By Connor Hart

SLB logged higher fourth-quarter revenue and said some of the challenges it faced last year are behind it, as the oilfield-services company stands to benefit from increasing international activity.

Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch on Friday said that SLB is well positioned to capitalize on accelerating rig activity across the Middle East. The company is also receiving heightened attention from Wall Street due to surging interest in Venezuelan oil.

While U.S. oil producers have expressed hesitancy about rushing back into Venezuela after President Trump recently called on it to invest heavily in the country, the companies that provide oil producers with equipment and expertise, such as SLB and Halliburton, are eager to return.

Despite issuing a relatively downbeat near-term outlook, Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said he is bullish on the long-term opportunity in Venezuela. On a call with analysts Wednesday, Miller said his phone was "ringing off the hook" from customers looking to drill in the country.

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, has a natural advantage because it is a service provider in Venezuela for Chevron, the only U.S. oil major operating in the country.

The Houston-based company on Friday said it is moving past a challenging 2025, which was plagued by lower commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainty and an oversupplied oil market.

"As we move into 2026, we believe that the headwinds we experienced in key regions in 2025 are behind us," Le Peuch said.

The company posted a profit of $824 million, or 55 cents a share, for its three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.10 billion, or 77 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Stripping out one-time costs, earnings were 78 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 74 cents a share.

Revenue climbed 5% to $9.75 billion, topping Wall Street models for $9.55 billion. International revenue slipped 0.4% to $7.45 billion, but the decline was more than offset by a 26% jump in North American revenue to $2.21 billion.

SLB's top line was supported by its data-center solutions business, which more than doubled its revenue from a year ago. The company said the unit is expanding rapidly and is expected to be its fastest-growing business for years to come.

The company also on Friday raised its quarterly dividend by 3.5%, to 29.5 cents, as part of plans to return more than $4 billion to shareholders this year.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2026 07:58 ET (12:58 GMT)

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