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

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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 OII 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 OII 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

Oceaneering International is a Houston-based technology and engineering company that serves the offshore energy industry and, increasingly, aerospace and defense customers. It operates through five segments: Subsea Robotics (its largest, built around the world's most widely used fleet of remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, plus tooling and survey services), Manufactured Products (subsea umbilicals, field-development hardware, connection and repair systems, and industrial mobile robotics), Offshore Projects Group (installation, intervention, and inspection services), Integrity Management and Digital Solutions (asset integrity and software), and Aerospace and Defense Technologies (engineering and manufacturing for government customers). Revenue is generated primarily from day rates on ROV and vessel work, project execution, and product backlog conversion, with results driven by offshore drilling and production activity worldwide.

Full OII 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.
• OII drivers: Offshore Energy Capital-Spending Cycle; ROV Fleet Utilization and Day Rates.

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 OII, oceaneering's results are closely tied to offshore oil and gas capital spending, so a sustained drop in crude prices or a pullback in deepwater sanctioning could quickly reduce ROV utilization and project activity.

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; OII 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 OII 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.

OII. Oceaneering trades at roughly a low-teens trailing P/E and an EV/EBITDA in the high single digits, below the average of its subsea-services peer group, reflecting the market's caution about the durability of the offshore cycle. Full-year 2026 net income is broadly expected in the range of roughly $178 million to $203 million, and the company holds close to $689 million of cash, a much stronger balance sheet than in prior downturns. The valuation prices in cyclical exposure rather than secular growth, so the multiple can compress or expand quickly with oil prices and ROV utilization.

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; OII shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.8 billion, revenue (q1 2026) ~$692 million (up ~3% year over year), diluted eps (q1 2026) ~$0.36 (down from ~$0.49), 2026 ebitda guidance ~$390 million to $440 million.

HAL and OII 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 OII exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.