Halliburton Co.
Halliburton Company (HAL)
Overview
Halliburton is one of the world's largest oilfield services companies, providing equipment, technology, and services used by oil and gas operators to find, drill, and produce hydrocarbons. Founded in 1919 in Duncan, Oklahoma, the company today maintains dual headquarters in Houston, Texas and Dubai, UAE, reflecting its deeply international customer base. Halliburton employs roughly 46,000-48,000 people worldwide and generated approximately $22.2-22.9 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, making it the second-largest oilfield services provider globally behind SLB (formerly Schlumberger). The company trades on the NYSE under the ticker HAL and is a long-standing member of the S&P 500.
What They Do & How They Make Money
Halliburton does not extract oil or gas itself. Instead, it sells the specialized technology, equipment, chemicals, and engineering expertise that oil and gas companies (its customers, ranging from supermajors like BP and Chevron to national oil companies and independent producers) need to drill wells and get hydrocarbons flowing economically. Revenue comes from a mix of product sales (drill bits, completion tools, chemicals, downhole equipment) and services billed on a project, day-rate, or performance basis (well cementing, fracturing/stimulation, wireline logging, directional drilling, and digital/data services). Because its business is tied to how much drilling and completion activity oil and gas operators are willing to fund, Halliburton's revenue is highly cyclical and closely correlated with crude oil and natural gas prices, rig counts, and capital spending budgets of E&P companies. International markets (Middle East, Latin America, and increasingly deepwater basins) have become an increasingly important growth driver relative to the more mature and volatile North American land market.
Business Segments
Halliburton reports results through two operating segments:
- Completion and Production: Focused on the later stages of a well's life — maximizing flow of oil and gas to the surface. Includes hydraulic fracturing/stimulation, cementing, completion tools and downhole solutions, artificial lift (including electrical submersible pumps), production chemicals, and pipeline/process services. This segment tends to be more North America-weighted and closely tied to shale/unconventional activity.
- Drilling and Evaluation: Focused on the drilling and formation-evaluation phase — helping operators drill wells efficiently and understand subsurface reservoirs. Includes drilling fluid systems, drill bits, wireline logging, directional drilling technology, and Halliburton's cloud-based digital and AI-driven subsurface-insight platforms (such as its Landmark software suite).
Historically the two segments have contributed roughly comparable shares of total revenue, with Completion and Production typically the larger of the two and generally carrying somewhat higher margins in strong markets given its leverage to North American completions activity.
Competitors
Halliburton's primary competitors are the other large, diversified oilfield services companies:
- SLB (Schlumberger) — the largest oilfield services company globally and Halliburton's closest full-line rival across nearly every service line.
- Baker Hughes — the third of the "big three" integrated oilfield services providers, competing across drilling, evaluation, and completions.
- Weatherford International — a smaller diversified oilfield services competitor, particularly in well construction and production.
- NOV Inc. — competes primarily in drilling equipment and rig technology.
- Numerous smaller, more specialized players (e.g., ProPetro, Liberty Energy) compete directly in North American hydraulic fracturing, an area where pricing has been especially competitive in recent years.
Competitive Position
Halliburton's competitive advantages stem from its scale, its integrated technology portfolio spanning the full well lifecycle, deep long-term relationships with national oil companies and supermajors, and a leading position in North American completions (particularly hydraulic fracturing and cementing) alongside a growing international and offshore footprint. Its digital and AI-enabled subsurface software gives it a differentiated offering versus smaller regional competitors. However, the business faces significant structural risks: revenue and margins are highly sensitive to volatile commodity prices and E&P capital spending cycles, meaning downturns can be severe (as seen in 2015-2016 and 2020). The global energy transition and pressure on fossil fuel investment from ESG-focused capital represent longer-term headwinds, even as near-term demand for oil and gas services remains resilient. Geopolitical exposure is also material given significant Middle East operations, and North American land activity — a key profit driver — has been softening as U.S. shale operators prioritize capital discipline over production growth. Consolidation among E&P customers (fewer, larger operators) also gives customers more negotiating leverage on pricing.