Nine Energy Service Q3 2026 Earnings Results & Report

Nine Energy Service EPS Results

• Actual EPS: -$0.36
• Consensus EPS: -$0.41
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.05
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Nine Energy Service Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $142.01 million
• Expected Revenue: $138.95 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$3.06 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Nine Energy Service (NYSEAMERICAN:NINE) is an oilfield services company that provides completion and production solutions to onshore oil and natural gas operators. Its services support the completion, stimulation, and maintenance of wells, particularly in unconventional formations.

The company’s offerings have included completion tools, wireline services, coiled tubing, cementing, and other well-intervention services. These products and services are designed to help customers prepare wells for production, improve well performance, and address operational requirements throughout the well life cycle.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Nine Energy Service has historically served customers in the United States and Canada. The company has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions and internal development, including operations associated with completion tools and production services. Ann Fox has served as the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Nine Energy Service Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Neutral Sentiment: Nine reported third-quarter revenue of $142 million and adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 million. Stronger U.S. cementing activity was partly offset by a coiled tubing unit remaining out of service and lower international Completion Tools activity.
• Positive Sentiment: Cementing benefited from sustained customer demand and market-share gains, with management citing strong margins and safety performance. The company expects the business to continue benefiting from activity trends in the fourth quarter.
• Negative Sentiment: A large-diameter coiled tubing unit was unavailable throughout the quarter, limiting Nine’s ability to capture improving activity; its return to service is expected in December, but timing remains uncertain.
• Positive Sentiment: For the fourth quarter, Nine forecast revenue of $137 million to $147 million and higher profitability than in Q3, citing a more favorable mix of cementing and international tools. Management expects less seasonal slowdown than usual, while noting customer activity and the unit’s return remain variables.
• Positive Sentiment: Nine is investing in Completion Tools, including a testing facility expected to open in the first half of 2027, and is advancing new products through field trials. Management sees these efforts, alongside cost initiatives and a more focused operating footprint, as potential drivers of longer-term growth and margin improvement.

Presentation

[Operator]

Welcome to Nine Energy Service third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Josh Riley, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

[Josh Riley, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Nine Energy Service]

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Nine Energy Service earnings conference call to discuss our results for the third quarter of 2026. With me today are Ann Fox, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Heather Schmidt, Chief Financial Officer. We appreciate your participation. Some of our comments today may include forward-looking statements reflecting Nine's view about future events. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties can cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. We advise listeners to review our earnings release and the risk factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. Our comments today also include non-GAAP financial measures.

[Josh Riley, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Nine Energy Service]

Additional details and a reconciliation of these measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are also included in our third quarter press release and can be found in the investor relations section of our website. I will now turn the call over to Ann.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Thank you, Josh, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, I would like to wish the United States Marine Corps a very happy 251st birthday. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Nine's third quarter 2026 results. Revenue for the quarter was $142 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $8.3 million. Our third quarter results reflect improving U.S. activity, particularly within cementing, as well as continued operating constraints in coiled tubing and a lower level of international Completion Tools activity compared to the second quarter. The U.S. rig count increased from 573 rigs at the end of the second quarter to 599 rigs at the end of the third quarter. Higher oil prices and modestly improving activity supported stronger operating momentum in our cementing business, which benefited from sustained customer demand during the quarter, as well as market share gains.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

At the same time, one of our large diameter coiled tubing units remained out of service throughout the third quarter due to the maintenance issue discussed on our last call. The continued unavailability of this unit constrained our ability to fully participate in the improvement in industry activity and adversely affected both revenue and profitability within that service line. Completion Tools revenue declined sequentially as the elevated level of international activity that benefited our second quarter results did not recur in the third quarter. International sales are driven by the timing of customer orders and projects, so it is typical for results to vary from one quarter to the next. The division continues to make meaningful progress, advancing several new products and investments designed to expand our testing, R&D, and manufacturing capabilities. I will now turn the call over to Heather to discuss our financial results.

[Heather Schmidt, CFO at Nine Energy Service]

Thank you, Ann. As of September 30th, 2026, Nine's cash and cash equivalents were $16.1 million, with $29.9 million of availability under our credit facility, resulting in a total liquidity position of $46 million. At September 30th, we had $98.7 million in outstanding borrowings under our credit facility. During the third quarter, revenue totaled $142 million, with adjusted gross profit of $20.6 million. General and administrative expense was $16.5 million, and depreciation and amortization expense was $7.4 million. The company's tax provision was approximately $0.1 million for the third quarter, primarily attributed to state and non U.S. jurisdictions. For the third quarter, the company reported net cash provided by operating activities of $4.7 million. The average DSO for Q3 was 60 days. CapEx spend during Q3 was $2.8 million, bringing total CapEx spend year-to-date to $13.2 million.

[Heather Schmidt, CFO at Nine Energy Service]

Today, we anticipate full-year CapEx will come in near the midpoint of our full-year guidance range of $20 million-$30 million. Before turning the call back to Ann, I would note that the detailed operating statistics for each of our service lines are available in our third quarter investor presentation. Going forward, we intend to use the presentation to provide this supporting data while keeping our prepared remarks focused on the primary drivers of our financial performance and our outlook for the business. I will now turn the call back to Ann.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Thank you, Heather. As we look ahead, we believe Nine is entering the fourth quarter with improving operating momentum and several important strategic initiatives underway. The macroeconomic and geopolitical environment remains uncertain, and operators continue to exercise capital discipline. Nevertheless, the sustained improvement in oil prices during the third quarter supported an increase in U.S. activity. Based on current market conditions, we expect that activity improvement to continue into the fourth quarter, with our cementing business primarily positioned to benefit from sustained customer demand. Historically, cementing has served as an early indicator for broader completions activity. While it remains early, we are cautiously encouraged by current trends and the potential for similar improvements across our other completion-oriented businesses over the coming quarters. We are also focused on restoring our full operating capacity in coiled tubing.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

The large diameter unit that remained out of service throughout the third quarter is expected to return to service in December. The timing of that return remains an important variable in our near-term outlook. As for our Completion Tools division, our objective is to build on our established portfolio by developing products that respond to changing well designs and customer requirements while maintaining a strong emphasis on reliability and execution. Prior to our Chapter 11 filing, Nine had little to no flexibility to make investments to improve the underlying business. Now, we are making tangible progress on returns-focused investments that we believe can broaden Nine's growth opportunities, strengthen our technology platform, increase margin, and drive our strategy of increasing Nine's Completion Tool revenue exposure in the international markets. Most notably, we expect our new completions tools testing facility to become operational in the first half of 2027.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

This facility represents an important investment in our R&D, product qualification, manufacturing, and testing capabilities. The new facility has been designed to provide substantially greater testing capacity and flexibility. It will expand our ability to test tools at pressures exceeding 30,000 psi and temperatures above 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is designed to run as many as six tests simultaneously, tripling our current testing capacity. This added capacity should enable both new product R&D, as well as increased manufacturing throughput, including production pressure testing when needed. These capabilities will also enhance the continued development and qualification of new technologies across our Completion Tools portfolio.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

The early-stage commercialization of several new products, including the Scorpion 2.0 and Stinger 2.0 for the Permian and Marcellus/Utica basins, and the 4.5 in Scorpion Frac Dart for the Bakken Shale and various Canadian markets, provides Nine with opportunities to increase market share across multiple basins. While these products remain in varying stages of commercialization and ongoing field trials, we are encouraged by the early results. We remain focused on internal processes under our control and are making targeted investments to improve the structural profitability of Nine. During the quarter, we engaged external resources to assess and improve our centralized procurement function that will give us greater visibility into our spend, improve purchasing discipline, and allow us to leverage our scale more effectively across the organization.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

This is one of several internal initiatives we believe can drive sustainable cost efficiencies and margin expansion over time, while enhancing the operating leverage inherent in our business as activity improves and we seek to scale the business. That same discipline extends to our footprint. We recently exited our wireline operations in West Texas and North Dakota, as those locations were not generating acceptable returns. Before our restructuring, every dollar of revenue was important from a liquidity standpoint, which limited our ability to make decisions like this. Today, we can make operational decisions with a greater focus on returns and long-term value creation. Turning to fourth quarter expectations. Our results will continue to be influenced by the pace of customer activity, the timing of the coiled tubing units returned to service, and the mix of products and services sold.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Based on these factors, we currently expect flat revenue and increased profitability compared with the third quarter, and we are projecting fourth quarter revenue in the range of $137 million-$147 million. The increase in profitability reflects a shift in revenue towards our higher-margin cementing and international tools business. As we move toward 2027, we believe Nine has multiple avenues for growth. These include improving U.S. activity, the return of our full large-diameter coiled tubing capacity, the continued commercialization of our new Completion Tools products, and the addition of our new testing facility. Our business remains diversified across service lines, basins, commodities, and domestic and international markets. We believe that diversification, together with our technology portfolio and asset-light operating model, provides a strong foundation as we navigate near-term volatility and pursue profitable growth. We will now open up the call for Q&A.

[Operator]

Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Our first question comes from Steve Ferazani with Sidoti & Company. Your line is now live.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Morning, Ann. Morning, Heather. Appreciate the detail on the call this morning. Ann, did want to touch on the strength in cementing this quarter. It's certainly the reason why you beat our top line, it looks like. Looks like cementing was up double digits sequentially, more than 20% year-over-year. If we look at the active rig count, you outpaced the U.S. rig count. You outpaced the rig count even in your three primary areas. It sounded like you indicated market share was a contributor. Can you add a little bit more color there on the outperformance for cementing?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah. Good morning, Steve. Thank you for your great question. As you know, cementing is a pillar of the Nine business. The cementing business generally is one that we absolutely love in the oil field service sector because it's one of the least saturated businesses in the space. You've got a competitive environment that you can actually really work with. Where you're really making money there is you start with your lab facilities and your slurry designs, and I think we've definitely outpaced the market on that. Of course, execution. The team is not only gaining market share and doing that profitably, I mean, we've had some of our best margins in recent history, they're also doing it safely. We've also had some of our best safety scores that we've seen in a long period of time. We're tremendously proud of them.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

We love to see this business succeeding like this, and we expect this to continue. It has been a tremendous pace, and again, we are just really looking forward to continued benefits from this in the fourth quarter.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Fantastic. When I look at your service line margins, I expected them to be under pressure with the coiled tubing unit down. In fact, it was sequentially improved. Is that primarily you had the greater contribution from the higher margin cementing, or were there other factors in play for the nice rebound in the service margin?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah. As we noted, we are making changes internally to the business where we can finally focus on profitability, and we are not done yet. We are not done yet. So you will continue to see that margin move in the right direction. But yes, obviously cementing is a big contributor here, which we are very pleased with. But as you know, we are making a lot of internal changes that we were just literally hamstrung from doing prior to the Chapter 11 filing, right? If it created $1 of EBITDA previously, you took that dollar because your interest expense was so overwhelming. So we are finally now able to look at this business strategically, reposition it how we see fit, and start to focus on returns.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Excellent. That is great. As far as the 4Q guidance goes, I know we are almost mid-November now. We are hearing different things from folks in terms of what the typical year-end slowdown looks like. What is sort of implied in that guidance? You are sort of flat, but you are getting that coiled tubing unit back maybe for a couple of weeks. What kind of a seasonal slowdown is, or year-end slowdowns kind of factored in that range?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah, I mean, it's a great point. The sector usually sees a pretty sharp decline, especially in December, so there is seasonality. But again, you've had a rig count rise in the U.S., and you have had a sustained commodity price that has supported activity. So I would say we're seeing less of a slowdown in Q4. We and our peers are, of course, fighting inflation.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Yeah.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Diesel is a huge component of every cost of everything we do. So what we're doing is we're working with customers on increasing price and trying to cover those costs. As I've said before, there's a lag. So it's a great deal of strength for us to be forecasting improved profitability in an inflationary environment like the one that we're in. So we're very pleased with the business and some of the repositioning within it.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

What are the opportunities given the activity pickup in your three larger service lines? Is there any point

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Well, what typically

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Yeah.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah, what typically happens in this well construction, right, is you have the wellbore drilled, you have to cement that well, and then you have a lag impact for when you actually start to see those wells completed. We are trying to tell the market is we think this bodes quite nicely for our completion services moving into 2027. We are also obviously positioning those completion services, as we mentioned, with the testing facility to be prepared to capture that growth. We are also doing that with the inventory line. As you see geopolitically, the supply chains become very challenged and disrupted. We have been defensive there purposely, and so we are preparing for good completions activity in 2027.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Excellent. If I get one more in terms of you did report modest free cash flow this quarter. Obviously, the balance sheet is much improved post the proceedings of earlier in the year. That being said, obviously there is some investments you want to make, particularly with U.S. picking up, and I know on your Completion Tools side. How are you thinking about balancing those two pieces going forward?

[Heather Schmidt, CFO at Nine Energy Service]

This is Heather. I will take that. We obviously always want to be careful with the balance sheet. I mean, it is pretty consistent quarter-over-quarter. As we talked about, CapEx was slightly higher this year with that Completion Tool facility and some growth capital that we put into that. We had a new coiled tubing unit that came in earlier in the year, and we had some deferred maintenance capital that we had to put into this year. So we are watching that really closely, but I feel like we now are able to invest in the business, and we can do that and feel comfortable with the liquidity today. It is a good balance, and we feel like we are doing it okay right now, and we will continue to focus on that.

[Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company]

Great. Thanks, Ann. Thanks, Heather.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Thanks, Steve.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Dave Storms with Stonegate. Your line is now live.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

Morning, and thank you for taking my questions.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Morning.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

Morning. Wanted to stick maybe with cementing for another second here. Utilization was running a little high at 106% in the quarter. Maybe just any thoughts on how comfortable you are with the existing capacity, maybe when you would think about adding additional investments here?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah. I think we are comfortable with our capacity. I think the mantra always around shale is, we keep getting more efficient, and I think that's absolutely the case. I think our pace is sustainable, and as I said, we're watching, of course, safe operations always, and that our safety scores have been some of the best this year we've ever seen in the business, in the history of the business. That's really over a decade. I think we're really starting to get all of the teams clicking, and we believe that operational excellence is also tied to safety. I think our pace is sustainable, if that was your question.

[Heather Schmidt, CFO at Nine Energy Service]

When he asked about capacity, I think we're going to have to see some pricing improvement before you look at anyone. I think we've seen that across the space. We want to see some pricing improvement before we look at any growth capital in any of these service lines.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah, and I would add to that, what you would see probably before that is consolidation. The space is ripe for consolidation, and similar to what we saw our upstream customers do in the Northeast when they fixed their balance sheets, they then consolidated. I wouldn't be surprised at all if you start to see that on the service side.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

Understood. I really appreciate that commentary. With some of the cementing having a strong quarter, you mentioned in your report that it's partly due to market share gains. I know you also mentioned that 2027 should set up nicely for the parts of your business that follow cementing. Do you expect those market share gains then to translate into the Completion Tools, or will the market share gains come from some of the more innovation that you're putting out there in terms of the Scorpion, et cetera?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Right. It's a great question. The new products that we are in field trials with are showing very promising results. Those aren't revolutionary products, but what they are is very important, because we're offering benefits to the customer, like lower drill-out times, better isolation on the dissolvable tool, but we're also really working on that design to ameliorate our own COGS so that we can be more competitive on the price side and gain market share. I'll be very disappointed if we don't gain market share with those tools in 2027. They are specifically designed to address the Permian Basin, which, as you know, carries the preponderance of the rig count and the production in the U.S.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

We are absolutely targeting that, and we're very, very hopeful, based on these early trials, that that's a market where you'll see a good chunk of market share gain in 2027.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

Understood. Thank you. Then maybe with the coiled tubing coming back online, hopefully in December, is there anything more you could tell us about if that could come online a little bit earlier, what would happen for that to get pushed out? Maybe how much of that coming back online is baked into fourth quarter guidance? Anything around there?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah, I'd say that we were conservative in baking that into the fourth quarter guidance because, I mean, you get the unit back, you got to get the string on, you got to get back into customers and get it back online. So, I would say we were pretty conservative. I would say there's, I don't want to say upside, but more upside than downside with that, because we did want to be conservative. As you know, the supply chain's difficult. This is a specialized provider who's fixing this, and everything can be delayed. So, I'd say it's conservative.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

Very fair answer. If I could sneak maybe one more in, just around international Completion Tools. I know that tends to be a lumpier business. Maybe anything you could tell us about the pipeline there or what the outlook in the real short term is for that.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Yeah. Those dissolvable products have done very well in markets like the Vaca Muerta in Argentina. Those are very hot plays, I mean, temperature-wise, and things love to dissolve there. It's very hard to do drill-outs internationally for a number of reasons, but we are absolutely pursuing the unconventional shale markets abroad. We're also very excited, we remain very excited about the unconventional plays in the UAE, and we've established good positions, relationships there as well. The international markets are definitely a bright spot for us coming into 2027. They're also a bright spot for us for Q4. Again, very excited about that. We're always trying to increase that product portfolio, which you know our R&D team, which sits in Norway, does an excellent job of pursuing tools also for the conventional wellbore.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

We expect that that's a very bright spot for 2027 for us, which again, this test facility is hugely important for those outside of the tools world. You have both research and development. You also have sustaining engineering, and sustaining engineering is extremely important, and it requires a lot of testing. Previously, you have to knock out R&D tests to continue sustaining engineering, and we're no longer going to face that problem. Those psi and temperatures are also specifically designed to allow us to address global markets where you're seeing wellhead pressures are very high. When we contemplated the construction of this facility, we were doing that from a global perspective.

[Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate]

That's fantastic. Thank you for taking my questions, and good luck in the next quarter.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Blake McLean with Daniel Energy Partners. Your line is now live.

[Blake McLean, Analyst at Daniel Energy Partners]

Good morning.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Good morning.

[Blake McLean, Analyst at Daniel Energy Partners]

Hey, I was hoping. Thanks for all the good color thus far. I was hoping maybe we could zoom in a bit on the Haynesville opportunity. Maybe just how do you guys see activity evolving there as gas demand continues to grow, you build out your presence there? Kind of where do you see the opportunities there for Nine specifically as well?

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Well, thank you. It's a great question. We repositioned a lot of our businesses to face the gas markets and added exposure into the Haynesville. We actually, when we exited the North Dakota and West Texas facilities for wireline, we very expressly did that with an aim to establish ourselves in the Haynesville. We have successfully done that now since the Chapter 11 filing. We believe the Haynesville will be an important market to serve the LNG export market. You have kind of, when you think about gas, as you well know, Blake, and all your power exposure, you have the gas market that serves the domestic power industry, and then you have the gas market that serves that LNG export market. And we believe the Haynesville is very well-suited to do that.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

It also is, as you know, is a lover of all things dissolvable because the temperatures are so high. We're actively positioned there with tools and wireline, coiled tubing, and cement. It's one of the few basins where we have every single service line exposed. Despite kind of some of what you're hearing in the market right now on data centers, we believe that the U.S. will pivot and ensure that data centers are built and that we can meet the AI demands that are placed on us. We're really looking forward to that. I'm very exposed to that. And if that didn't answer your question, please let me know.

[Blake McLean, Analyst at Daniel Energy Partners]

No, that was good. Good stuff. Thank you very much for the time this morning.

[Ann Fox, President and CEO at Nine Energy Service]

Of course. Thank you. Thank you for your participation in the call today. I want to thank our employees, our E&P partners, and investors. Thank you.

[Operator]

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

Participants

Executives

• Josh Riley, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
• Ann Fox, President and CEO
• Heather Schmidt, CFO

Analysts

• Steve Ferazani, Analyst at Sidoti & Company
• Dave Storms, Analyst at Stonegate
• Blake McLean, Analyst at Daniel Energy Partners