Halliburton (HAL): adjusted profit per share rises to $0.60 as US land sales fall 5% and international grows 3%
Halliburton, the US oilfield services company, reported third-quarter sales of $5,703m, flat on the previous quarter, and adjusted profit of $0.60 per share, up from $0.55. Reported profit fell to $0.50 per share after a $107m pre-tax charge, mostly severance, and the company gave an early 2027 outlook of mid-single-digit sales growth.
What happened
On 20 October 2026 Halliburton published results for the three months to 30 September. Revenue, the value of work invoiced, was $5,703m, against $5,714m in the second quarter and $5,600m a year earlier. Halliburton sells the services used to drill oil and gas wells and to prepare them to produce. Its two divisions moved in opposite directions: Completion and Production, which includes pressure pumping (pumping fluid into wells at high pressure to release oil and gas), fell to $3,089m from $3,202m, while Drilling and Evaluation rose to $2,614m from $2,512m. All figures are in US dollars and come from the company's own release.
The geography mattered as much as the divisions. North America revenue fell to $2,160m from $2,276m, which the release attributes to lower pressure pumping on US land. International revenue rose to about $3,543m from about $3,438m, led by the Middle East and Asia. Chief executive Jeff Miller said revenue "exceeded our expectations" and that the company took "important steps towards improving our margins". The release also says Halliburton signed memorandums of understanding, non-binding agreements to explore projects, to pursue energy opportunities in Venezuela. The Associated Press, via WTOP, and Zacks (as quoted there) recorded adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share against an average analyst estimate of 58 cents, and sales of $5.7bn against $5.59bn expected.
The numbers, explained
Start with sales. Revenue fell 0.2% on the quarter (5,703 less 5,714 is minus 11, which is 0.19% of 5,714) and rose 1.8% on a year ago (103 on 5,600). Completion and Production fell 3.5% on the quarter (113 on 3,202), and Drilling and Evaluation rose 4.1% (102 on 2,512). In North America sales fell 5.1% (116 on 2,276) and are 8.6% lower than a year ago (204 on 2,364). International sales, which we calculate by adding Latin America ($1,122m), Europe/Africa/CIS ($1,016m) and Middle East/Asia ($1,405m), rose 3.1% on the quarter and 9.5% on the year (3,543 against 3,438 and 3,236). The regions add back to the reported total.
Now profit, where two measures tell different stories. Operating income, the profit from running the business, was $624m on a reported (GAAP, the standard accounting) basis, down from $778m in the second quarter, a 19.8% fall (154 on 778). Net income attributable to the company was $417m, or $0.50 per diluted share, against $534m, or $0.64. But "adjusted" figures, which strip out one-off items, rose: adjusted operating income was $731m against $683m (up 7.0%), and the adjusted margin, the share of each sales dollar kept as operating profit, was 12.8% (731 divided by 5,703) against 12.0%. Adjusted profit per share was $0.60 against $0.55 (up 9.1%) and $0.58 a year ago (up 3.4%). Compared with a year ago, adjusted operating income is 2.3% lower ($731m against $748m), so margins are recovering from last quarter but not yet above last year.
The gap between the two measures is the $107m pre-tax net charge the company excluded: $107m of severance costs, $25m of inventory write-downs, $14m of asset write-offs, less a $36m gain on investments and $3m of other items (107 + 25 + 14 − 36 − 3 = 107). Reported operating income of $624m plus $107m equals the $731m adjusted figure. The release says the severance relates to rationalising global headcount. Cash is a separate test: operating cash flow was $368m and capital spending $266m; adding $54m from asset sales gives the company's definition of free cash flow, $156m. It spent $250m on share buybacks and $141m on dividends ($0.17 per share), a combined $391m, more than that quarter's free cash flow, with cash at $1,843m at 30 September. Over nine months free cash flow was $947m against $984m returned.
Why it matters
Halliburton earns money when oil and gas producers spend on wells. In the US, activity depends on the number of wells operators choose to complete, and this quarter it was weaker; international sales have grown over the past year. This quarter shows the mix shifting: international was about 62% of sales (3,543 on 5,703), against 58% a year ago (3,236 on 5,600). That is our arithmetic, not a company statement. For customers, it means service providers are cutting costs and headcount to defend margins while US land activity, on the evidence of these figures, has weakened (our reading).
For the sector, the useful point is the outlook, which is the company's forecast and not ours. Mr Miller said that, based on an early view of 2027, he expects mid-single-digit revenue growth and operating margins of about 15%, assuming a flat North American market and no recovery in hydraulic fracturing, the pumping technique used to crack rock. He called that recovery "purely upside". Against this quarter's adjusted margin of 12.8%, 15% would be about 2.2 percentage points higher. He also described the world as "another three months into one of the largest energy disruptions in history", a statement from the release that we have not independently assessed.
What to watch next
Halliburton has not stated, in the documents we read, the date of its fourth-quarter results; we have not seen a confirmed date. Large US-listed companies must normally file their full quarterly report (Form 10-Q) with the SEC within 40 days of the quarter-end, which falls on 9 November 2026 for this period. That filing will carry the detail behind the severance charge and the regional figures. The release provided no fourth-quarter guidance, so the next checkable numbers are the company's own results: North America revenue against this quarter's $2,160m, international revenue against about $3,543m, and whether the adjusted operating margin moves above 12.8%.
- Adjusted figures: results with one-off items such as severance and write-downs taken out
- Pressure pumping: pumping fluid into a well at high pressure to release oil and gas
- Free cash flow: cash from operations less capital spending, plus asset-sale proceeds (Halliburton's definition)
Sources
More on Halliburton (HAL) · Energy & Commodities takes
For information only. Not financial advice. See our disclaimer and editorial standards. Spotted an error? Tell us.
