Noble Corp plc

What they do

Noble provides contract drilling services to large, integrated, independent and government-owned oil and gas companies, mainly on a dayrate basis under individually negotiated contracts. Its fleet is oriented toward the ultra-deepwater floater and ultra-harsh environment jackup markets. The company operates one reportable segment, Contract Drilling Services, and redeploys rigs globally as customer demand shifts.

Revenue drivers

• Contract Drilling Services — The company's single reportable segment, generating dayrate revenue from 25 floaters and 6 jackups as of the 10-K filing date, with the fleet focused on ultra-deepwater floaters and ultra-harsh environment jackups. Q2 2026 contract drilling services revenue was $679 million of $720 million total revenue.
• Dayrate contracts — Revenue is typically a fixed dayrate for each day a unit operates, with lower or no compensation during equipment breakdown, adverse weather or other interruptions. Contracts may include performance-based components, and some national oil company customers require part payment in local currency.
• Mobilization and cost-recovery provisions — Contracts allow recovery of mobilization and demobilization costs and, in certain long-term contracts, certain cost increases; some long-term contracts require dayrate reductions for documented cost decreases.

Recent performance

Q2 2026 total revenue was $720 million versus $786 million in Q1 2026 and $849 million in Q2 2025, with the sequential decline driven primarily by operational suspensions of the Noble Faye Kozack and Noble Courage in Brazil (about $43 million) and the end of the Noble Globetrotter I contract in the Black Sea. Q2 2026 net loss was $37 million, or $0.23 diluted loss per share, compared with net income of $121 million in Q1 2026; adjusted EBITDA fell to $212 million from $277 million. Utilization of the 29 marketed rigs was 64% in Q2 2026 versus 68% in Q1 2026, and contract drilling services costs were $446 million, down from $450 million. Full-year 2025 revenue was $3.29 billion with net income of $216.7 million and operating cash flow of $951.7 million.

Strategy

Noble's stated strategy centers on efficient, reliable and safe offshore drilling, with a high-specification fleet diversified across regions and customers. The company is primarily focused on the ultra-deepwater floater and ultra-harsh environment jackup markets. It has been an active consolidator: it completed the Diamond Offshore acquisition on September 4, 2024 under a June 9, 2024 merger agreement. In June 2026 it refinanced $800 million of existing bonds with 6.250% senior unsecured notes due 2034, which it says simplified the capital structure and unlocks $35 million in annual cash benefits, and it continues to return capital via a $0.50 per share quarterly dividend.

Risks

• Commodity price and activity cyclicality — Demand for Noble's drilling services depends on offshore exploration and development spending, which is driven by oil and gas prices and can be highly volatile, as illustrated by Brent's $9.12 low in 2020 and $133.18 five-year high in 2022.
• Operational suspensions and contract interruptions — Contracts pay a lower rate or no compensation during equipment breakdown, adverse weather or other interruptions, and Q2 2026 results were reduced by roughly $43 million from the suspension of both rigs in Brazil.
• Customer concentration on high-specification floaters — The 10-K notes that continued customer prioritization of highest-specification floaters could result in lower utilization for Noble's lower specification drillships and semi-submersibles.
• Dayrate and market moderation — The 10-K states dayrates have decreased moderately since recent highs in 2023 and 2024, and that global rig demand has moderated since early 2024.

Outlook

Management reduced full-year 2026 guidance for revenue and adjusted EBITDA while maintaining capital expenditure guidance, citing the impact of the Brazil rig suspensions. The company points to continued offshore investment supporting rig demand, with tightening for high-spec drillships driving leading-edge dayrates into the mid $400,000s per day. The 10-K says Noble remains encouraged by the long-term outlook in the ultra-deepwater floater market despite recent downward pressure on oil prices.