Halliburton (HAL +11.69%) stock closed Tuesday's daily trading session with big gains. The energy company's share price rose 11.6% in the session and had been up as much as 12.6% before seeing a modest moderation of gains.
Halliburton published its third-quarter results before today's market open and posted sales and earnings results for the period that came in ahead of the market's expectations. Investors responded by bidding up the stock in today's trading session.
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Halliburton jumps on strong Q3 print
Halliburton recorded non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted earnings per share of $0.58 on revenue of $5.6 billion. For comparison, the average Wall Street analyst estimate had called for adjusted earnings of $0.50 per share on sales of approximately $5.39 billion. Sales were still down 1.7% year over year compared to the prior-year period, but revenue still topped expectations -- and stronger-than-anticipated margins helped power a significant earnings beat.
NYSE: HAL
Key Data Points
What's next for Halliburton?
Halliburton anticipates that its geographic business segments will see mixed trends in the current quarter. While international revenue should increase between 3% and 4% on a sequential quarterly basis, sales in the North America segment are expected to decline between 12% and 13%. While Halliburton is warning investors about some headwinds in the current quarter, the sales pressures are partially attributable to normal quarterly cyclicality.
In response to market dynamics, Halliburton has reduced its capital expenditures outlay for the year to $1 billion -- down by 30% from its previous forecast. With a less-favorable operating backdrop, the business is implementing cost-cutting initiatives and putting some growth plans on hold until timing becomes more positive.
