SLB二季度电话会称四季度收入有望超过100亿美元并上调数据中心业务远期目标

Earnings Call Insights: SLB (SLB) Q2 2026
Management View
- CEO Olivier Le Peuch said Q2 was “a solid quarter for SLB, marked by broad-based international growth and rebound in North America,” while noting the Middle East remained disrupted: “operations in Iraq remained constrained by security challenge.”
- Le Peuch highlighted momentum in Production Systems and Digital, tying demand to customers’ focus on “improving production, enhancing recovery and extending the life of existing assets.” He added, “Production Systems adjusted EBITDA margins returned to above 20%,” and said ChampionX “delivered sequential margin expansion for the third consecutive quarter” despite chemical cost inflation.
- Le Peuch said Digital had a strong quarter with exploration data strength and ARR growth, adding, “Digital adjusted EBITDA margins to reach approximately 35% for the quarter. Additionally, annual recurring revenue increased by 15% year-over-year.”
- On Data Center Solutions, Le Peuch said revenue “increasing 33% sequentially and 80% year-on-year,” and that backlog is “growing ahead of expectations.” He added: “we now foresee that Data Center Solutions will exit 2027 at an annualized revenue run rate exceeding $2 billion.”
- CFO Stephane Biguet reported: “Second quarter earnings per share excluding charges and credits was $0.55,” and “our second quarter revenue of $9 billion increased 3% sequentially, despite severe disruptions in the Middle East.”
Outlook
- Le Peuch guided Q3 on a base case of Middle East recovery: “we expect global sequential revenue growth between 3% and 4%, with adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of approximately 75 basis points,” and said core divisions should grow “in the low to mid-single digits,” while “Digital revenue is expected to grow in the low single digits.”
- Le Peuch provided a downside scenario tied to renewed conflict: “we estimate third quarter revenue will be approximately $150 million lower than our base case assumption,” translating into “an adjusted EBITDA headwind of approximately $75 million,” concentrated in “Well Construction and Reservoir Performance.”
- For Q4, Le Peuch said SLB’s preliminary view assumes Middle East activity “between $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion,” which he described as “approximately 95% of the revenue achieved in the fourth quarter of 2025,” and added: “we would expect fourth quarter revenue to surpass $10 billion” with “adjusted EBITDA margin to be approximately 24%.”
- Compared with Q1’s more conditional framing (“it is challenging to provide precise guidance for this quarter”), Q2 included explicit Q3 growth and margin-expansion expectations plus a quantified downside scenario.
Financial Results
- Biguet said Middle East disruption weighed on results but was offset by other geographies: “Strong performance in Latin America, Europe and Africa, U.S. land and Asia more than offset the decline in the Middle East where revenue fell 13% sequentially to $1.66 billion.”
- Biguet said profitability improved sequentially: “our pretax segment operating margin increased 49 basis points sequentially and our adjusted EBITDA margin increased 83 basis points sequentially,” adding the company used “temporary cost actions” in the Middle East.
- By division, Biguet reported Digital revenue of “$697 million,” Reservoir Performance revenue of “$1.6 billion,” Well Construction revenue of “$2.7 billion,” and Production Systems revenue of “$3.8 billion.”
- Biguet described cash flow and capital return: “We generated $1.4 billion of cash flow from operations and free cash flow of $716 million,” ended with “net debt of $8.7 billion,” and said SLB repurchased “$648 million” of stock while still targeting “to return more than $4 billion to our shareholders in 2026.”
Q&A
- Scott Gruber, Citigroup: Asked about the bridge to Q4 revenue surpassing $10 billion and whether Q4 is a reasonable 2027 run-rate; CEO Le Peuch responded, “I will not comment at this point on ’27,” and described Q4 drivers as “the further Middle East recovery,” “the usual year-end sales into Digital and Production Systems,” and “Data Center,” while CFO Biguet clarified Q2 Middle East revenue was “$1.66 billion” and reiterated the Q3 downside case could bring Middle East revenue “more or less the level of Q2.”
- Scott Gruber, Citigroup: Asked about exploration durability; CEO Le Peuch said exploration/appraisal is “not being a trend of 1 quarter, but a long-term trend,” citing reserve replacement and energy security, and referenced offerings including “Reservoir Performance wireline,” Digital exploration data, and “AlphaSight.”
- James West, Melius Research: Pressed on urgency and sequencing of Middle East recovery work; CEO Le Peuch said customer engagement is increasing to “secure mobilization resource,” with early vectors including “production recovery… well intervention… ChampionX capability,” plus Digital as “a new catalyst.”
- John Anderson, Barclays: Asked about offshore acceleration into 2027 and timing of Middle East restoration; CEO Le Peuch said deepwater activity should “grow directionally well into next year,” reiterated an ambition that “our subsea booking will reach $9 billion over 2 years,” and cautioned “it will not be prudent to assume that the things will restore in weeks.”
- Neil Mehta, Goldman Sachs: Asked what SLB provides in Data Center Solutions and economics; CEO Le Peuch described off-site modular delivery for “server hall” and “cooling equipment,” and CFO Biguet said the business is “not accretive to SLB’s overall margins” but “very accretive to top line growth… earnings growth” with “very strong free cash flow generation.”
- Keith MacKey, RBC: Asked about Venezuela and revenue potential; CEO Le Peuch referenced scaling under an “OFAC license,” and said SLB expects “significant scale-up… during the next few months” to shape “2027 in a significant growth curve,” while noting prior peak staffing and revenue: “more than 3,000 people” and “more than $1 billion.”
Sentiment Analysis
- Analysts’ tone was slightly skeptical on geopolitical and timing assumptions, including Barclays calling SLB’s view “a little bit controversial,” and repeated probing on recovery speed, offshore growth, and scaling constraints in data centers.
- Management’s tone was slightly positive with conditional caution on the Middle East, using phrases such as “base case assumes a gradual recovery,” while also expressing confidence in strategy execution: CEO Le Peuch said the market is “beginning to exhibit the characteristics of an upcycle” and “we are confident” in Digital growth drivers.
- Versus Q1, management maintained a conflict-focused posture but shifted toward more quantified outlook framing (base case, downside scenario, and preliminary Q4 ranges) and emphasized improved sequential financial delivery.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- Q2 highlighted “rebound in U.S. land” and “broad-based international growth,” while Q1 described “a challenging start of the year” with “severe disruption in the Middle East that impacted our first quarter revenue and earnings.”
- Data Center Solutions expectations stepped up from Q1’s “on track to exit the year at a $1 billion run rate” to Q2’s “exit 2027… exceeding $2 billion,” alongside new partnership references including “the recent announcement with Meta.”
- Q2 guidance language became more specific, with explicit Q3 revenue growth and margin expansion ranges plus a quantified downside case; Q1 centered on a scenario framework for Q2 without a global growth range.
Risks and Concerns
- Le Peuch said the Middle East recovery path remains uncertain: “returning to full activity will take time and the pace of recovery will vary by country,” with Iraq “constrained by security challenge.”
- Management cited logistics and cost pressures easing over time; Le Peuch said SLB is “learning how to readjust… the logistics and the supply” to “avoid some of the excessive costs.”
- Pricing was described as a 2026 headwind: Le Peuch said pricing has been “generally speaking, globally a headwind in 2026,” especially in “large competitive tenders.”
Final Takeaway
Management framed Q2 as resilient performance despite Middle East disruption, with sequential improvements in revenue, margins, and free cash flow, and emphasized three forward drivers for investor focus: a quantified Q3 base case with a defined downside tied to geopolitical volatility, a preliminary Q4 view calling for revenue surpassing $10 billion with approximately 24% adjusted EBITDA margin, and an expanded “beyond the core” growth narrative led by Digital and Data Center Solutions, including an expectation to exit 2027 with a Data Center Solutions annualized revenue run rate exceeding $2 billion.
Read the full Earnings Call Transcript