(Bloomberg) — SLB, the world’s largest oil-services provider, sees resiliency in the industry and remains constructive about the second half of 2025 despite uncertainties in customer demand.
“Despite pockets of activity adjustments in key markets, the industry has shown that it can operate through uncertainty without a significant drop in upstream spending,” SLB Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement Friday. “This has been driven by the combination of capital discipline and the need for energy security.”
His comments came as SLB posted second-quarter adjusted profit of 74 cents a share, exceeding analyst expectations.
SLB, which gets about 82% of its revenue from international markets, has mitigated some of the negative impacts facing smaller peers that are more levered to domestic production. The company is seen as a gauge for the health of the sector through its broad footprint in all major crude-producing theaters.
U.S. oil drilling has dropped 12% this year to the lowest since September 2021, driven by demand concerns triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals and faster-than-expected increases in OPEC+ production. Government forecasters have trimmed domestic crude-production estimates for 2025, signaling a lower-for-longer activity environment for service companies.
“Looking ahead, assuming commodity prices stay range bound, we remain constructive for the second half of the year,” Le Peuch said.
Traders and analysts will also be listening closely to SLB’s quarterly conference call Friday for more details on the completion of the merger with ChampionX Corp. which the company announced Wednesday, according to a statement.
SLB is a “leader in digital services for the energy industry and could soon become a leader in production services and equipment post the close of the acquisition,” Citigroup Global Markets Inc. analyst Scott Gruber wrote in a note to clients.
SLB is the first of the biggest oilfield contractors to post second-quarter results. Rivals Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Co. are scheduled to report next week.
