Noble Corporation announces third quarter 2026 results

Noble Corporation announced third quarter 2026 results.

• Approximately $560 million in new contract value awarded since the July fleet status report; backlog stands at $6.7 billion.
• $0.50 per share cash dividend declared for Q4, maintaining consistent return of capital program.
• Q3 Net Loss of $(117) million, Diluted Loss per Share of $(0.73), Adjusted Diluted Earnings (Loss) per Share of $(0.57), Adjusted EBITDA of $201 million, net cash provided by operating activities of $144 million, and Free Cash Flow of $(48) million.
• Full Year 2026 Guidance for Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA narrowed within prior guidance ranges; Capital Expenditures guidance increased, primarily attributable to higher customer reimbursable Capital Expenditures.

Robert W. Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble, stated, “The third quarter, which featured a 5% sequential decrease in Adjusted EBITDA, marked the successful resumption of operations for both of our rigs in Brazil, but was also impacted by several other rigs across the fleet transitioning between contracts. On the commercial front, we have recently secured approximately $560 million in new contract awards, including a number of key programs that support a strengthening fleet utilization profile as we move through 2027.”

Third Quarter Results
Contract drilling services revenue for the third quarter of 2026 totaled $684 million compared to $679 million in the prior quarter. Utilization of the 28 marketed rigs was 70% in the third quarter of 2026 compared to 67% in the prior quarter. Contract drilling services costs for the third quarter were $469 million, up from $446 million in the prior quarter. Net income decreased to a $(117) million loss in the third quarter of 2026 compared to a net loss of $(37) million in the prior quarter, and Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $201 million in the third quarter of 2026, down from $212 million in the prior quarter. Net cash provided by operating activities in the third quarter of 2026 was $144 million, Capital Expenditures were $192 million, and Free Cash Flow was $(48) million.

Balance Sheet & Capital Allocation
The Company’s balance sheet as of September 30, 2026, reflected total debt principal value of $1.9 billion and cash (and cash equivalents) of $337 million. On October 9, 2026, the sale of the Noble Resolve was finalized with the Company receiving the remaining $45 million of proceeds. Further, the sale of the Noble Globetrotter II is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 for a purchase price of $38 million.

On October 26, 2026, Noble’s Board of Directors approved an interim quarterly cash dividend on our ordinary shares of $0.50 per share for the fourth quarter of 2026. The $0.50 per share dividend is expected to be paid on December 17, 2026, to shareholders of record at close of business on November 25, 2026. Future quarterly dividends and other shareholder returns will be subject to, amongst other things, approval by the Board of Directors.

Operating Highlights and Backlog
Noble’s fleet of 23 marketed floaters was 66% contracted during the third quarter compared with 64% in the prior quarter. Recent contract awards since last quarter have added approximately 44 months of new floater backlog, with leading edge dayrates for Tier-1 drillships ranging between the mid-$400,000s and $500,000. Utilization of Noble’s 5 marketed ultra harsh jackups was 86% in the third quarter versus 80% during the prior quarter. Recent contract awards since last quarter have added approximately 26 months of new jackup backlog, with leading edge dayrates ranging between $230,000 and $300,000.

Subsequent to last quarter’s earnings press release, new contracts with a total contract value of approximately $560 million include the following:

• Noble BlackRhino was awarded a four-well contract with TotalEnergies in Nigeria expected to commence in Q4 2026, with an estimated duration of 150 days plus six priced option wells.
• Noble Faye Kozack was awarded a five-well contract with Tullow in Ghana expected to commence in mid-2027, with an estimated duration of 250 days, plus five priced option wells.
• Noble Interceptor was awarded a one-well contract with DNO in Norway expected to commence in Q3 2027, with an estimated duration of 50-90 days. Thereafter, the rig is expected to commence, in direct continuation, a long-term P&A scope for ConocoPhillips in Norway on the Ekofisk field, with an estimated duration of 670 days.
• Noble BlackHawk was awarded a one-well contract with Apache in Uruguay expected to commence in Q4 2027, with an estimated duration of 50 days. Contract value of approximately $25 million excludes additional fees for mobilization and demobilization.
• Noble Globetrotter I was awarded a two-well contract with Occidental in Peru expected to commence in Q2 2027 at a dayrate of $400,000, plus a mobilization fee. Thereafter, the rig is expected to commence a contract with TotalEnergies in West Africa under a 3-year Capacity Reservation Agreement (CRA) for light well intervention services, providing a minimum commitment of 150 days per year. The first call-off service order is expected to commence in Angola in Q3/Q4 2027.
• Noble Intrepid was awarded a one-well contract with ORLEN in Norway that is expected to commence in Q3 2027 with an estimated duration of 40-60 days.

Backlog as of October 26, 2026, stands at $6.7 billion. Backlog excludes mobilization and demobilization revenue.

Outlook
For the full year 2026, Revenue guidance is narrowed to $2,850-$2,900 million (versus $2,800-$2,900 million previously); Adjusted EBITDA guidance is narrowed to $850-$900 million (versus $850-$925 million previously); and Capital Expenditures guidance is increased to $680-$705 million (versus $615-$665 million previously), with the increase primarily attributable to higher customer reimbursable Capital Expenditures. Excluding this $40 million increase in customer reimbursable Capital Expenditures (from $25 million to $65 million), our Capital Expenditures guidance would remain within the prior range.

Commenting on Noble’s outlook, Mr. Eifler stated, “Forward contract coverage and dayrate trends for both deepwater and ultra harsh environment jackups continue to methodically improve, despite limited apparent demand tailwinds arising from higher oil prices during 2026 thus far. Noble’s recent contract fixtures encompass a diversity of customers and regions, spanning frontier exploration to late-cycle well operations. We continue to build backlog that supports an expected meaningful inflection in fleet utilization and cash flow starting H2 2027, with already approximately 20% more contracted capacity in our fleet in H2 2027 compared to H1 2027.”

Due to the forward-looking nature of Adjusted EBITDA and Capital Expenditures (net of proceeds from insurance claims), management cannot reliably predict certain of the necessary components of the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure, Net Income and Capital Expenditures, respectively. Accordingly, the Company is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of such forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort. The unavailable information could have a significant effect on Noble’s full year 2026 GAAP financial results.