Halliburton Reports In-Line Q4 Earnings Amid North America Slowdown

Halliburton Company HAL reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted net income per share of 70 cents, the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate but below the year-ago quarter’s profit of 86 cents (adjusted). The numbers reflect softer activity in the North American region, partly offset by improved fluid work in the Gulf of Mexico.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.Meanwhile, revenues of $5.6 billion were 2.2% lower year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $31 million.Halliburton Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Halliburton Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Halliburton Company QuoteInside Halliburton’s Regions & SegmentsNorth American revenues fell 8.7% year over year to $2.2 billion and missed our projection by 1.1%. On the other hand, revenues from Halliburton’s international operations increased $81 million from the year-ago period to $3.4 billion but failed to surpass our estimate by some $11 million. The Completion and Production segment earned $629 million in operating income, lower than last year’s $716 million but slightly above our estimate of $628 million. The decline was due to reduced stimulation activity in North America and lower pressure pumping services in Latin America. However, this was offset by higher year-end sales of completion tools and increased artificial lift activity in North America and the Middle East, along with better stimulation activity in Africa and the Middle East.The Drilling and Evaluation unit's profit dropped to $401 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 from $420 million in the same period in 2023 and fell short of our estimate of $417.5 million. The decline was caused by reduced drilling services in the Middle East and Latin America, along with lower wireline activity globally. On the positive side, the unit benefited from better fluid services in the Middle East and Europe/Africa, increased drilling services in the North Sea, and stronger international software sales.Balance SheetHalliburton reported fourth-quarter capital expenditure of $426 million, higher than our projection of $450.2 million. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company had approximately $2.6 billion in cash/cash equivalents and $7.2 billion in long-term debt, representing a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 40.4. HAL bought back $309 million worth of its stock during the October-December period. The company generated $1.5 billion of cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter, leading to a free cash flow of $1.1 billion.   You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Management Remarks & OutlookHalliburton's management remains optimistic about the company's long-term outlook despite expecting some softness in the North American market in 2025. The leadership highlighted the company's strong performance in 2024, with over $2.6 billion in free cash flow generated and $1.6 billion returned to shareholders.HAL plans to focus on executing its value proposition and strengthening its technology portfolio. Key growth areas include drilling technology, unconventional resources, well intervention and artificial lift. These efforts aim to drive sustained value creation for stakeholders.Important Earnings at a GlanceWhile we have discussed Halliburton’s fourth-quarter results in detail, let’s take a look at the two other key reports of this space.Oil service biggie SLB SLB reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 92 cents, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents and higher than the year-ago quarter’s profit of 86 cents. The robust numbers reflect broad-based growth and margin expansion, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Additionally, advancements in AI and autonomous operations continue to contribute significantly to SLB’s results.Along with the quarterly earnings, SLB announced approvals from the board of directors to hike quarterly dividends by 3.6%. The company has also decided on an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program involving the repurchase of $2.3 billion of its common stock. Notably, the ASR is part of SLB’s broader plan to return a minimum of $4 billion to its shareholders in 2025 through dividends and stock repurchases.Energy infrastructure provider Kinder Morgan KMI reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents, shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents. The lower-than-expected quarterly earnings were primarily due to decreased volumes on certain systems, asset divestitures, and lower crude, CO2 and NGL volumes. KMI’s fourth-quarter DCF was $1.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion a year ago.As of Dec. 31, 2024, Kinder Morgan reported $88 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its long-term debt amounted to $29.8 billion at the quarter-end. For 2025, Kinder Morgan projects a net income of $2.8 billion, up 8% from the 2024 level, and an adjusted EPS of $1.27, up 10%. The company expects to declare dividends of $1.17 per share, up 2% from the prior-year figure. It also anticipates budgeted adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 billion, up 4% from the previous year’s level.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Schlumberger Limited (SLB): Free Stock Analysis Report Halliburton Company (HAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Kinder Morgan, Inc. 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