Halliburton Company

Halliburton Company is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, helping oil and gas operators locate hydrocarbons, drill and evaluate wells, and complete and optimize production across the full reservoir lifecycle. The company generated $22.2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, operating across more than 70 countries with roughly 46,000 employees.

This is a story about a cyclical industrial franchise navigating a softening revenue environment while generating substantial free cash flow and returning it aggressively to shareholders. The file turns on a single question: whether Halliburton's international growth and technology differentiation can offset a structurally challenged North American pressure pumping market — and whether the current margin compression is cyclical or something more durable.

The company enters mid-2026 at a potentially pivotal moment. Revenue has declined for two consecutive years from the FY2023 peak. Gross margins have compressed from nearly 19% to under 16%. North American activity remains subdued. Yet the balance sheet has never been stronger, the share count is at a ten-year low, and management argues — with some early evidence — that the oilfield services cycle is turning again, this time propelled by Middle Eastern supply disruption rather than demand growth. Whether that thesis holds determines whether Halliburton at 10 times trailing EBITDA is cheap or a value trap.