Rival Earnings Expectations: Schlumberger vs. Baker Hughes

24/7 Wall St. has earnings previews for both stocks.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) has estimates of $1.20 in earnings per share (EPS) and $11.5 billion in revenue. The oilfield services giant has a 3.32-to-1 price-to-book value, but it is massively larger than peers with a market cap of $130.97 billion. Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is less than 15 for 2015, but that is almost 18 times expected 2014 earnings. With a consensus target price of $111.52, Schlumberger has an implied upside of 11.4%, and it comes with a higher dividend of about 1.6%. In Thursday mid-day trading, Schlumberger shares were at $100.58, and the 52-week trading range is $69.08 to $100.97.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) estimates are $0.78 EPS and $5.72 billion in revenue. The oil services company posts a 1.62-to-1 price-to-book value. Its market cap is $28.69 billion, making it a fraction of the size of Schlumberger. Its forward P/E is less than 13, but that is over 16 for this year. With a consensus target price of $69.13, Baker Hughes has an implied upside of only 5.8%. Its dividend is low at 0.9%. Baker Hughes shares trade at $65.94 in the noon hour, and the 52-week trading range is $42.60 to $66.41.

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What is interesting about both companies is that so many overlaps exist. Input costs for fracking materials have been an issue before, and now North America should be an asset rather than a liability.

At the end of the day, Schlumberger is so much larger in size that it completely dominates its peers in market importance. To prove a point, Schlumberger’s total value of shares traded each day is currently around $625 million, even with that $100 share price. That compares with only about $285 million or so in total dollars of trading volume for Baker Hughes. Even on a share count, Schlumberger’s average share trading volume is almost 50% despite a stock price that is almost 50% higher than that of Baker Hughes.