Halliburton's Stock Rallies After Profit, Revenue Beat Expectations

Shares of Halliburton Co. rallied 1.1% in premarket trade Monday, after the oil services company beat profit and sales expectations, as strengthening market conditions in North America offset pricing pressure. Net profit was $28 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.21 billion, or $3.73 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 23 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 18 cents. Revenue rose to $4.96 billion from $3.84 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.86 billion. Completion and production revenue rose 20% to $3.13 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.07 billion, while drilling and evaluation revenue growth of 9% to $1.83 billion topped expectations of $1.78 billion. "Overall, I am confident about Halliburton's ability to grow North America margins, and continue to maintain the run rate for our international business," said Chief Executive Jeff Miller. The stock has tumbled 18% year to date through Friday, while the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF has plunged 25% and the S&P 500 has gained 10%.