Why Is Patterson-UTI (PTEN) Up 8.2% Since Last Earnings Report?

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Patterson-UTI (PTEN). Shares have added about 8.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Patterson-UTI due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Patterson-UTI Energy Q4 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Revenues Beat

Patterson-UTI Energy reported a fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted net loss of 2 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of an 11-cent loss, and an improvement from the year-ago quarter's loss of 12 cents. The better-than-expected performance was primarily backed by improvement in the company’s Completions Services segment and a reduction in operating costs and expenses.

Total revenues of $1.2 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5%. This was driven by higher-than-expected revenues from Completion Services. The Completion Services segment reported revenues of $701.6 million, which beat the consensus mark of $647 million. However, the top line decreased about 1% year over year. This underperformance can be attributed to the decrease in year-over-year revenue contribution from Drilling Services, Drilling Products and Other Services segments.

PTEN’s board of directors raised the quarterly dividend by 25% to 10 cents per share, payable on March 16, 2026, to its common shareholders of record as of March 2.

Segmental Performance                    

Drilling Services: Revenues in this segment totaled $360.8 million, down 11.6% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of $408.4 million and missed our estimation of $365 million.

Operating income amounted to $43 million compared with $73 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The figure beat our operating income estimate of $37.7 million.

Completion Services: This segment’s revenues of $701.6 million increased about 7.8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $650.8 million. Moreover, the metric beat our estimation of $647 million.

Operating loss totaled $3.6 million compared with a loss of $50.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and was narrower than our estimate of $38.6 million.

Drilling Products: This segment’s revenues of $83.8 million decreased about 3.2% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $86.5 million and missed our estimation of $85 million.

Operating profit totaled $6.8 million, compared with a loss of $0.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The number also beat our operating profit estimate of $4.6 million.

Other Services: Revenues amounted to $4.7 million, down 71.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $16.4 million and missed our estimation of $4.8 million.

Operating loss amounted to $0.95 million against a profit of $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The figure was wider than our estimation of an operating loss of $0.26 million.

Capital Expenditure & Financial Position

In the reported quarter, PTEN spent $138.5 million on capital programs compared with $140.3 million in the prior-year period.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company had cash and cash equivalents worth $420.6 million and long-term debt of $1.2 billion. Its debt-to-capitalization was 27.5%.

Thw company reported total operating costs and expenses of $1151 million compared with $1193.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Q1 2026 Outlook

The company anticipates an average rig count in the range of low-to-mid 90s for its Drilling Services segment in the first quarter of 2026, with the adjusted gross profit to decline by less than 5% from the fourth quarter of 2025.

For the Completion Services segment, PTEN anticipates adjusted gross profit to be approximately $95 million in the upcoming first quarter. It expects its Drilling Products segment's adjusted gross profit to improve slightly sequentially, though U.S. results may be impacted by lower activity.

The company expects other segments to have a flat sequential adjusted gross profit in the first quarter of 2026.

PTEN anticipates first-quarter selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses to be about $65 million. Furthermore, the company expects total depreciation, depletion, amortization and impairment expense to be approximately $225 million for the upcoming quarter.

PTEN anticipates net capital expenditures (after asset sales) to be less than $500 million for full-year 2026.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.

The consensus estimate has shifted 6.82% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

At this time, Patterson-UTI has a strong Growth Score of A, a score with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Patterson-UTI has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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