Noble Widens Loss as Adjusted Ebitda Falls

The Tip Desk · October 27, 2026 · 3 min read

The offshore driller posted a $117 million net loss and $201 million of Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter, then booked about $560 million of new contracts.

Noble Corporation plc (NE) reported a $117 million net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2026, a $0.73 loss a share, as Adjusted EBITDA slipped 5% from the prior quarter.

The offshore drilling contractor said the period marked the successful resumption of operations for both of its rigs in Brazil, but was also affected by several other rigs transitioning between contracts. Adjusted diluted earnings swung to a $0.57 loss a share from $0.01 of adjusted diluted earnings in the second quarter.

Total revenue was $729 million, compared with $720 million in the prior quarter. Contract drilling services revenue was $684 million. Contract drilling services costs rose to $469 million from $446 million.

Utilization of the 28 marketed rigs was 70%, up from 67%. The 23 marketed floaters were 66% contracted, versus 64%. Average floater utilization was 63%, while jackup utilization was 79% and total utilization 67%. Operating days were 1,977. Average floater dayrates were $403,113; jackup dayrates were $207,651; total average dayrates were $345,846.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $144 million. Capital expenditures were $192 million, and free cash flow was $(48) million. Cash and cash equivalents were $337 million at September 30, 2026, versus $456 million at June 30. Total debt principal remained $1.9 billion.

On October 9, the sale of the Noble Resolve closed, with the company receiving the remaining $45 million of proceeds. The sale of the Noble Globetrotter II is expected to close in the fourth quarter for $38 million. The board approved a $0.50 a share interim cash dividend for the fourth quarter, expected to be paid December 17, 2026.

Since the July fleet status report, Noble said it had secured approximately $560 million in new contract value, adding about 44 months of floater backlog and 26 months of jackup backlog. Backlog stood at $6.7 billion as of October 26, 2026. Leading-edge dayrates for Tier-1 drillships ranged between the mid-$400,000s and $500,000; jackup leading-edge dayrates ranged between $230,000 and $300,000.

Awards included a four-well contract for Noble BlackRhino with TotalEnergies in Nigeria expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026, a five-well contract for Noble Faye Kozack with Tullow in Ghana expected to commence in mid-2027, and a one-well contract for Noble Interceptor with DNO in Norway expected to commence in the third quarter of 2027, followed by a planned long-term P&A scope for ConocoPhillips on the Ekofisk field. Other fixtures included Noble BlackHawk with Apache in Uruguay, Noble Globetrotter I with Occidental in Peru, and Noble Intrepid with ORLEN in Norway.

For the full year 2026, Noble narrowed revenue guidance to $2,850 million to $2,900 million from $2,800 million to $2,900 million, and narrowed Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $850 million to $900 million from $850 million to $925 million. Capital expenditures guidance was increased to $680 million to $705 million from $615 million to $665 million, primarily attributable to higher customer reimbursable capital expenditures. Excluding a $40 million increase in customer reimbursable capital expenditures, from $25 million to $65 million, the company said capital expenditures guidance would remain within the prior range.

President and Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Eifler said forward contract coverage and dayrate trends for both deepwater and ultra harsh environment jackups continue to methodically improve, and that the company continues to build backlog that supports an expected meaningful inflection in fleet utilization and cash flow starting in the second half of 2027, with already approximately 20% more contracted capacity in the fleet in the second half of 2027 compared with the first half of 2027.