SLB (SLB) - Company Research
Last Updated: 14 Oct 2026
SLB (NYSE: SLB), formerly Schlumberger, is a global oilfield services and technology company, selling reservoir characterisation, drilling, production and digital services to national and international oil companies. FY2025 revenue was $35.7 billion (-1.6% YoY) with GAAP net income of $3.37 billion ($2.35 per share). Q2 2026 revenue rose 5% year on year to $8.97 billion, but only because of the ChampionX acquisition; organic revenue fell about 5% as the Middle East conflict forced demobilisations in SLB's largest region. Management now points to a recovery in the second half and a fast-growing data center business, which it plans to scale further with the $3.4 billion Kelvion acquisition announced on 31 Aug 2026. Track the share price on our Live Charts.
1. Company Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker / Exchange | NYSE: SLB |
| Legal entity | SLB N.V. (SLB Limited), incorporated in Curaçao; principal offices in Houston, Paris and The Hague |
| Sector / Industry | Energy: Oilfield Services & Equipment |
| CEO / Leadership | Olivier Le Peuch, Chief Executive Officer since August 2019; Stephane Biguet, EVP and CFO |
| Employees | ~109,000 (FY2025 10-K) |
| Market cap | ~$72.4bn ($48.77 close on 13 Oct 2026 x ~1,484m shares outstanding at 30 Jun 2026) |
| FY2025 Revenue | $35,708m (-1.6% YoY), of which ~82% from outside the US |
| FY2025 net income (GAAP) | $3,374m attributable to SLB ($2.35 diluted EPS; $2.93 excluding charges and credits) |
| Latest quarter | Q2 2026: revenue $8,972m, GAAP EPS $0.52, Adjusted EPS $0.55, adjusted EBITDA margin 21.2% |
| Dividend | $0.295 per share quarterly ($1.18 annualised) |
2. Bull & Bear Case
Bull Case
- Data center business scaling fast: Data Center Solutions revenue grew 121% in 2025 and 63% year on year in H1 2026; management targets an annualised run rate above $1bn by end-2026 and above $2bn exiting 2027, before adding Kelvion.
- Middle East recovery set up for H2 2026: Management guided Q3 2026 revenue up 3% to 4% sequentially and expects Q4 2026 revenue to exceed $10bn with an adjusted EBITDA margin near 24%, assuming Middle East activity returns to about 95% of its Q4 2025 level.
- Contract momentum in core markets: Since late September SLB has announced four integrated well construction contracts with Aramco covering more than 450 wells, the subsea production system for ExxonMobil's Rovuma LNG and a 15-year DrillPlan software agreement with TotalEnergies.
- Large, committed shareholder returns: SLB is targeting more than $4bn of returns in 2026, including at least $2.4bn of buybacks, and has said it expects 2027 returns to be at least in line with 2026.
- High-margin recurring Digital revenue: Digital revenue rose 18% year on year in Q2 2026 at a 27.8% pretax margin, with annualised recurring revenue of $1.04bn.
Bear Case
- Core earnings still falling: Q2 2026 net income fell 22% year on year to $786m, and excluding ChampionX revenue declined about 5%; Reservoir Performance and Well Construction margins were down more than 330 basis points year on year.
- Middle East uncertainty: Middle East and Asia revenue fell 14% year on year in Q2 2026, and management said the timing of a full recovery depends on a durable resolution of the regional conflict.
- Rising leverage from deals: Net debt rose to $8.7bn at 30 Jun 2026 from $7.4bn at year-end 2025, and the Kelvion purchase adds about $3.4bn of cash consideration plus about $0.7bn of assumed debt.
- Persistent insider selling: The CEO, CFO and several executives sold shares through 2026, much of it under 10b5-1 plans, with no open-market purchases recorded.
3. Products & Segments
SLB reports four divisions. ChampionX, acquired in July 2025, sits mainly within Production Systems. The All Other line holds Asset Performance Solutions (APS), Data Center Solutions and SLB Capturi (carbon capture).
| Segment | % of revenue | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Production Systems | ~37.3% ($13,325m FY2025) | Well completions, artificial lift, subsea (OneSubsea), surface systems, midstream and production chemicals including ChampionX. |
| Well Construction | ~33.2% ($11,856m FY2025) | Drilling services, fluids, drill bits, measurement-while-drilling and integrated drilling contracts. |
| Reservoir Performance | ~19.1% ($6,820m FY2025) | Evaluation, intervention and stimulation services that characterise and improve reservoir output. |
| Digital | ~7.4% ($2,660m FY2025) | Subsurface and well-planning software (Petrel, Delfi, DrillPlan), data and AI platforms and digital operations. |
| All Other | ~5.6% ($1,987m FY2025) | APS production assets, Data Center Solutions and SLB Capturi. |
Percentages are of FY2025 revenue of $35,708m from the FY2025 earnings release; inter-division eliminations of about -$940m account for the gap between the division sum and the total.
4. Business Model & Moat
How it makes money. SLB earns fees for services and sells equipment and software to oil and gas producers, with roughly four-fifths of revenue earned outside the US. Pricing and activity follow customers' upstream budgets, which track oil and gas prices with a lag. In FY2025 the company generated $8,463m of adjusted EBITDA and pretax segment operating income of $6,574m (18.4% margin).
Why scale matters. With about 109,000 employees and about 82% of revenue earned outside the US, SLB can deliver integrated projects across the whole well life, from seismic and reservoir modelling to drilling and production. Long-term, multi-well contracts such as the Aramco awards reward that breadth and the balance sheet to carry them.
Where the moat lies and its limits. The advantages are technology and software (Digital's 27.8% pretax margin in Q2 2026 shows the value of its platforms), international relationships with national oil companies and an installed base of equipment. The limit is that core services remain cyclical: when customers cut activity, as in the Middle East in 2026, revenue and margins fall quickly, which is why management is building data center and industrial businesses that are less tied to oil prices.
5. Financial Health
SLB reports on a calendar year. Figures are from SLB's earnings releases, 10-K and 10-Q filings and SEC XBRL data.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($m) | YoY % | GAAP EPS | Adjusted EPS | Dividend/share | Long-term debt (YE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $22,929m | -2.8% | $1.32 | $1.28 | $0.50† | $13,286m |
| FY2022 | $28,091m | +22.5% | $2.39 | $2.18 | $0.65† | $10,594m |
| FY2023 | $33,135m | +18.0% | $2.91 | $2.98 | $0.925† | $10,842m |
| FY2024 | $36,289m | +9.5% | $3.11 | $3.41 | $1.075† | $11,023m |
| FY2025 | $35,708m | -1.6% | $2.35 | $2.93 | $1.13† | $9,742m |
Adjusted EPS is SLB's diluted EPS excluding charges and credits. † Dividends declared per calendar year, summed from the quarterly rates SLB announced ($0.125 to Q1 2022, $0.175 from Q2 2022, $0.25 from Q2 2023, $0.275 from Q2 2024, $0.285 from Q2 2025, $0.295 from Q2 2026). Long-term debt excludes short-term borrowings and the current portion of long-term debt.
Quarterly trend, most recent quarter first:
| Quarter / Half | Revenue | Adjusted EPS | GAAP EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 (Jun-26) | $8,972m | $0.55 | $0.52 |
| Q1 2026 (Mar-26) | $8,721m | $0.52 | $0.50 |
| Q4 2025 (Dec-25) | $9,745m | $0.78 | $0.55 |
| Q3 2025 (Sep-25) | $8,928m | $0.69 | $0.50 |
| Q2 2025 (Jun-25) | $8,546m | $0.74 | $0.74 |
| Q1 2025 (Mar-25) | $8,490m | $0.72 | $0.58 |
| FY2025 total | $35,708m | $2.93 | $2.35 |
Cash flow and balance sheet. FY2025 cash flow from operations was $6,489m and capital expenditure (property, plant and equipment) was $1,694m; SLB also invested $428m in APS projects and capitalised $252m of exploration data, giving its own reported free cash flow of $4,115m. Depreciation and amortisation was $2,643m. In H1 2026 operating cash flow was $1,846m and SLB-defined free cash flow $693m. At 30 Jun 2026 SLB held $4,071m of cash and short-term investments against $1,658m of short-term borrowings and $11,140m of long-term debt (net debt $8,727m), with equity of $27,254m.
6. Valuation
Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market cap | ~$72.4bn ($48.77 close on 13 Oct 2026 x ~1,484m shares at 30 Jun 2026) |
| Enterprise value | ~$81.1bn (market cap ~$72.4bn + total debt ~$12.8bn [short-term $1.66bn + long-term $11.14bn] - cash and short-term investments ~$4.07bn, per 30 Jun 2026 balance sheet) |
| Trailing P/E (GAAP) | ~23.8x ($48.77 / TTM GAAP EPS $2.05, Q3 2025 to Q2 2026); on TTM EPS excluding charges and credits of $2.54 the multiple is ~19.2x |
| P/E (forward) | ~17.4x (S&P Global Market Intelligence data via StockAnalysis, 14 Oct 2026) |
| P/S (TTM) | ~1.99x (market cap ~$72.4bn / TTM revenue $36,366m) |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | ~10.8x (EV ~$81.1bn / EBITDA ~$7.49bn; EBITDA = pretax income $4,291m + interest expense $558m + D&A $2,643m, FY2025. SLB does not report a GAAP operating income line, so EBIT is built from pretax income plus interest. On SLB's FY2025 adjusted EBITDA of $8,463m the multiple is ~9.6x) |
| P/FCF | ~15.1x (market cap ~$72.4bn / FCF ~$4.80bn; FCF = operating CF $6,489m - capex $1,694m per FY2025 cash flow statement. On SLB's own FCF definition of $4,115m, which also deducts APS investments and exploration data, the multiple is ~17.6x) |
| Price/book | ~2.7x (market cap ~$72.4bn / total equity $27,254m at 30 Jun 2026) |
| 52-week high | $60.46 |
| 52-week low | $31.64 |
| Dividend yield | ~2.4% ($1.18 annualised / $48.77) |
| Short interest (% of float) | ~4.07% (60.3m shares short, StockAnalysis, page updated 14 Oct 2026) |
| Days to cover | ~4.0 days (StockAnalysis, 14 Oct 2026) |
7. What Are They Building
Data center infrastructure. Data Center Solutions builds modular power, cooling and electrical systems for data center operators, and was selected as a delivery partner for Meta's 1GW data center in Canada. Revenue grew 33% sequentially and 80% year on year in Q2 2026. The pending Kelvion acquisition (heat exchangers and thermal management, expected 2026 revenue of $2.3bn to $2.4bn and adjusted EBITDA of $350m to $400m) would take pro forma 2026 data center revenue above $2bn; SLB targets $4.5bn to $5.0bn of revenue and $700m to $800m of adjusted EBITDA from the combined business in 2028.
Digital and AI. Digital annualised recurring revenue reached $1.04bn at 30 Jun 2026. SLB added reservoir-modelling specialist Tachyus in Q2 2026 and completed the purchase of S&P Global's upstream geoscience software portfolio (Kingdom, Petra, Harmony Enterprise) on 1 Sep 2026.
Production and recovery. ChampionX contributed $870m of revenue in Q2 2026 and delivered a third straight quarter of sequential margin expansion, giving SLB a larger share of production chemicals and artificial lift, which follow producing wells rather than drilling activity.
New Energy. SLB Capturi (80% owned) sells carbon capture plants, and SLB was named strategic reservoir partner for Harbour Energy's Havstjerne carbon storage project in Norway in August 2026. The FY2025 10-K disclosed a significant loss on one SLB Capturi project.
8. Peer Comparison
| Peer | Market cap (Oct 2026) | Key 2025 metric |
|---|---|---|
| Baker Hughes (BKR) | ~$56.0bn (12 Oct 2026) | FY2025 revenue $27.7bn, flat YoY (Baker Hughes Q4 2025 release) |
| TechnipFMC (FTI) | ~$27.6bn (12 Oct 2026) | FY2025 revenue $9,933m, +9.4% YoY (TechnipFMC Q4 2025 release) |
| Halliburton (HAL) | ~$27.2bn (12 Oct 2026) | FY2025 revenue $22.2bn vs $22.9bn in 2024 (Halliburton Q4 2025 release) |
| Weatherford (WFRD) | ~$5.7bn (2 Oct 2026) | FY2025 revenue $4,918m, -11% YoY (Weatherford Q4 2025 release) |
9. Insider Activity
Form 4 filings for 2026 show only sales and no open-market purchases. CEO Olivier Le Peuch has sold shares monthly under 10b5-1 trading plans (adopted 25 Mar 2025 and 27 May 2026) and held 1,296,328 shares after his 1 Sep 2026 sale. Largest transactions:
| Name | Date | Type | Shares | Price | Value | Plan Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivier Le Peuch (CEO) | 01 Sep 2026 | Sale | 35,000 | $60.00 | ~$2.10m | 10b5-1 (adopted 27 May 2026) |
| Olivier Le Peuch (CEO) | 26 Aug 2026 | Sale | 25,000 | $52.55 | ~$1.31m | Not individually verified |
| Olivier Le Peuch (CEO) | 27 May 2026 | Sale | 25,000 | $56.99 | ~$1.42m | 10b5-1 |
| Steve Gassen (EVP Geographies) | 01 May 2026 | Sale after option exercise | 53,379 | $56.18 | ~$3.00m | Not indicated |
| Stephane Biguet (CFO) | 26 Jan 2026 | Sale after PSU vesting | 61,017 | $49.70 | ~$3.03m | No 10b5-1 footnote |
| Abdellah Merad (EVP) | 26 Jan 2026 | Sale | 60,000 | $49.70 | ~$2.98m | Not indicated |
| Olivier Le Peuch (CEO) | 28 Jan 2026 | Sale | 25,000 | $50.40 | ~$1.26m | 10b5-1 (adopted 25 Mar 2025) |
10. Key Risks
- Middle East conflict: SLB's largest region saw demobilisations in 2026; management modelled a downside of about $150m to Q3 2026 revenue, and its Q4 outlook assumes a recovery that depends on the conflict easing.
- Commodity and customer spending cycle: Activity depends on upstream budgets; 2025 revenue already fell in Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Sub-Saharan Africa, and lower oil prices would extend the downturn in core services.
- Acquisition execution: SLB is integrating ChampionX while buying Kelvion for about $4.1bn including assumed debt; regulatory delays or missed synergies (about $120m a year targeted for Kelvion) would weigh on returns.
- Leverage and capital allocation: Net debt rose to $8.7bn at 30 Jun 2026 while SLB maintained more than $4bn of planned 2026 shareholder returns; the company targets net debt to EBITDA of 1.5x or less through the cycle.
- Geopolitics and sanctions: Russia was about 4% of 2025 revenue with roughly $0.7bn of net assets at year-end 2025, and tariffs, currency controls and FX moves affect a business earning about 82% of revenue outside the US.
- Margin pressure: Pretax margins in Reservoir Performance and Well Construction fell 370 and 338 basis points year on year in Q2 2026, and ChampionX faces chemicals cost inflation.
11. Recent Developments
- 08 Oct 2026 — TotalEnergies software deal. SLB signed a 15-year agreement for TotalEnergies to use its DrillPlan well-planning software; Chevron joined the SLB and TotalEnergies digital subsurface collaboration on 06 Oct 2026.
- 29 Sep 2026 — Rovuma LNG subsea award. SLB OneSubsea won the subsea production systems contract for ExxonMobil Moçambique's Rovuma LNG Phase 1; value not disclosed.
- 24 Sep 2026 — Aramco well construction contracts. Four multi-year integrated contracts covering more than 450 wells over three years, with an optional extension of up to two years.
- 01 Sep 2026 — S&P Global software portfolio acquired. S&P Global completed the sale of its upstream geoscience and petroleum engineering software portfolio to SLB; terms not disclosed.
- 31 Aug 2026 — Kelvion acquisition agreed. SLB agreed to buy thermal-management specialist Kelvion from Apollo funds and Triton for about $3.4bn in cash plus about $0.7bn of assumed debt, expected to close in H1 2027 and to be accretive to EPS and FCF in the first 12 months.
- 24 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 results. Revenue $8,972m (+5% YoY, including $870m from ChampionX), GAAP EPS $0.52, Adjusted EPS $0.55 and net income down 22% YoY; full-year capital investment guidance of about $2.5bn was maintained.
12. Key Dates & Catalysts
- 23 Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results; press release 7:00 a.m. ET, conference call 9:30 a.m. ET (per SLB's 28 Sep 2026 announcement).
- Expected Oct 2026 — Next quarterly dividend declaration, normally made alongside quarterly results.
- Expected Jan 2027 — Q4 and full-year 2026 results, including the test of management's above-$10bn Q4 revenue outlook.
- Expected Apr 2027 — Annual general meeting (the 2026 AGM was held on 8 Apr 2026).
- Expected Jun 2027 — Kelvion acquisition closing, guided for the first half of 2027 subject to regulatory approvals.
Also worth watching: Middle East activity levels, the Data Center Solutions run rate against the $1bn year-end target and sector results from Halliburton (20 Oct) and Baker Hughes (27 Oct). Check our Economic Calendar for oil inventory and macro releases, and discuss the stock on the ChartsView Forum.
Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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13. Thesis Verdict
The central thesis. SLB sells oilfield services, equipment and software to oil and gas producers through four divisions, with Production Systems and Well Construction the largest, and earns about 82% of revenue outside the US. FY2025 revenue was $35.7bn (-1.6%) with GAAP EPS of $2.35 and EPS excluding charges and credits of $2.93; in Q2 2026 revenue rose 5% to $8.97bn only because of ChampionX, while net income fell 22% as the Middle East conflict cut activity. Management guides Q3 revenue up 3% to 4% sequentially, Q4 revenue above $10bn and more than $4bn of 2026 shareholder returns. The main structural driver is Data Center Solutions, targeted to pass a $1bn run rate by end-2026 and scaled further by the pending $3.4bn Kelvion acquisition.
What would confirm or break it. Confirmation would be Q3 and Q4 results that show Middle East activity recovering, core margins stabilising and the data center run rate reaching its targets. The thesis would weaken if the Middle East conflict prolongs demobilisations, if core service margins keep falling, or if leverage rises further as the Kelvion deal closes without the promised accretion.
Watchpoints
- ConfirmsQ3 2026 earnings (9 days) landing in line with or above management guidance.
- ConfirmsEvidence supporting the "Data center business scaling fast:" thesis continuing to build across subsequent filings.
- InvalidatesMaterialisation of the "Middle East conflict:" risk, or any disclosure that fundamentally alters the capital-return or growth profile stated by management.
Diagnostic grid
Generated by ChartsView research tooling. Thesis strength measures how well the evidence in this report supports the company's stated thesis — it is NOT a buy/sell rating or price target. ChartsView is not authorised by the FCA to provide regulated investment advice. Generated 14 Oct 2026.