MW Halliburton's outlook backs one analyst's view to buy oil-service stocks now
By Tomi Kilgore
Despite a near-term drag on results, Halliburton's CEO believes the oil-services company will 'thrive' in a post-Iran-conflict world
Halliburton's stock was gaining Tuesday after the company's profits more than doubled, beating expectations, even as the Middle East conflict took a bite out of the oil-services giant's results.
Shares of Halliburton were moving higher in Tuesday trading after the company provided some detail on how the Iran conflict hurt quarterly results, but also expressed an upbeat outlook on the impact the hostilities will have on the oil-services industry.
"I believe the situation in the Middle East will have meaningful and long-lasting implications for the global energy sector," CEO Jeff Miller said, according to an AlphaSense transcript of the post-earnings call with analysts.
He believes there will be increased investment in developing oil and gas resources on a localized basis, which would reduce the need for long-haul transport of supply, as well as an urgency for those without their own supply to diversify sources. Basically, the conflict presents a "far more constructive backdrop" investment in exploration and extraction of oil and gas.
"I believe Halliburton will thrive in this market," Miller said.
Read: Here's how much it could cost to fix Mideast oil and gas production damaged by the Iran war
Melius Research analyst James West said while the Middle East conflict has been a "temporary drag" on Halliburton's results, it will fuel a multiyear structural shift in energy markets.
"The exploration and production spending cycle upturn has been pulled forward, and the time to own these [oil services] stocks is now," West wrote in a note to clients.
Halliburton's stock $(HAL)$ climbed 3.9% in recent midday trading. That rally, and Miller's outlook, also provided a broad boost to shares of the company's peers, as the VanEck Oil Services exchange-traded fund OIH advanced 1.9%, with all 25 of its equity components gaining ground.
That comes as crude oil futures (CL00) rose 2.5% in recent trading and have surged 33.7% since the end of February.
Also read: The current oil shock most resembles the first Gulf War, says UBS. What that means for prices
For the first quarter, the conflict took a bite out of the company's bottom line, and it is expected to have an ever bigger effect in the current quarter.
Net income for the quarter to March 31 more than doubled, to $461 million from $204 million, while earnings per share rose to 55 cents from 24 cents to beat the FactSet consensus of 50 cents.
The company said the conflict, which started on Feb. 28, lowered EPS by 2 to 3 cents. For the second quarter, the company expects a negative EPS impact of 7 to 9 cents.
Reasons for the bigger impact include lost revenue as a result of the conflict and inflated transportation costs.
Meanwhile, the company reported that first-quarter international revenue rose 3% from a year ago to $3.3 billion, but that included a 13% drop in Middle East/Asia revenue to $1.3 billion. The results in the Middle East were due to lower activity in Saudi Arabia and reduced drilling services in Qatar, while Asia saw higher completion tool sales.
North America revenue fell 4% to $2.1 billion, amid lower stimulation activity on U.S. land and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Total revenue slipped 0.3% to $5.4 billion, but that beat the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $5.3 billion.
The company said the Middle East conflict reduced results in both its completion and production and drilling and evaluation businesses, as it led to lower completion tool sales, decreased pressure pumping services and reduced activity in some product-service lines in the region.
Halliburton's stock has run up 34.9% in 2026, while the VanEck Oil Services ETF has shot up 42.8% and the S&P 500 index SPX has gained 3.6%.
-Tomi Kilgore
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April 21, 2026 12:51 ET (16:51 GMT)
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