Tidewater Inc. announced revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 of $360.4 million and $1,028.9 million, respectively, compared with $341.1 million and $1,016.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025. Tidewater’s net income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026, was $17.5 million ($0.35 per common share) and $45.3 million ($0.91 per common share), respectively, compared with net income (loss) of $(0.8) million ($0.02 per common share) and $114.8 million ($2.27 per common share), respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025.
Third Quarter 2026 Highlights
- Revenue of $360.4 million, a 5.3% increase compared to the second quarter of 2026
- Average day rate of $23,775 per day, an increase of $837 per day, or 3.7%, compared to the second quarter of 2026
- Weighted average leading edge day rate of $27,373, an increase of $3,033 per day, or 12.5%, compared to the second quarter of 2026
- Net income of $17.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $140.1 million
- Net cash provided by operating activities of $75.2 million and free cash flow of $90.9 million
- Closed the $500 million all-cash acquisition of Wilson Sons Ultratug Offshore (“WSUT”)
Annual Guidance and Share Repurchase Program
- Updating 2026 revenue guidance range of $1.43 to $1.44 billion and 2026 gross margin guidance range of 47.5% to 48.5%, which is inclusive of approximately 140 basis points of cost burden related to Operation Epic Fury
- Initiating 2027 revenue guidance range of $1.70 to $1.75 billion and 2026 gross margin guidance range of 51% to 53%
- Repurchased approximately $25 million of shares since the last earnings release, with an outstanding share repurchase authorization of $475 million
Quintin Kneen, Tidewater’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Third quarter 2026 revenue and gross margin nicely exceeded our expectations driven by continued strength in day rates and utilization, with revenue for the quarter coming in at $360.4 million. Gross margin of 46.8% exceeded our expectations by a full percentage point due to the increase in revenue. Realized day rate of $23,775 increased $837 per day sequentially, continuing the pace of quarterly day rate improvements throughout 2026. The sequential increase in day rates was broad-based with improvement across nearly all of our vessel classes. Just as noteworthy, the pace of new term contract day rate acceleration continued in the third quarter, with our weighted average term contract day rate up by $3,033 per day to $27,373, an increase of 12.5% sequentially.
“During the third quarter, we closed our all-cash acquisition of WSUT, materially expanding our presence in Brazil. Our integration efforts are moving along well and we have made good progress to date. We anticipate substantially integrating the WSUT business into the Tidewater platform by the start of 2027. Year to date, we have incurred approximately $14.4 million in WSUT acquisition-related expenses.
“This year has largely progressed as anticipated from an activity perspective, even as the conflict in the Middle East has persisted. We are updating our 2026 revenue guidance range of $1.43 billion to $1.44 billion and our 2026 gross margin guidance range of 47.5% to 48.5%. We expect continued elevated operating costs associated with the conflict in the Middle East that we now anticipate to impact the fourth quarter. We expect to incur approximately $19.8 million in conflict-related costs in 2026, approximately $8.7 million of which we are contractually permitted to bill back to our customers.
“Looking forward to 2027, we remain encouraged by the progress we observe for continued strength as we progress through next year. We see a number of opportunities continue to emerge associated with each of the activities we support – drilling support, subsea and EPCI support and production support – that should continue to drive vessel demand over the next year. We’ve seen the early benefit of a strengthening market against a tight offshore vessel supply backdrop in our recent leading edge day rates. Broad-based confidence in the offshore cycle continues to improve and we believe that the coming years should provide for a durable set of factors that should allow us to continue to drive earnings and cash flow growth. As such, we are initiating full-year 2027 revenue guidance of $1.70 to $1.75 billion and full-year 2027 margin guidance of 51% to 53%.”