NOV Inc. (NOV) Stock Price & How to Invest

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.

The investment picture is defined by cyclicality and a shift in where demand is coming from. In 2025 total revenue fell about 1% to roughly $8.74 billion even as global drilling activity dropped around 7%, because strong offshore capital-equipment orders in the Energy Equipment segment (about 58% of revenue) offset a 4% decline in the shorter-cycle Energy Products and Services segment tied to land rig counts. NOV closed 2025 with a $4.34 billion backlog, generated about $1.03 billion in adjusted EBITDA and $876 million of free cash flow, and returned $505 million to shareholders. The bull case rests on multi-year offshore and international project spending plus disciplined cash generation, while the bear case is a prolonged downturn in drilling capital budgets.

2026 has been uneven. The first quarter was weak (EPS of $0.05 against a $0.14 consensus), but the second quarter rebounded: revenue of about $2.13 billion, down roughly 2.5% year over year, produced net income of $112 million and EPS of $0.31, nearly double the $0.16 consensus. Trailing twelve-month revenue stands near $8.64 billion with net income of about $95 million and free cash flow of roughly $673 million. The shares closed at $18.91 on October 16, 2026, up about 15% year to date and 49% over twelve months, though about 6% below where they stood a month earlier. Third-quarter results are scheduled for October 27, 2026, with consensus near $0.25-0.26 of EPS on about $2.19 billion of revenue.

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. Q1 2026 results showed the fragility, with revenue of $2.05 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $177 million, and EPS of just $0.05 that missed estimates, hurt by Middle East conflict-related disruptions. Full-year 2026 guidance calls for slightly lower revenue and EBITDA in line to slightly below 2025, with results weighted to the second half. A declining backlog and book-to-bill below 100%, geopolitical instability in key regions, and a slower-than-expected offshore recovery all add uncertainty, and net income of $145 million in 2025 leaves the trailing valuation sensitive to any further earnings weakness. The Q2 2026 rebound (EPS of $0.31 against $0.16 expected) eased some of that concern, but revenue was still down about 2.5% year over year, and earnings have swung between beats and misses: NOV missed consensus in the three quarters before Q2. After a 49% one-year gain, expectations are higher going into the October 27 report.

19 analysts publish price targets on NOV, averaging $22.13 against a $18.93 price as of October 2026, or +16.9%. The published targets run from $17.00 to $26.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 8 buy, 10 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there have been 6 raises and 3 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full NOV forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on NOV Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Offshore and International Equipment Cycle. NOV's Energy Equipment segment, roughly 58% of revenue, is benefiting from a multi-year recovery in offshore and international project sanctioning, with Q4 2025 segment revenue up 7% sequentially and 4% year over year. The most optimistic published target, $26.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. 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. The most pessimistic target, $17.00, is roughly what NOV is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on NOV, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. NOV Inc. (NOV) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see NOV Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$8.64 billion (FY 2025: ~$8.74 billion)
• Revenue (Q2 2026): ~$2.13 billion (-2.5% YoY)
• Q2 2026 EPS: ~$0.31 vs ~$0.16 consensus
• Net Income (TTM): ~$95 million (~$0.27 per share)
• Free cash flow (TTM): ~$673 million
• Backlog (year-end 2025): ~$4.34 billion (book-to-bill ~91%)
• P/E Ratio: ~70x trailing on depressed earnings (~15x forward)
• Market cap / dividend yield: ~$6.7 billion / ~1.9%

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 (now near 15x at the October 16, 2026 price of $18.91) 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. The second quarter was much stronger, with EPS of $0.31 against a $0.16 consensus, and on an EV/EBITDA basis the stock trades near 8x. Analysts expect 2026 EPS of about $0.89 and 2027 EPS of about $1.25; the 19 tracked by Yahoo Finance carry a mean target near $22.13.

Other names that sit close to NOV: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get NOV exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so NOV sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where NOV fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

NOV is a scaled oilfield-equipment and technology supplier whose Energy Equipment segment (offshore, subsea, and production systems) is carrying the company through a weak land-drilling cycle, and the stock reflects that transition: a large trailing P/E (about 70x) on depressed earnings, a forward multiple near 15x after a strong second quarter, a growing offshore backlog, and management guiding 2026 to be flat to slightly softer.

Whether NOV is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is NOV a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the NOV stock forecast.

For income investors, whether NOV pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does NOV pay a dividend? And to weigh NOV against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: NOV vs SLB and NOV vs HAL.