SLB CEO Says Although Near-Term Uncertainties Remain, Firm Eyes Returning Over $4B To Shareholders This Year

• The company said the Middle East conflict has exposed critical vulnerabilities in the global energy supply chain.
• Schlumberger expects post-conflict oil prices to hold above pre-conflict levels, reflecting supply disruptions.
• The company said the disruptions hit hardest in well construction and reservoir performance in the first quarter.

Shares of Schlumberger (SLB) dropped more than 3% premarket on Friday after the company reported lower first-quarter profit, as the Iran war disrupted its operations across the conflict-hit Middle East. While near-term disruptions weighed on operations for the oilfield services giant, the management has signaled confidence in longer-term recovery and reiterated plans to return over $4 billion to shareholders in 2026.

The company reported a profit of 50 cents per share, 14% lower compared to a year ago.  Revenue from the Middle East region declined 13% year-on-year to $2.69 billion in the first quarter, while total revenue was $8.72 billion for the same period.

The company said the disruptions hit hardest in well construction and reservoir performance, as SLB pulled operations from several countries after customers moved to protect their workers and facilities.

​“It was a challenging start to the year as widespread disruptions in the Middle East impacted our business,” said SLB Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch.

Energy Supply Risks Back In Spotlight

The company said it expected the global liquid supply chain and demand would ‘rebalance’ throughout the year and into 2027; however, the Middle East conflict has accelerated this process and exposed critical vulnerabilities in the global energy supply chain.

SLB’s Strategy Shift

The company said it has started diversifying its investments in exploration and resource development. The company expects new and increased investments in short-cycle projects in North America and Latin America, as well as in long-cycle developments.

Unless the conflict drags on long enough to trigger a global recession and reduce demand, SLB sees a broad upstream recovery in 2027 and 2028.

Shareholders Returns Signals Confidence

“Although near-term uncertainties remain, we are committed to returning more than $4 billion to shareholders in 2026,” Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said.

The company sees post-conflict oil prices holding above pre-conflict levels, reflecting supply disruptions from damaged infrastructure, production outages, and a geopolitical risk premium baked into the market.

SLB said it expects capital investments of up to $2.5 billion in 2026..

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the stock is ‘bearish’ amid ‘high’ message volumes.

The retail chatter for the stock rose 120% in the past 24 hours.

​Shares of Schlumberger have climbed more than 36% year-to-date.

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