day governance falls entirely to an independent Trustee.

Given Company's Current Status

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is a publicly traded entity, with its units of beneficial interest trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol CRT. It is not a corporation with employees or active operations; rather, it is a passive pass-through vehicle for royalty income, established in 1991. The Trust's assets are static-it cannot acquire new properties-and its sole function is to collect net profits income from the underlying oil and gas properties operated by XTO Energy Inc. and distribute that cash to unitholders. This structure keeps its market capitalization relatively small, sitting around $57 million as of mid-2025.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is heavily weighted toward individual investors, which is common for royalty trusts designed as income vehicles. With a total of 6.0 million units of beneficial interest outstanding, the ownership breakdown as of the 2025 fiscal year data shows a clear preference for retail holdings.

The high percentage of individual ownership means the unit price is often more sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices and distribution announcements than to large institutional trading activity. For a deeper dive into the unit's financial performance, you should read Breaking Down Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Leadership

Since Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is a passive trust, it does not have a traditional corporate management team-no CEO, CFO, or Board of Directors. The entire governance and administration of the Trust is the responsibility of an independent Trustee, which is a fiduciary role.

• Trustee: The current and sole governing entity is Argent Trust Company. They handle all administrative duties, including calculating and distributing the monthly cash payouts to unitholders.
• Key Administrative Contact: The primary individual overseeing the Trust's administration and investor relations is Nancy Willis, who serves as the Director of Royalty Trust Services for Argent Trust Company.
• Operating Entity: The actual oil and gas properties are owned and operated by XTO Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. XTO Energy Inc. is responsible for calculating and paying the net profits income to the Trust monthly.

The Trustee's role is strictly administrative and fiduciary; they cannot manage the underlying oil and gas properties or reinvest income, so their strategic decisions are limited to expense management and compliance.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Mission and Values

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) operates not as a traditional company with a growth-focused mission, but as a pass-through entity with a singular, legally-defined mandate: to efficiently manage its net profits interests in oil and gas properties and distribute the resulting income to unitholders.

This structure means its core values center on fiduciary responsibility, administrative precision, and transparency, not on market expansion or product innovation. The entire operation is governed by the 1991 Trust Indenture, which is the defintely the most important document for any investor.

Given Company's Core Purpose

The core purpose of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is purely administrative and financial. The trust's assets are static-it cannot acquire new properties-so its focus is on maximizing the distributable cash flow from the existing underlying properties, which are operated by XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. It's a simple, high-stakes math problem every month.

For example, this administrative focus translates directly into the unitholder's return. In the first half of 2025, the trust reported a Q2 2025 revenue of $1.31 million, with a trailing twelve months revenue as of June 30, 2025, of $6.56 million. The entire purpose of the organization is to pass that cash through to you, the unitholder, after deducting administrative costs.

You can see how the financial health of the underlying assets drives everything the trust does. For a deeper look at the numbers, you should read Breaking Down Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Official mission statement

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust does not publish an official, traditional corporate mission statement. Its operational and legal mandate, derived from the Trust Indenture, serves as its core purpose. The trustee, Argent Trust Company, is bound by a fiduciary duty to execute this mandate.

• Collect Revenue: Receive net profits income from the underlying oil and gas properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
• Manage Expenses: Deduct only necessary and authorized administrative expenses from the gross proceeds.
• Distribute Proceeds: Timely distribute the remaining net proceeds to the unitholders. The November 2025 cash distribution, for instance, was declared at $0.036930 per unit.
• Maintain Compliance: Ensure all financial reporting, like the Q3 2025 EPS of $0.08, and tax obligations are met according to SEC and IRS regulations.

Vision statement

A formal vision statement is not provided by the trust because its long-term direction is inherently fixed by the finite nature of the underlying oil and gas reserves. The vision is, essentially, a function of the assets' life and commodity prices.

The long-term operational focus is on managing the decline curve and the associated financial risks. Here's the quick math on one key risk: as of November 2025, the underlying cumulative excess costs remaining on the Texas Working Interest net profits interests total $5,320,000, including accrued interest of $1,437,000. This debt must be recovered from future production before those specific properties contribute net income again. The trust's long-term focus is to ensure that the unitholder receives the maximum possible return until the economic termination of the properties, which is why commodity prices are so critical.

Given Company slogan/tagline

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust does not utilize a company slogan or tagline. Its identity is communicated through its function as a reliable distribution vehicle for royalty income, which is what it is.

The trust's value proposition is simply its distribution history and the financial health of the underlying assets, which currently give it a market capitalization of around $57 million. For investors, the focus is on the distribution yield, which has averaged 9.1% over the last decade, rather than any marketing message.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) How It Works

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) is a passive statutory trust that functions as a pass-through vehicle, distributing net profits from underlying oil and gas properties to its unitholders monthly. It operates without employees or active management, simply collecting royalty income from the operator, XTO Energy Inc., and paying it out, such as the $0.036930 per unit cash distribution declared in November 2025.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

The operational framework is intentionally simple and passive. The Trust's only assets are the net profits interests in the oil and gas properties, and cash held for trust expenses and distribution. It's defintely a hands-off structure.

• Income Collection: XTO Energy Inc., the operator of the underlying properties, manages all exploration, production, and sales. The Trust receives the net profits income after XTO Energy Inc. deducts production and development costs, which can fluctuate monthly.
• Trustee Administration: Argent Trust Company, as the independent Trustee, handles all administrative duties: accounting, compliance, and the monthly cash distributions to unitholders. This structure means CRT has no operating staff.
• Cash Flow Pass-Through: Essentially all the royalty income received is passed through to unitholders. For instance, the Second Quarter 2025 net profits income was $1,345,758, which translated to $0.224293 per unit in distributions.
• Cost Recovery Mechanism: For the working interest properties, if development costs exceed profits, no further profits are paid until those excess costs are recovered. As of November 2025, underlying cumulative excess costs remaining on the Texas Working Interest net profits interests totaled $5,320,000.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

The Trust's competitive edge is its pure, unadulterated exposure to commodity prices without the typical operational headaches or reinvestment mandates of an exploration and production (E&P) company. You get the commodity price swing, period.

• Pure-Play Commodity Exposure: Unitholders get a direct revenue stream tied to the price of oil and natural gas, such as the current month's oil sales at an average price of $60.37 per Bbl and gas at $4.55 per Mcf.
• Zero Operational Risk: Since the Trust is a passive vehicle, unitholders bear none of the capital expenditure (CapEx) or day-to-day operational risks typically associated with E&P companies.
• High Payout Ratio: The Trust is structured to distribute 100% of its net profits income, offering a potentially high, albeit volatile, yield, which was around 8.6% annualized as of mid-2025.
• Static Asset Base: The Trust's assets are fixed; no further properties can be added. This provides clarity on the underlying assets, but also means distributions face a headwind from the natural production decline rate, estimated at 6% to 8% per year.

For a deeper dive into the governance and philosophy that guides this structure, you can review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT).

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) How It Makes Money

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) is a passive investment vehicle that generates revenue by collecting net profits income (NPI) from two distinct sets of underlying oil and natural gas properties, then distributing nearly all of that cash to unitholders. It does not operate the properties or engage in drilling, so its income is purely a function of commodity prices and production volumes from the assets managed by XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's Revenue Breakdown

The Trust's revenue is split between two primary net profits interests (NPIs) derived from oil and gas production, with oil historically representing the larger share of the total income base. The recent trend, however, shows a significant decline in both volume and price for both streams, leading to a sharp drop in overall NPI for 2025.

Business Economics

The economic fundamentals of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust are straightforward but highly sensitive to external market forces, making it a volatile investment. The Trust's income is a direct pass-through of net proceeds from the underlying properties, which are operated by XTO Energy Inc.

• Passive Structure: The Trust itself has no employees, no capital expenditures, and no operational risk, which results in an exceptionally high net margin.
• Net Profits Interests (NPI) Mechanics: The Trust holds two main interests: a 90% NPI in royalty and overriding royalty properties (mostly long-lived gas in the San Juan Basin) and a 75% NPI in working interest properties (mostly oil in Texas/Oklahoma).
• Cost Recovery Risk: The 75% NPI is subject to production and development costs. If costs exceed revenue on those specific properties, the excess costs must be recovered from future net proceeds before the Trust receives any income. As of September 30, 2025, underlying cumulative excess costs on the Texas Working Interest conveyance totaled $5.1 million ($3.8 million net to the Trust), including accrued interest.
• Commodity Price Sensitivity: The Trust's distributable income is a direct function of realized oil and gas prices. For Q3 2025, the average realized oil price was $62.21 per Bbl, a 20% drop, and the average gas price was $3.65 per Mcf.
• Natural Decline: The underlying assets are static-no new properties can be added-and production volumes are subject to a natural decline rate, estimated to be 6%-8% per year, which is a defintely a long-term headwind.

The Trust is essentially a depleting asset, so its value is tied to the remaining economic life of the reserves and the price of oil and gas. Breaking Down Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's Financial Performance

The Trust's financial health is best measured by its Net Profits Income (NPI) and distributable cash flow, as its structure mandates passing through most income. The recent results show a clear contraction in the business engine.

• Revenue Contraction: Net Profits Income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $4,108,712, representing a 19% decline from the prior year period.
• Quarterly Plunge: The third quarter of 2025 was particularly weak, with NPI falling 55% year-over-year to $761,552, driven by a 20% decline in oil volume and a 47% decline in gas volume.
• Distributable Income: For Q3 2025, the distributable income was $453,318, or $0.075553 per unit, after deducting administration expenses and increasing the expense reserve.
• Key Profitability Metrics: Despite the revenue decline, the Trust's passive structure keeps its margins high. As of the Q3 2025 report date, the Net Margin was an impressive 84.24%, and the Return on Equity (ROE) was 231.09%.
• Valuation Snapshot: With 6,000,000 units outstanding, the Trust had a market capitalization of approximately $52.8 million in November 2025, trading at a trailing Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.57.

Here's the quick math: the sharp drop in Q3 NPI means the Trust's ability to generate cash for distributions is under pressure, even with its ultra-lean operating model. The expense reserve, which stood at $1,300,000 as of September 30, 2025, provides a small buffer for administrative costs, but the core engine is sputtering due to lower commodity prices and declining production.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Market Position & Future Outlook

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) holds a stable but finite position in the oil and gas royalty trust sub-sector, acting purely as a passive income vehicle that passes through net profits. The outlook is a direct function of commodity prices and the inevitable decline curve of its underlying assets, which are scheduled to terminate by December 31, 2032, or when reserves are exhausted.

The trust's future trajectory is less about strategic growth and more about managing the rate of decline against a volatile energy price backdrop; its total revenue for the twelve months ending June 30, 2025, was $6.56 million, down significantly from prior years.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) is defined by other oil and gas royalty trusts, which are non-operating, pass-through entities. Since these trusts do not compete for new reserves, their standing is best measured by market capitalization (the total value of their outstanding units) as of November 2025. Here's the quick math on market share within a peer group totaling approximately $264.0 million in combined market cap.

Opportunities & Challenges

As a static royalty trust, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has no operational strategic initiatives-it can't drill new wells or acquire new properties. This structure simplifies the analysis, but it also means the trust is entirely exposed to external market forces and the natural decline of its existing fields. You can dive deeper into who holds these units here: Exploring Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Industry Position

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is a small, non-operating player in the vast US energy sector, but it is a significant entity within the niche of oil and gas royalty trusts. Its primary standing is as a high-yield, high-risk income vehicle.

• It holds a market capitalization of about $53.3 million, making it one of the mid-sized trusts among its direct peers.
• The trust's assets are finite, with a termination date set for December 31, 2032, which limits its long-term investment horizon.
• The dividend risk is high, defintely, due to the direct pass-through of volatile commodity prices; the monthly distribution for November 2025 was $0.036930 per unit, reflecting recent sales of oil at $60.37 per Bbl and gas at $4.55 per Mcf.
• Its passive structure-no debt, no capital expenditures, just distributing net profits-gives it an exceptional net margin, which was around 84.24% in mid-2025, a key financial advantage over operating companies.