SLB Limited reported Friday fourth-quarter results that showed sequential improvement as global upstream activity stabilized, supported by growth in Production Systems and Digital.

The company said performance reflected stronger year-end demand and continued contributions from its expanded portfolio following the ChampionX acquisition.

Fourth-quarter revenue totaled $9.745 billion, up 5% from a year earlier and above the $9.547 billion analyst estimate. Diluted GAAP earnings per share were 55 cents, down from 77 cents a year earlier, while diluted EPS, excluding charges and credits, was 78 cents, down from 92 cents a year earlier but ahead of the 74-cent estimate.

Net income attributable to SLB was $824 million, down from $1.095 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $2.331 billion, compared with $2.382 billion a year earlier, reflecting lower margins year over year despite sequential improvement.

Fourth-quarter cash flow from operations was $3.01 billion, and free cash flow was $2.29 billion, including $71 million of ChampionX acquisition-related payments. SLB said cash generation remained strong despite a challenging operating backdrop.

The company ended 2025 with $4.212 billion in cash and short-term investments. Short-term borrowings and the current portion of long-term debt totaled $1.894 billion, while long-term debt stood at $9.742 billion, resulting in net debt of $7.424 billion.

Dividend Increase

The board approved a 3.5% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 29.5 cents per share. The higher dividend will be payable on April 2, 2026, to stockholders of record on February 11, 2026.

Segment Performance

By division, Digital revenue rose 17% year over year to $825 million in the fourth quarter. Pretax operating margin in Digital was 34.0%, reflecting improved profitability and higher activity.

Reservoir Performance revenue declined 3% to $1.748 billion, with a pretax operating margin of 19.6%. Well Construction revenue fell 10% to $2.949 billion, and pretax operating margin was 18.7%.

Production Systems revenue increased 30% to $4.078 billion, with a pretax operating margin of 16.3%. SLB said fourth-quarter results reflected "a full quarter of activity from the acquired ChampionX businesses," which contributed $879 million of revenue.

For the full year, SLB reported revenue of $35.708 billion, down 2% year over year. GAAP EPS was $2.35, while EPS, excluding charges and credits, was $2.93.

Management Commentary

"Although 2025 presented a challenging backdrop for the industry — with lower commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainty and an oversupplied oil market — we continued to build resilience across our portfolio by accelerating our strategy. This included a growing emphasis on production and recovery, increased deployment of AI solutions, and the rapid expansion of our Data Center Solutions business," Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said.

"As we move into 2026, we believe that the headwinds we experienced in key regions in 2025 are behind us. In particular, we expect rig activity in the Middle East to increase compared to today's level, and our footprint in the region puts us in a strong position to benefit from this recovery," Le Peuch added.

SLB said capital investment for 2026 is expected to be approximately $2.5 billion. The company added that it is "committed to returning more than $4 billion to shareholders in 2026 through dividends and share repurchases."

SLB Price Action: Slb shares were up 0.57% at $49.60 during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.