Shares of oil-services firm
Halliburton
are sliding early Tuesday after third-quarter revenue came in slightly below analysts’ expectations.
Halliburton stock (ticker: HAL) is down 0.5% at $41.45 in premarket trading. The company said revenue for the third quarter came in at $5.8 billion, slightly below estimates for $5.85 billion. Earnings per share were still a beat at 79 cents, higher than the consensus estimate for 77 cents, according to FactSet.
Halliburton and similar services companies tend to do well when oil prices are rising, since higher prices encourage oil producers to invest more. Crude has gained more than 8% over the past three months, boosted by tensions in the Middle East and coordinated supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia.
Oil companies are also flush with cash after bringing in record earnings in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices sharply higher. That’s kicking off a string of mergers.
Chevron
(CVX) this week said it’s buying Hess for $53 billion. Earlier this month,
Exxon Mobil
(XOM) agreed to buy
Pioneer Natural Resources
(PXD) for $65 billion.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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