SLB’s Q2 Earnings: What Are We Watching?

SLB’s stock (NYSE: SLB), formerly known as Schlumberger, which provides oil field services including drilling, completion, and production solutions to upstream oil & gas companies in the U.S. and abroad, is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter results on Friday, July 21. We expect SLB’s stock to likely see little to no movement due to revenues and earnings coming in line with the market expectations in its second quarter. The company’s international and offshore markets continue to experience a strong resurgence of activity driven by resilient long-cycle development and capacity expansion projects. However, the North American land market could result in an activity plateau in 2023 due to lower-than-expected natural gas prices and capital restraint by private exploration & production operators. While supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia have helped to build a more supportive environment for oil prices currently, any signs of a potential economic slowdown in the U.S. could lead to questions about demand in the short run.

According to the International Energy Agency, global liquid fuel production is expected to increase by 1.2 million barrels/day in 2023, primarily because of growth from non-OPEC producers such as the United States, Norway, Canada, Brazil, and Guyana. Because these market dynamics will spur new drilling activity, SLB should likely be able to flex its pricing power as both land drilling and offshore activity increase, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, where the services company has a significant presence. The company is also forecasting more activity and spending at the hole drilled to aid in the exploration and recovery of oil and gas, with most new activity coming from the Middle East and Latin America. That suits it just fine as more than three-fourths of the company’s revenue comes from international markets.