Weatherford International Plc., one of the world’s largest oilfield-service providers, is warning that a hit to earnings in the wake of the Iran war will get worse this quarter, before an eventual rebound.
The conflict will likely hurt company profits by about $30 million to $50 million over the first half of the year, Chief Executive Officer Girish Saligram said during a call with analysts. That’s based on the outlook that oilfield activity starts to normalize by the end of this quarter, he said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Weatherford posted first-quarter results that showed earnings-per-share topped analyst estimates. Impacts from the war will show more clearly in the second quarter, with global energy shipments facing continued disruptions, Saligram said.
The war has all but cut off the flow of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. That’s been a blow to service providers counting on the Middle East for growth. Earlier this week, Halliburton Co. also guided for a larger second-quarter impact as service providers face halted operations.
Weatherford has been forced to pause operations for several weeks in countries including Iraq, Qatar and in parts of Kuwait, Saligram said, adding that a jump in freight costs, jet fuel and trucking expenses are also causing strain.
Weatherford sees potential for a rebound in the Middle East in the second half of the year. If the conflict is resolved, the industry responsible for maintaining equipment would be among the first to reap the benefits as nations rebuild their damaged energy infrastructure.
A growing need for increased energy security will also fuel growth into 2027, Saligram said.
Some investors are willing to look past the company’s softer second-quarter guidance, Scott Gruber, an analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc., wrote in a note to clients. Positive commentary on the second half of 2026 and 2027 could “neutralize the impact,” Gruber said.
Weatherford’s shares on Wednesday rose as much as 6.7% to $106.26, the highest intraday level in more than a month. The stock was up about 2% to $101.67 as of 11:26 a.m. in New York.
“Our outlook for the second half of 2026 and into 2027 and beyond is candidly the most constructive it has been since late 2023,” Saligram said.
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