NESR vs SLB: How National Energy Services Reunited and SLB Compare (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: NESR 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. NESR and SLB 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 NESR and SLB 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.

National Energy Services Reunited Corp was assembled in 2018 when a SPAC combined two established regional oilfield service businesses, National Petroleum Services and Nabors' Middle East and North Africa operations, into a single Nasdaq-listed platform. It sells through two segments. Production Services covers hydraulic fracturing, cementing, coiled tubing, stimulation, nitrogen, filtration and completions work. Drilling and Evaluation covers the pre-production side: well testing, directional drilling, wireline and slickline logging, drilling fluids, drilling and workover rigs, plus fishing and remediation. Customers are concentrated in the national oil companies of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Qatar, with Saudi Aramco the anchor account and Oman among the top three countries by revenue. Local content requirements in the Gulf, in-Kingdom manufacturing and hiring in particular, are a structural advantage for a company headquartered and staffed in the region rather than one servicing it from Houston.

Full NESR guide

SLB (formerly Schlumberger) is a multinational oilfield services and energy technology company founded in France in 1926 and now incorporated in Curacao, with principal offices in Paris, Houston, London, and The Hague. It operates across four divisions: Well Construction, Reservoir Performance, Production Systems, and a newly reported standalone Digital division, providing services that span the full upstream oil and gas lifecycle from seismic imaging and reservoir characterization through drilling, completions, and production optimization, as well as emerging capabilities in carbon capture, geothermal, and AI-powered data platforms. The company operates in more than 120 countries and employs people of more than 140 nationalities, giving it the broadest international footprint in its sector. In July 2025 SLB closed its acquisition of ChampionX in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $7.75 billion, its largest purchase since Cameron International, adding production chemistry and artificial lift capabilities. CEO Olivier Le Peuch, who joined the company in 1987 as an electrical engineer and has held the top role since August 2019, has led a deliberate pivot toward platform-based digital solutions and energy transition technologies, culminating in the 2022 rebrand from Schlumberger to SLB.

Full SLB guide

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

• NESR drivers: Saudi gas spend, not Saudi oil; Contract diversification outside the Kingdom.
• SLB drivers: International Upstream Spending Cycle; Digital Division as a High-Margin Growth Engine.

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: Customer concentration is severe: a handful of national oil companies, with Saudi Aramco the largest, set the activity level and the pricing, and Aramco's 2024 rig releases showed how quickly volumes can be pulled. For SLB, the primary risk is oil price volatility: decisions by OPEC+ on production quotas directly influence the capital expenditure budgets of SLB's E&P clients, and a sustained decline in crude prices could quickly reverse the international spending cycle that underpins the bull case.

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 NESR if you believe its drivers more; SLB 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 NESR and SLB guides.

NESR. Q2 2026 results are scheduled for August 10, 2026, with consensus near ~$448.5 million of revenue and ~$0.35 per share. At roughly ~$2.8 billion of market value on ~$1.4 billion of trailing revenue, NESR trades at a higher revenue multiple than Halliburton and closer to SLB, which is unusual for a company of its size and reflects the Q1 growth rate rather than the FY2025 base. Cash generation is the more defensible number: ~$264.2 million of operating cash flow and ~$120.8 million of free cash flow in 2025.

SLB. SLB's full-year 2025 revenue of approximately $35.7 billion reflects modest single-digit growth over fiscal 2024's $36.3 billion, with margins under modest pressure as international activity moderated and the ChampionX integration costs flowed through. The trailing P/E of roughly 17x to 22x is broadly in line with SLB's five-year average and represents a meaningful discount to the company's 10-year historical average, which some analysts interpret as a valuation opportunity if the digital re-rating thesis plays out. Operating margin weakened to approximately 11.9% on a GAAP basis in the most recent reported period, underscoring that the earnings quality story depends heavily on the pace of Digital division scaling and ChampionX synergy realization.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): NESR shows revenue (fy2025) ~$1.324 billion, up ~1.7% year over year, revenue (q1 2026) ~$404.6 million, up ~33.5% year over year, an all-time high, adjusted ebitda (fy2025) ~$281.4 million, ~21.3% margin, diluted eps ~$0.23 in Q1 2026; ~$0.81 adjusted for FY2025; SLB shows revenue (fy 2025) ~$35.7 billion, revenue (q1 2026) ~$8.72 billion, adjusted ebitda margin (h1 2025) ~23.9%, diluted eps (ttm, dec 2025) ~$2.26 (GAAP).

NESR and SLB 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 NESR and SLB exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.