Oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. (HAL) is slated to release its third-quarter earnings results before the market opens today. On average, 25 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to post earnings of $0.26 per share for the quarter, with estimates ranging between $0.22 and $0.30 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Revenues for the quarter are estimated to be $3.41 billion, representing a decline of 29.6% from last year.
In the year-ago period, the Houston, Texas-based company had posted net loss of $21 million or $0.02 per share, and adjusted net income, excluding non-recurring items, of $687 million or $0.76 per share, on revenues of $4.85 billion.
While announcing the second-quarter results back in July, Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive officer, had said, "Weak global demand and volatility in the commodity markets continue to weigh on the oilfield services industry. Due to the continued weakness in natural gas demand, reflected in the high injection rates for working gas storage, we believe it is unlikely that there will be a meaningful recovery in natural gas prices and, consequently, drilling activity for the remainder of the year."
According to him, the downturn in international markets has not been as pronounced due to the strengthening commodity prices, deflationary cost environment, and stabilizing financial markets, which are improving the customers' overall project economics. He pointed out that the strength of international markets will ultimately be dependent on the health of commodity pricing, financial markets, and robustness of global demand.
Lesar added, "We believe that the long term economic fundamentals of our industry are bright. While we have taken prudent steps to control costs and improve financial flexibility, we continue to execute our strategy of maintaining disciplined investments in technology, capital equipment, and global infrastructure to ensure that we are well positioned at the other side of this cycle."
Founded in 1919, Halliburton provides various products and services to the energy industry for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties through its two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. With more than 50,000 employees in approximately 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry.
In the preceding second quarter, Halliburton reported a sharp decline in its profit to $262 million or $0.29 per share from prior-year's $504 million or $0.55 per share, and revenue slid to $3.49 billion from $4.49 billion last year, reflecting lower turnover from its Completion and Production and Drilling and Evaluation business segments. The company then said that its results were negatively impacted by the steep continued downturn in North America drilling activity.
Among other players in the field, Houston, Texas-based peer, Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) is slated to report third-quarter results on Friday, October 23. Analysts project earnings of $0.63 per share, on revenues of $5.50 billion for the quarter, lower than prior-year's earnings of $0.63 per share and revenues of $7.26 billion, respectively.
While announcing the second quarter results, Schlumberger said its outlook for the remainder of 2009 assumes some stability but no major increase in the North American natural gas rig count, and as a result service pricing will remain depressed. Internationally, the company projects further activity declines, but will be limited and the pricing concessions made in the first half of the year will affect revenues in the second half.
Schlumberger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gould then commented, "We are aware that a number of projects are continuing to be postponed or canceled. We are also concerned that the higher finding and development costs of new supply, coupled with lower oil and gas prices and more restrictive credit markets are stifling investment flows. This situation, if it persists, will lead to inadequate supply when demand growth returns. The shape of the economic recovery beyond 2009 and the consequent recovery in oil and gas demand remain the determining factors for future activity increases."
Houston, Texas-based Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI), the world's third-largest oilfield services company behind Schlumberger and Halliburton, will post its third-quarter results on November 5. Wall Street analysts have a consensus earnings estimate of $0.36 per share on revenues of $2.27 billion for the quarter.
In an October 15 research note, brokerage BMO Capital Markets initiated its coverage on Halliburton with an 'Outperform' rating.
HAL, which has been trading between $12.80 and $30.00 in the past 52 weeks, closed Thursday's regular trading session at $29.85, up $0.66 or 2.26%, on a volume of 30.55 million shares.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.