Baker Hughes earnings: third quarter 2026

Baker Hughes, which makes equipment and services for oil, gas and energy projects, completed its purchase of Chart on 16 July. That lifted sales by 14% on a year ago to $8.0 billion. New orders rose much faster, by 31%. Profit on the company's own adjusted measure grew only a little. The deal was paid for mostly with borrowed money, so interest costs have tripled. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Analysts' average forecast was $0.63 of earnings per share, from five estimates (Nasdaq's earnings calendar). On the company's own adjusted measure it earned $0.70, above that forecast. Under standard accounting rules it earned $0.41, below it. So the comparison depends on the deal-related costs and other items the company adjusts out. ¹²

The strong points

• New orders, which are promises of future sales, reached $10.8 billion, up 31% on a year ago and well ahead of what it sold in the quarter. ¹
• Free cash flow, the cash left after running the business and investing in it, was $769 million, more than the profit it reported. ¹
• Sales rose 14% on a year ago to $8,025 million, though the company says the rise came mainly from adding Chart. ¹

The weak points

• On the company's own adjusted measure, earnings per share were $0.70, only 2% more than a year ago, despite the bigger business. ¹
• Baker Hughes spent $14.15 billion in cash on acquisitions this quarter, mostly borrowed, and its long-term debt is now more than three times what it was at the start of the year. ¹
• Interest costs jumped to $177 million in the quarter, from $56 million a year ago. ¹

What the company expects

• Baker Hughes raised its order target for this year for its industrial and energy equipment business. It also raised its order outlook for 2026 to 2028 to more than $50 billion, without saying what the earlier figures were. ¹
• The company says its oil and gas drilling market is turning upward, with a meaningful improvement in the Middle East. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Orders up 31%, a record order book and a higher order outlook show strong demand, though growth was largely bought with borrowed money and underlying profit rose only slightly.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)

Notes

1. Baker Hughes's results release, 27 October 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 27 October 2026. ↩