Earnings Preview: Schlumberger

Schlumberger Limited (SLB) is expected to report Q1 earnings before market open on Friday, with a conference call scheduled for 9:00 am ET on Friday, April 18.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of $1.11 on revenue of $6.32B. The consensus range is $1.07 to $1.15 for EPS, and revenue of $6.12B to $6.54B, according to First Call. When Schlumberger reported its 4Q07 earnings in January, it was trading around a 6-month low. But the stock is trading more than 14% higher since that release, helped by a 22% rise in quarterly net income, better than expected revenue, and a dividend increase.

On the company's last earnings conference call, CEO Andrew Gould spoke cautiously, saying "shorter-term growth presents a more complex picture than the immediate past." Investors will be listening to this call to see if Gould is more optimistic about the short term prospects for Schlumberger, or if his cautious tone continues.

Analyst Views

On April 15, RBC warned that Schlumberger could miss Wall Street's profit estimates for the second straight quarter, but feels that growth is expected to resume in the second half of 2008 into 2009. RBC is bullish long-term and rates Schlumberger Sector Perform.

Comments

[whiteowl]

Judging only by the market action today, there are some optimists out there that think SLB will please tomorrow. The stock rose all afternoon, then spiked on volume to its highest level of the day at the closing bell.