Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged from $55.44 a barrel in mid-December 2025 to $94.65 as of March 9, and the oil services sector is moving with it. On Tuesday, Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR | BKR Price Prediction), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), and SLB (NYSE: SLB) (formerly Schlumberger) all traded sharply higher, with the VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSEARCA: OIH) up 3.5% as well. The question for retirement-focused investors is which of these three names deserves a place in a long-term portfolio, not just a trade.
Income and Yield
SLB leads on income. Its quarterly dividend was just raised 3.5% to $0.295 per share, and the company has committed to returning more than $4 billion to shareholders in 2026 via dividends and buybacks. Its annualized dividend yield sits at 2.55%. Baker Hughes pays $0.23 per quarter with a 1.7% yield. Halliburton pays $0.17 per quarter at a 2.02% yield. SLB wins this dimension outright, combining the highest absolute payout with a demonstrated commitment to growing it.
Growth Trajectory
Baker Hughes is the standout here. Full-year revenue grew to $27.73 billion, and Q4 adjusted net income surged 11.24% year-over-year. Its Industrial & Energy Technology segment posted a record backlog of $32.4 billion, with non-LNG equipment representing roughly 85% of total IET orders for the second consecutive year. That diversification into power systems, data centers, and gas infrastructure is reducing Baker Hughes’s dependence on upstream drilling cycles. CEO Lorenzo Simonelli described the company as evolving into “a stronger, more industrialized energy solutions company” with “reduced cyclicality and enhanced cash flow durability.”
SLB’s Data Center Solutions revenue grew 121% year-over-year for full-year 2025, and digital annual recurring revenue crossed $1 billion for the first time. But full-year revenue still declined 1.6%. Halliburton’s full-year revenue fell 3.24%, and full-year operating income dropped 39.82%. Baker Hughes wins this dimension clearly.
Valuation and Long-Term Track Record
On valuation, Halliburton is the cheapest. Its forward P/E of 14.71x compares favorably to SLB’s 14.9x and Baker Hughes’s 20.4x. Halliburton’s EV/EBITDA of 10.5x is also the lowest of the three. But cheap valuations require a catalyst, and Halliburton’s long-term track record is the weakest. Over five years, Baker Hughes has returned 137.7%, SLB 62.9%, and Halliburton only 52.6%. Halliburton’s 10-year return is −2.3%, while SLB’s 10-year performance is actually worse at −37.3%. Baker Hughes’s 10-year return of 20.74% towers over both peers, reinforcing that the business transformation is showing up in shareholder value.
Halliburton has shown resilience in recent weeks, up 5.7% over the past month, while Baker Hughes fell 4.8% and SLB dropped 7.4%. That near-term durability is notable, but one month of relative strength doesn’t change a multi-year picture.
Verdict
Among the three, SLB offers the highest dividend yield and largest shareholder return commitment, with a $4 billion+ shareholder return commitment, the highest dividend, and the largest free cash flow generation at $4.12 billion for full-year 2025. Its 1-year underperformance at 11.3% relative to peers could reflect a temporary headwind rather than a structural problem, particularly given management’s expectation that Middle East rig activity will increase in 2026.
Baker Hughes leads on growth metrics and five-year total return, with its industrial pivot reflected in a record backlog, and TD Cowen carrying a Buy rating with a $64 price target and Susquehanna a Positive rating with a $65 target. Halliburton trades at the lowest forward P/E and EV/EBITDA of the three, though its long-term return has lagged peers.
While Baker Hughes may lead in growth and return, investors focused on income and scale, growth and business transformation, or valuation and North American drilling exposure may weigh these factors differently depending on their primary consideration.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks