Earnings
Halliburton beats estimates and guides to wider margins in 2027 as international work offsets a North American slowdown
The oilfield services group posted $5.7 billion in third-quarter revenue and expects margins of about 15% next year without a recovery in US fracking.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Halliburton reported third-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion and adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share, ahead of analyst forecasts of $5.58 billion and 58 cents. Net income attributable to the company was $417 million, or 50 cents a diluted share. The stock rose about 4% before the opening bell on Tuesday.
The split between regions widened. International revenue climbed 9% from a year earlier to $3.5 billion, while North American revenue fell 9% to $2.2 billion. Middle East revenue rose 8% from the second quarter to $1.4 billion, helped by more work in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Completion and production revenue slipped 4% sequentially to $3.1 billion as fracking activity in the Western Hemisphere eased.
For 2027, management pointed to mid-single-digit revenue growth and an operating margin of around 15%, roughly 200 basis points higher, assuming flat North American activity and no rebound in US fracking. About half of that gain is expected to come from cost savings. Halliburton bought back about $250 million of stock in the quarter and expects roughly $1.6 billion of free cash flow for 2026, with fourth-quarter EPS guided at about 62 to 64 cents.
Why it matters: with WTI above $100, investors have been asking when high oil prices feed through to services demand. Halliburton's guide does not rely on a US shale recovery, leaving that as upside, while it says Strait of Hormuz logistics costs are already built into its 2027 assumptions. SLB and Baker Hughes rose about 1% in premarket trading, so watch whether peers' results confirm the shift toward international and Middle East work.