Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
SLB
The world's largest oilfield-services company, founded in France in 1926 by the brothers Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger to measure what lies underground with electricity, which ran the first electrical well log at Pechelbronn in Alsace in September 1927 and turned that measurement into a global business. It sells the technology and labour that oil and gas producers use to find, drill, complete and produce wells — reservoir characterisation, drilling, subsea and surface equipment, artificial lift and production chemicals, and software — and, increasingly, data-centre cooling and infrastructure and carbon-capture technology. Revenue peaked at ~$48.6bn in 2014, fell to ~$23.6bn in 2020 after two price collapses, and recovered to ~$36.3bn in 2024 and ~$35.7bn in 2025 (company). Incorporated in Curaçao, run from Houston, Paris, London and The Hague, it renamed itself SLB in October 2022. Its story is the oil cycle seen from the supplier's side: its revenue is its customers' capex, so it booms harder and falls further than the producers it serves, and its strategic moves — Smith (2010), Cameron (2016), the 2019–20 write-downs, ChampionX (2025) and Kelvion (agreed Aug 2026) — are attempts to own more of the well's life and less of the cycle.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1926 in Paris as the Société de prospection électrique (SPE), by Conrad Schlumberger (physicist) and Marcel Schlumberger (engineer); Schlumberger Limited incorporated in Curaçao in 1956 (company history)
- Headquarters
- Principal executive offices in Houston, Paris, London and The Hague (company); legally incorporated in Curaçao
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: SLB; also listed in Paris, London and Switzerland — verify current listings). Widely held by institutions; no controlling shareholder. ChampionX holders received ~9% of SLB in July 2025 (company)
- Leadership (2026)
- Olivier Le Peuch (CEO since 1 Aug 2019, chairman since 2023 — verify); Stephane Biguet (CFO since 2019, verify); Paal Kibsgaard (CEO 2011–19) and Andrew Gould (CEO 2003–11) before him
- Divisions (2026)
- Digital; Reservoir Performance; Well Construction; Production Systems (including ChampionX); "All Other", which includes Data Center Solutions and SLB Capturi (Q3 2026 release)
- Scale
- 2025 revenue ~$35.71bn (−2% y/y; −6% excluding ChampionX), net income ~$3.37bn, free cash flow ~$4.11bn (company, Jan 2026). Q3 2026 revenue ~$9.45bn (+6% y/y), net income ~$735m, free cash flow ~$828m (company, Oct 2026). Peak headcount ~129,000 (Nov 2014); ~93,000 by Q1 2016 (company); current headcount ~110,000 range (verify)
- Shareholder returns
- Quarterly dividend $0.295 a share from Jan 2026 (up from $0.285); more than $4bn of returns committed for 2026; ~$1.76bn of buybacks in the first nine months of 2026 (company)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- The first electrical well log (1927); the Fairchild Semiconductor detour (1979–87); Smith International (2010); the 2015–16 downturn cuts and Cameron (2015–16); the 2019–20 impairments, dividend cut and exit from North American fracking; staying in Russia (2022–26); the SLB rebrand, digital and "new energy" (2022); ChampionX (2024–25); Kelvion and data-centre solutions (2026)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1927
Pechelbronn and Wireline Logging
Founding / technology bet
1979
Fairchild Semiconductor Detour
Acquisition (1979) and divestment (1987) — a diversification failure
2010
Smith International
Acquisition or merger (all-stock)
2015
Downturn Cuts and Cameron
Restructuring (workforce cuts) and acquisition (cash and stock)
2019
Impairments Dividend Cut and Asset Light Reset
Restructuring (write-downs, dividend cut, exits) and strategy pivot — a failure acknowledged
2022
Russia Operations Controversy
Sanctions / strategy decision (to stay, under restrictions)
2022
SLB Rebrand Digital and New Energy
Strategy pivot / technology bet (rebrand, software platform, new-energy ventures)
2025
ChampionX Acquisition
Acquisition or merger (all-stock)
2026
Kelvion and Data Center Solutions
Acquisition (cash) / strategy pivot