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The Zacks Oil and Gas – Drilling industry is currently facing a challenging landscape with operators scaling back near-term spending, resulting in uneven rig demand and pricing pressure. As of now, the industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of #226, placing it in the bottom 6% of 243 Zacks industries, and showing a significant decline in earnings expectations, with a 90% drop for 2025 estimates over the past year.
Despite these difficulties, some companies are better positioned to navigate the market. Transocean Ltd. (RIG) operates a high-specification fleet and has a market capitalization of $4.9 billion. Helmerich & Payne (HP), the largest land drilling contractor in the U.S., maintains a market cap of nearly $3 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) has one of the largest pressure pumping fleets in the country, controlling over 3 million hydraulic horsepower, but has seen a 13.5% decline in stock over the past year.
The industry has decreased by 6.8% compared to a broader sector increase of 3.8%, while the S&P 500 has grown over 15% in the same period.
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