1341 ET - Melius Research analysts say they continue to see SLB as the best-positioned oil services company for an upcoming improvement in exploration and production spending. Analysts James West and Sanskriti Reddy point in a note to several of SLB's strengths, including its international breadth, technology, digital offerings and large share of the offshore market, especially in deepwater. Additionally, SLB's data center solutions contracted backlog already supports its target for 2027, which shifted from $2 billion by the end of the year to an annualized exit run rate of more than $2 billion, they say. That raised forecast "points to demand outrunning the prior plan," the analysts say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2026 13:41 ET (17:41 GMT)

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