Liberty Energy Q3 revenue rises helped by operational execution and price increases

Liberty Energy

Wed 22:44

Overview
U.S. energy services firm's Q3 revenue rose 26% yr/yr, slightly beating analyst expectations
Adjusted EPS for Q3 missed analyst expectations
Company raised quarterly dividend by 11% to $0.10 per share for Q4 2026
Signed strategic agreement with a frontier AI lab and a dedicated infrastructure platform to deliver 1.2 GW of integrated power services at data center campuses 

Outlook
Company expects Q4 demand strength to partially offset seasonal weather and holiday impacts
Liberty sees improved producer well economics and attractive 2027 oil hedging opportunities
Company says LNG exports and growing power consumption from AI and data center development are expected to drive significant demand growth longer term

Result Drivers
OPERATIONAL EXECUTION & PRICING - Q3 results benefited from strong operational execution and modest price increases, but were partially offset by drilling delays and cost inflation
LOWER FUEL COSTS - Company says it delivered significantly lower fuel costs for customers in Q3
NATURAL GAS SUBSTITUTION - Record natural gas substitution across frac fleets, supported by investment in gas-fueled equipment and digital optimization, helped lower fuel costs

Company press release: ID:nBw6zpcbPa

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Revenue
Slight Beat*
$1.20 bln
$1.19 bln (9 Analysts)
Q3 Adjusted EPS
Miss
$0.06
$0.09 (8 Analysts)
Q3 Net Loss
 
$39.06 mln
 
Q3 Adjusted EBITDA
Miss
$141.63 mln
$146.93 mln (11 Analysts)
Q3 Capex
 
$621.93 mln
 
Q3 Operating Income
 
$19.30 mln
 
*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 9 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the oil related services and equipment peer group is "buy"
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Liberty Energy Inc. is $27.75, about 66.3% above its October 21 closing price of $16.69
The stock recently traded at 151 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 114 three months ago

Reuters Recommended Reads
Oct 20 - Halliburton Q3 revenue, profit beat estimates on higher drilling services
Oct 20 - Weatherford Q3 revenue falls due to disruptions in Middle East
Oct 20 - At least 17 data center campuses proposed on US public lands, group says

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)