HAL vs NOV: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: HAL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. HAL and NOV share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined HAL and NOV exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Halliburton is a global provider of products and services to the energy industry, helping operators locate, drill, evaluate, complete, and produce oil and gas wells. It runs two reporting segments: Completion and Production (cementing, stimulation and pressure pumping, sand control, artificial lift, and completion tools) and Drilling and Evaluation (drilling fluids, directional drilling, wireline, logging, and reservoir evaluation). North America, where Halliburton is the leader in hydraulic fracturing, has historically been its largest single market, though international revenue is now a majority of the mix.

Full HAL guide

NOV Inc, known as National Oilwell Varco until its 2021 rebrand, is a Houston-based designer and manufacturer of equipment, technology, and components used across the oil and gas industry. The company operates through two reporting segments: Energy Equipment, which builds capital equipment for offshore rigs, subsea production, floating and land drilling systems, wind installation vessels, and process and flow technologies, and Energy Products and Services, which supplies drill pipe, downhole tools, drill bits, coiled tubing, composite pipe, and aftermarket parts and repair. NOV sells into a global customer base of drilling contractors, national and international oil companies, and service firms, and increasingly positions parts of its portfolio toward offshore wind and industrial process markets.

Full NOV guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• HAL drivers: International and offshore growth; Technology and digital differentiation.
• NOV drivers: Offshore and International Equipment Cycle; Backlog and Book-to-Bill Visibility.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Halliburton's results are highly cyclical and depend on customer drilling and completion budgets, which fall quickly when oil and gas prices weaken. For NOV, the largest risk is the oil and gas capital-spending cycle: when operators and drilling contractors cut budgets, demand for NOV's equipment, drill pipe, and aftermarket parts falls quickly, and global drilling activity already declined about 7% in 2025.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick HAL if you believe its drivers more; NOV if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the HAL and NOV guides.

HAL. As of July 2026, HAL trades around 15x forward earnings and roughly 8x EV/EBITDA, valuations that reflect a cyclical services business rather than a growth stock. Revenue was roughly flat in Q1 2026 at ~$5.4 billion, and full-year 2025 revenue was ~$22.2 billion, down modestly from 2024. Q1 2026 net income of ~$461 million more than doubled year over year on better operating leverage.

NOV. NOV's full-year 2025 revenue of roughly $8.74 billion was down about 1% year over year, a resilient outcome against a 7% drop in global drilling activity, driven by offshore capital-equipment strength in the Energy Equipment segment. The unusually high trailing P/E of roughly 70x to 75x reflects a low denominator, with 2025 net income of only $145 million (~$0.39 per diluted share), so the forward multiple near 18x and cash-flow metrics are more informative than trailing earnings. Q1 2026 was soft, with EPS of $0.05 missing consensus of $0.16 amid Middle East disruptions, and management guided 2026 to slightly lower revenue with EBITDA in line to modestly below 2025.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): HAL shows revenue (ttm) ~$22 billion, fy2025 net income ~$1.28 billion, q1 2026 revenue ~$5.4 billion (flat YoY), market cap ~$29 billion; NOV shows revenue (fy 2025) ~$8.74 billion, revenue (q1 2026) ~$2.05 billion, adjusted ebitda (fy 2025) ~$1.03 billion, net income (fy 2025) ~$145 million (~$0.39 diluted EPS).

HAL and NOV are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined HAL and NOV exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.