Schlumberger's Margin Resilience: Analyst Highlights Digital & Production Strength Despite Price Cut
Analyst's Price Forecast: Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro has reduced Schlumberger's price target from $58 to $54 while maintaining a Buy rating, following a 3% decline in Q1 2025 revenue that missed estimates.
Future Expectations: Despite current challenges, Gengaro highlights strong free cash flow expectations and the potential benefits of the ChampionX acquisition, which could enhance SLB's market position.
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- Contract Overview: SLB has been awarded multiple contracts by Mubadala Energy for the Tangkulo natural gas deepwater development and associated exploration activities in the Andaman Sea, covering integrated drilling and well services across the full well life cycle.
- Technological Advantages: The project will leverage SLB's offshore technologies, including real-time downhole monitoring, aimed at reducing operational risks, improving well placement, and enhancing project economics, showcasing the company's technical prowess in deepwater operations.
- Project Timeline: First gas from the Tangkulo development is targeted for production before the end of 2028, which presents potential revenue growth opportunities for SLB as the project progresses.
- Market Outlook: The signing of these contracts not only solidifies SLB's position in the Indonesian market but also has the potential to drive further expansion in the global deepwater drilling services market, enhancing the company's overall competitiveness.
- Stock Recovery: Halliburton's shares have surged 55% since beating Q3 earnings estimates in October, successfully reversing summer lows and demonstrating market confidence in management's cost control initiatives.
- Profitability Improvement: Although Q4 revenue grew only 1% year-over-year, adjusted operating margins rebounded from 13% in Q2 to 15%, indicating a recovery in profitability driven by increased revenue from international contracts.
- Strong International Market: Despite a 7% sequential decline in North American sales due to reduced shale activity, international revenue rose 7% sequentially, with the Europe/Africa region seeing a 12% increase in revenue from higher tool sales, reflecting a global demand rebound.
- Share Buyback Strategy: Halliburton repurchased 42 million shares last year at an average price of $23.80, continuing its strategy to reduce total share count, and plans to maintain this buyback pace in 2026, further enhancing shareholder value.
- Energy Sector Recovery: The energy sector has achieved eight consecutive weeks of growth, a trend not seen in nearly two years, indicating a market shift towards tangible resources amid stagnation in Big Tech.
- Contract-Driven Growth: SLB's recent international project awards and higher-margin digital completions have reignited confidence that service providers are entering a multi-year spending upswing, driving overall industry performance.
- Capital Expenditure Shift: Major companies like Exxon and Chevron are shifting their capital programs towards complex, high-return projects that require more engineering, equipment, and services, providing robust support for SLB and Baker Hughes.
- Tech Sector Lagging: While investors are skeptical about the rapid growth of AI revenues in the tech sector, the energy sector's sustained performance suggests a preference for tangible scarcity over digital hype, reflecting a broader investor inclination towards physical assets.
Energy Sector Forecast: The energy sector is expected to experience tempered performance in 2026, with analysts predicting a global oil surplus and weaker demand following a modest growth of 8.7% in 2025.
Mixed Earnings Reports: Major oil companies are reporting mixed earnings, with Chevron beating earnings per share expectations but missing revenue forecasts, while ExxonMobil and others show strong year-to-date gains despite some misses.
Future Growth Projections: Chevron forecasts a compound annual growth rate of around 10% for cash flow from operations by 2026, while ConocoPhillips and Shell aim to reduce operating costs significantly this year.
Market Trends and Investment Opportunities: The energy sector remains favorable for investors, with recommendations for stocks like ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as ETFs that provide exposure to top natural gas and oil producers.
- Transportation Shares Movement: Recent activity in transportation stocks indicates potential for continued stock market rally despite recent downturns.
- Market Resilience: The resilience of transportation shares suggests that investor confidence may remain strong, supporting overall market performance.
- Stock Market Dynamics: The interplay between transportation stocks and broader market trends highlights the importance of sector performance in stock market recovery.
- Investor Sentiment: Positive movements in specific sectors like transportation can influence overall investor sentiment and market outlook.
- Executive Appointment: Star Mountain Capital announces the addition of Donald Raymond as Senior Advisor, who will leverage his extensive experience at Qatar Investment Authority and CPP Investments to enhance investment portfolio construction and strategic direction.
- Portfolio Development: With over 30 years in global investment, Raymond previously expanded CPP Investments' public market portfolio from $11 billion to $100 billion, showcasing his exceptional asset management capabilities.
- Strategic Impact: His expertise not only strengthens Star Mountain's investment capacity in the lower middle market but also enhances the firm's competitive edge through his profound understanding of portfolio construction and institutional governance.
- Company Vision: Star Mountain Capital focuses on scalable, data-driven investment solutions, aiming to meet the diverse needs of public and private pensions, insurance companies, and other investors through direct and secondary investment strategies.









