Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.152 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $233 million, representing a 20.2% margin, as the company navigated typical seasonal softness and operational disruptions tied to the conflict in Iran. Adjusted free cash flow was $85 million, which management said was supported by strong collections across most geographies, including continued progress in Mexico.
Quarterly performance and regional drivers
President and CEO Girish Saligram said revenue declined 3% year-over-year, noting the change was “predominantly driven by the divestiture of the pressure pumping business in Argentina.” On a sequential basis, revenue fell 11%, which he attributed to first-quarter seasonality and the Iran conflict, “partly offset by continued strength in parts of our international portfolio.”
In the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, Saligram said the Iran conflict drove delays, reduced drilling and workover activity, and caused project suspensions across multiple countries. He highlighted added complexities beyond lost activity, including “dramatically” higher freight costs and logistical disruptions that increased costs and delayed the movement of people and materials.
Conflict impact and management’s outlook
Saligram said Weatherford managed the first month of the conflict relatively well due to its manufacturing and supply chain footprint in the region, but cautioned that the prolonged nature of the disruption is expected to be more visible in the second quarter, including potential impacts “to shipments outside the region.” Assuming activity begins to normalize later in the second quarter, the company estimates the conflict will lead to about a $30 million to $50 million profit impact over the first half of 2026.
In his closing remarks, Saligram described the quarter as occurring amid what he called “the most severe disruption to the physical oil market in the industry’s history,” citing the conflict in Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March, and damage to Gulf infrastructure. He said roughly 20% of seaborne crude and significant LNG volumes were disrupted and added that “prompt physical cargoes are still trading at meaningful premiums to the strip.”
Saligram argued the disruption is reshaping customer priorities. “Energy security has been fundamentally rewritten as a strategic priority,” he said, adding that the company is having new conversations with national oil companies, IOCs, and independents about adding productive capacity, redundancy, and infrastructure resilience. He also said that while near-term conditions remain uncertain, Weatherford’s outlook for the second half of 2026 and into 2027 is “the most constructive it has been since late 2023.”
Segment and operational highlights
By segment, Saligram said Well Construction and Completions (WCC) revenue was largely flat year-over-year, with higher liner hanger activity partly offset by lower cementitious products and TRS activity in the Middle East and North Africa. Drilling and Evaluation (DRE) revenue declined 8% year-over-year due to lower activity in Latin America, MENA, and North America, partly offset by higher wireline and drilling services activity in Europe. Production and Intervention (PRI) revenue declined 11% year-over-year, largely reflecting the Argentina pressure pumping divestiture, partly offset by higher subsea intervention activity.
Weatherford also highlighted contract wins and operational milestones. Saligram cited awards including:
- A multi-year integrated completions contract with TotalEnergies in Denmark
- A five-year TRS contract with Phu Quoc POC in Vietnam
- A multi-year artificial lift contract with Shell in Argentina
He also noted the first Alpha V casing system deployment in the U.K. sector of Liverpool Bay, a new global record for extended reach wireline work in Saudi Arabia (logging more than 29,000 feet measured depth using the Compact Well Shuttle system), the first rigless through-tubing sand control gravel pack in Saudi Arabia that restored a shut-in gas well, and a successful rod lift system trial at the Ghawar gas field.
Cash flow, capital allocation, and guidance
Executive Vice President and CFO Anuj Dhruv said adjusted free cash flow of $85 million represented a 36.5% conversion rate, up from 26.1% in the first quarter of 2025. He said working capital improved sequentially, with adjusted net working capital at 27.9% of revenues, about 100 basis points better than the prior quarter, driven largely by improved collections.
Dhruv said the company is executing cost improvement actions aimed at right-sizing its structure and improving productivity through shared services, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence. Capital expenditures were $54 million, or 4.7% of revenue, down about $23 million from the first quarter of 2025. Dhruv said Weatherford still expects full-year 2026 CapEx at the midpoint to decline versus 2025, with a shift in mix toward higher IT and ERP-related spending while remaining within its 3% to 5% framework.
Weatherford returned $30 million to shareholders in the quarter, consisting of $20 million in dividends and $10 million in share repurchases. Dhruv said the company has now returned more than $330 million to shareholders since starting its return program. The company ended the quarter with about $1.05 billion of cash and restricted cash, and net leverage “well below 0.5x,” according to Dhruv.
For the second quarter of 2026, Weatherford guided revenue to a range of $1.017 billion to $1.110 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $195 million to $220 million, citing the Iran conflict and Middle East disruptions as the primary driver of the sequential decline. Dhruv said adjusted free cash flow in the second quarter is expected to be broadly in line with the first quarter.
For full-year 2026, the company refined guidance to reflect first-half conflict impacts, forecasting revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.95 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $945 million to $1.075 billion. Dhruv said adjusted free cash flow conversion is now expected “in the mid-40% range,” and the effective tax rate is expected to be in the low- to mid-20% range.
Mexico collections, portfolio actions, and redomestication proposal
On Mexico, Saligram said management is encouraged by improved stability, with normalized activity levels and expanding customer diversification. Dhruv provided additional detail, saying Mexico’s government announced reforms in 2025 aimed at improving the financial position of the company’s largest customer. He said payments have been “like clockwork,” pointing to a “$13 billion mechanism for payments from Pemex” that he said has worked well. Dhruv said the balance owed by Weatherford’s largest customer in Mexico was about $283 million as of March 31 and described collections as a key support for the company’s free cash flow outlook.
Saligram also said Weatherford is pursuing further “small non-core divestitures,” each smaller than the Argentina pressure pumping divestiture, intended to remove lower-margin revenue, reduce capital intensity, and align the business with strategic priorities. In the Q&A, Saligram cited examples of business types the company may consider divesting, including rentals, operations with high third-party pass-through, and tubular-related businesses that lack technology differentiation and are more capital intensive.
Separately, management reiterated Weatherford’s proposal to redomesticate from Ireland to the United States, specifically Texas. Dhruv said the change is intended to simplify administrative and compliance complexity, improve positioning for M&A and taxes, and support the company’s free cash flow conversion goals. He emphasized it is “a corporate structural change only” and will not affect day-to-day operations or customer interactions.
About Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)
Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.
In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.
