NOV's Fourth-Quarter Revenue Outlook Is Roughly Flat

The Tip Desk · November 8, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter revenue reached $2.23 billion as Energy Products and Services rose 9% and the company guided fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $260 million to $300 million.

NOV Inc. (NOV) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.23 billion, up 4% sequentially and 2% from a year earlier, as Energy Products and Services recovered and Energy Equipment held near its prior-year level.

Net income was $90 million, or $0.25 a share, down $22 million from the second quarter and up $48 million from the year-ago period. Operating profit was $142 million, or 6.4% of sales. Adjusted operating profit was $188 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $281 million, or 12.6% of sales, including an approximately $5 million tariff-refund benefit.

Chief executive Jose Bayardo said the sequential and year-over-year revenue growth reflected support for customers in the Middle East and a ramp in manufacturing throughput against a growing backlog of capital-equipment orders in Energy Products and Services. He said Adjusted EBITDA flowthrough, excluding tariff refunds, reflected execution and efficiency gains.

Energy Products and Services generated $1.06 billion of revenue, up 9% from the third quarter of 2025. Operating profit was $88 million, or 8.3% of sales. Adjusted EBITDA was $153 million, or 14.5% of sales. The company said revenue growth was led by increasing manufacturing throughput against a growing backlog of drill pipe and composite equipment, with higher margins from cost-structure and operational improvements.

Energy Equipment generated $1.22 billion of revenue, down 2% from a year earlier. Operating profit was $122 million, or 10.0% of sales, and included $14 million of pre-tax Other Items and a $22 million net loss on write-down of fixed assets. Adjusted EBITDA was $187 million, or 15.3% of sales. The company said the revenue decrease was due to completion of certain offshore production-related projects that were not fully offset by demand for other products and services, and that Adjusted EBITDA margins expanded on a favorable project mix and improved margins in backlog.

New orders booked totaled $577 million, a book-to-bill of 91% against $632 million of orders shipped from backlog. Energy Equipment capital-equipment backlog was $3.98 billion as of September 30, 2026.

The company recorded $28 million of pre-tax Other Items in the quarter, primarily severance and inventory write-downs and costs associated with streamlining operations, and $18 million of net write-downs of fixed assets, primarily related to facility closures. It repurchased about 0.8 million shares for $15 million and paid $32 million in dividends, returning $47 million to shareholders. Total debt was $1.71 billion, with $1.50 billion available on its revolving credit facility and $1.06 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Bayardo said the company expects a moderation in Middle East activity in the fourth quarter as certain customers adjust drilling programs, and that geopolitical events will continue to create near-term disruptions. He said the broader backdrop continues to reinforce energy-security needs and that limited availability of modern, higher-specification equipment after a decade of restrained reinvestment creates a constructive backdrop for demand.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, management expects consolidated revenues to be roughly flat year-over-year, with Adjusted EBITDA between $260 million and $300 million. The company said the guidance assumes the Middle East operating environment remains consistent with third-quarter conditions other than the expected moderation in activity, and that a worsening of conditions may cause actual results to differ materially.