English: Halliburton Annual Revenue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Halliburton Profit Jumps 17%

Halliburton beat its earnings expectations with a seventeen percent profit jump this week, owing largely to its operations on a global scale. The oilfield company, which as traditionally seen dominance in U.S. markets, points to its expansion efforts in the Eastern hemisphere as its source of success. The company states that it has invested over one billion dollars in new facilities (notably in Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Brazil) and cites its continued global expansion as a major source of profit. Halliburton was not the only company to post gains on Monday - its two largest rivals continued their own oil-drilling growth and increased their profits handily.

In fact, Halliburton profit has not translated into a higher price for the company's shares. With its rivals posting even larger grains and Halliburton's North American profits slowing, the company's stock is down two percent per share. The stock is currently trading well below its recommended price of sixty-three dollars, and it maintains a strong "buy" rating from most market professionals. Halliburton's stock suffers not from any particular problem with the company itself, but merely from increased pressure from the company's competitors and a global market that simply has room for more competition.

Halliburton does foresee its profits continuing to grow this year, with a likelihood of client orders increasing. While new rig orders will likely decrease by a small percentage, business will increase overall. This will translate to higher profits for the company, and should strengthen both Halliburton profit and its overall stock price.