Halliburton beats estimates on quarterly profit, says could move quickly in Venezuela

By Vallari Srivastava and Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Halliburton HAL.N surpassed analysts' expectations for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by steady demand for its services and equipment in international markets, and said it would look to re-enter Venezuela as soon as commercial and legal terms, including payment certainty, were resolved.

The Houston-based company, which kicked off the earnings season for U.S. oilfield services providers, has focused on international markets, particularly Latin America, Europe and Africa, as North America drilling and production activity has remained tepid.

Halliburton was among the oil companies that met with the White House earlier this month to discuss potential investment in Venezuela after the U.S. ousted President Nicolas Maduro in early January.

"I think we could scale up fairly quickly (in Venezuela)," said CEO Jeff Miller on a post-earnings conference call, adding that the company was working to secure licenses from the U.S. that allow it to operate in the country.

Halliburton said it could move equipment quickly into Venezuela, adding that it would be fairly straightforward to become operational.

"We're assessing what we would do and where we would start (in Venezuela). My phone is ringing off the hook in terms of interest in Halliburton being there, and so confident that, you know, we can move fairly quickly in Venezuela and excited about that," Miller said.

The size of the Venezuela market was small right now, compared to it being a half-billion-dollar business for Halliburton about a decade ago, Miller said.

Shares of the oilfield services company rose 4.3% to $33.44 in early trading.

INTERNATIONAL REVENUE GROWS, NORTH AMERICAN FLAT

Quarterly revenue from Halliburton's international business rose 2.9% to $3.5 billion, due to higher completion tool sales in Brazil, North Sea and the Caribbean, as well as higher software sales in Mexico, the company said. Improved well construction activity in Africa, and higher stimulation activity in Angola also helped earnings.

The company forecast international revenue to be flat to up modestly in 2026, and said it expects international activity to remain stable year-over-year.

North America revenue, meanwhile, was flat at $2.2 billion. Halliburton added that it expects 2026 North America revenue to decline in the high single digits compared to 2025.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 69 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts' expectations of 55 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

It recognized a pre-tax charge of $83 million, partly related to an impairment of assets held for sale and severance costs.