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what it is
SLB sells the tools, software, and field services oil companies need to find, drill, and produce energy.
how it gets paid
Last year Slb made $35.7B in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 1.6% last year. The july acquisition of that peer, which is largely focused on supplying oil-well production chemicals and offering artificial-lift solutions, has provided a boost to business.
what just happened
Last earnings landed at $0.55 EPS versus a $0.82 estimate, a 32.93% miss.
At a glance
A+ balance sheet — rock-solid finances — built to survive anything
55/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
15.6x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
18.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 60/100 — average
What they do
SLB sells the tools, software, and field services oil companies need to find, drill, and produce energy.
SLB operates in more than 120 countries, and 82% of 2024 revenue came from outside North America. Scale advantage → it can serve giant projects across borders → so what: your customer base is wider than one shale patch. The business also earns a 26.0% operating margin and an 18.0% return on capital, versus many industrial companies that would love mid-teens returns.
How they make money
$35.7B
annual revenue · revenue declined -1.6% last year
total revenue
$35.7B
1.6%
The products that matter
specialized drilling services
Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD)
new Kuwait contract
It just won its first MPD contract in Kuwait. That matters because higher-spec work helps offset weakness in standard drilling activity, especially when Well Construction just fell 10%.
higher-value work
software and data analytics
Digital Solutions
part of $7.1B · +8%
This sits inside Digital & Integration, the $7.1B segment that grew 8%. In human-speak: this is the cleaner growth story the market wants SLB to become.
cycle buffer
production chemicals and artificial lift
ChampionX assets
2025 deal impact
The ChampionX acquisition added a modest late-2025 revenue boost in North America, but the real test is 2026: if integration costs linger, revenue growth will not translate cleanly into profit growth.
integration watch
Key numbers
82%
international revenue
Geographic mix → where sales come from → so what: your thesis depends far more on global energy spending than on North American drilling alone.
26.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: SLB keeps about 26 cents from each sales dollar before interest and taxes.
18.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money invested → so what: this business still turns capital into earnings better than many industrial peers.
15.6x
trailing p/e
P/E → price compared with last year's profit → so what: you are not paying a hype multiple for a company with global scale.
Financial health
A+
strength
- balance sheet grade A+ — near the highest rating possible
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $10.8B (14% of capital)
- net profit margin 14.7% — keeps 15 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 24% — $0.24 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A+ — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SLB 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,390.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Last earnings landed at $0.55 EPS versus a $0.82 estimate, a 32.93% miss.
That miss clashes with the smoother quarterly history, where 2025 EPS ran $0.72, $0.74, $0.69, and $0.75. Translation: reported numbers got messy while the yearly picture still shows EPS down from $3.41 in 2024 to $2.90 in 2025.
$9.3B
revenue
$0.55
eps
26.0%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was the 32.93% EPS miss, because cyclical stocks get punished fastest when earnings stop behaving.
-
slb is set to report near-term revenue growth, thanks to the addition of championx.the july acquisition of that peer, which is largely focused on supplying oil-well production chemicals and offering artificial-lift solutions, has provided a boost to business in north america. championx likely underpinned a modest top-line gain in the final quarter of 2025. (slb was scheduled to report year-end results as we went to press.) the contribution from the acquisition should be more apparent in 2026. counter to the benefits of the asset purchase, slb’s ongoing operations are enduring stress due to the supply/demand imbalance in the world oil market and supply-chain disruptions from u.s. import duties on various materials. energy exploration & production customers have pulled back on land activities, particularly in the united states. healthy business in areas of the caribbean, middle east, and asia are lending a modest offset to weaker total international revenues.
-
a fast-expanding digital solutions operation is one other offsetting positive.
-
improvement at the bottom line might be somewhat paced.
-
it’s probable revenues fell in 2025.
-
this year, we estimate a near-6% advance at the top line, to $37.5 billion.despite the advance, soft volume is weighing on operating leverage, as are costs associated with the championx integration.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top threat is a deeper pullback in upstream spending, especially in U.S. land drilling.
high
U.S. land spending gets cut further
This is the most direct risk to the core business. Management already pointed to pullbacks in land activity, and Well Construction — the largest segment shown here at $14.3B — already fell 10%.
impact: lower utilization, weaker pricing, and more pressure on reported growth
med
ChampionX integration drags longer than expected
The acquisition is helping the top line, especially in North America, but integration costs are weighing on operating leverage. If those costs linger through 2026, the deal will look more additive to revenue than to earnings.
impact: slower EPS growth even if revenue improves
med
Digital growth is not big enough yet to carry the whole company
Digital & Integration grew 8%, which is good. It still sits next to much larger field businesses that remain cyclical. If drilling demand weakens faster than digital grows, the mix shift will not rescue results on its own.
impact: multiple stays capped near a traditional oilfield-services valuation
low
Insider selling adds bad optics
The CEO, CFO, and chief accounting officer sold $5.8M in shares in January 2026. Insider sales do not automatically mean trouble, but they are not the signal you want when management is also asking you to trust a transition story.
impact: sentiment risk more than operating risk
This risk set touches most of the story at once: the largest segment on the page already fell 10%, the company still depends on a $48B revenue base tied to producer budgets, and the cleaner digital narrative is not yet big enough to fully overpower the cycle.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
Digital & Integration versus Well Construction
One grew 8%. One fell 10%. If that gap keeps widening, the business mix improves. If both weaken, the "technology" narrative loses its edge fast.
calendar
2026 capital return execution
Management committed to return more than $4B through dividends and buybacks in 2026. You want actual cash returned, not just a headline promise.
risk
ChampionX integration costs
The deal is boosting reported revenue. Watch whether margins start improving too. If not, you are looking at expensive growth instead of productive growth.
trend
International activity holding up better than U.S. land
The Caribbean, Middle East, and Asia have been the offset. If those geographies soften too, the diversification argument gets much weaker.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
55 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a smooth earnings story. Expect revisions when customer spending moves.
risk rank
3
That sits on the safer side of the market because of the A+ balance sheet, not because the industry itself is calm.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 798 buyers vs. 601 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 1.2B shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$33
$68
$45
current price
$51
target midpoint · +13% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+75% · 17% ann'l return)
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