May 18, 2026

SLB is the technology contractor behind the oil and gas industry. When energy companies need to find oil, drill wells, keep equipment running, or squeeze more production out of old fields, they hire SLB for the tools, software, engineering, and field expertise. The investment pitch right now is that SLB may be more than a cyclical oil-services stock. Management is trying to show you that SLB has three newer growth engines: digital software, AI-driven oilfield automation, and data-center infrastructure. If investors start seeing part of SLB as an energy-tech platform, not just an oilfield-services business, the stock could deserve a higher valuation.

NVDA

The story became more interesting on March 25, 2026, when SLB and NVIDIA announced a major expansion of their partnership to industrialize AI for the energy sector. This is not just SLB saying it uses AI. The partnership is meant to help energy companies move from AI experiments to enterprise-scale AI deployment, using SLB’s energy data, software, and domain expertise with NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure. The most important part for investors is that SLB was selected as a modular design partner for NVIDIA DSX AI factories, meaning SLB can help design and build modular infrastructure for large AI data centers. In plain English, SLB is trying to sit at the intersection of oilfield technology, energy-specific AI, and the physical buildout of AI infrastructure.

Earnings Call

Then on their latest earnings call a few weeks, management pulled that NVIDIA story directly into the investment case. SLB reported weak headline earnings because the Middle East conflict slowed activity and pressured margins, but the bright spot was Digital and Data Centers. Management said Digital revenue grew 9%, Digital annual recurring revenue reached $1.02B, Digital Operations grew 87%, automated drilling footage rose 145%, and Data Center Solutions grew 45%. Importantly, CEO Olivier Le Peuch specifically connected the Data Center momentum to the recent NVIDIA announcement as he added that the Data Center business remains on track to exit 2026 at a $1B run-rate, with growth expected to scale in 2027.

Investor Day

That leads directly to the next catalyst: SLB’s Digital Investor Day on June 17^th. This event gives management a chance to explain whether Digital, AI, NVIDIA, and Data Centers are just attractive buzzwords or a real reason the stock should rerate. The questions investors need answered are simple: how big can this business become, what are the margins, who are the customers, how much backlog exists, and what exactly does SLB earn from the NVIDIA relationship? If SLB gives credible answers, the market may start to value the company less like a pure oilfield-services stock and more like a higher-growth energy technology and AI infrastructure platform.

The Trade

After earnings, the stock initially traded lower, down 4% in the pre-market, before reversing and finishing up about 2.6% on the day. That reversal matters because it suggests investors were willing to look past the Middle East earnings hit and focus on the longer-term Digital, AI, Data Center, and recovery story. 

To back that up, a buyer showed up to buy 10,000 SLB July 17^th $60 Calls for $2.30 with stock $55.34. This implies a breakout above the 3-year high near $58 and a move toward $72. The all-time high is $86 in 2014.

With the pullback in stock, the buyer reappeared last Wednesday to buy another 15,000 for $1.77, The Open Interest now stands at 30,000.

There is one other catalyst in July, the JPM energy conference on June 23^rd, and possibly earnings in mid-July. It’s not certain whether earnings lands in the week before or after expiry.

The risk to the story is two-fold. First, management could fumble the Digital Investor Day by failing to give enough details to get analysts onboard with higher Targets. Second, higher oil prices could eventually create demand destruction, which would weaken the broader oilfield-services cycle.

The ideal setup for SLB is that the world stabilizes, energy companies rebuild and invest after the Middle East disruption, and SLB proves that Digital, AI, and Data Centers can boost growth and margins. This would rerate the stock much higher.

I like the SLB July 17^th $57.50 Calls for $2.40. The Target Stock Price is near $66.50.