HP · Energy(drilling oil & gas wells) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-09-30
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Helmerich & Payne, Inc. reported revenue of $3.7 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 9.5% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from -1.6% in 2016 to 0.1%, and it earned 0.1% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $5.5 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 61.2% went back into the business and 39.5% to dividends; the share count fell 8.1%. On the accounting screens, it passes 4 of 8 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 2.68 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 4 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20253.7B+9.5% a year over 9 years
Operating margin0.1%gross margin —
Return on invested capital0.1%1.3% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay85.0M2.3% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA3.0×net debt 1.9B
Piotroski F-score4/8tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
-2B02B4B
2016Revenue 1.6BOperating income -26.0M
2017Revenue 1.8BOperating income -169.1M
2018Revenue 2.5BOperating income 33.0M
2019Revenue 2.8BOperating income 20.6M
2020Revenue 1.8BOperating income -620.2M
2021Revenue 1.2BOperating income -428.5M
2022Revenue 2.0BOperating income 45.3M
2023Revenue 2.9BOperating income 568.3M
2024Revenue 2.7BOperating income 457.4M
2025Revenue 3.7BOperating income 3.3M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+21.5%
+15.9%
+9.5%
Operating income
-58.2%
—
—
Free cash flow per share
—
-20.4%
-14.1%
Dividend per share
+0.2%
-15.9%
-10.6%
Shares
-2.3%
-1.7%
-0.9%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 8.2%
-20%-10%0%10%20%
2016Return on invested capital -0.7%
2017Return on invested capital -4.7%
2018Return on invested capital -19.7%
2019Return on invested capital 0.6%
2020Return on invested capital -19.9%
2021Return on invested capital -13.5%
2022Return on invested capital 0.3%
2023Return on invested capital 12.5%
2024Return on invested capital 7.0%
2025Return on invested capital 0.1%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-1.5B-1.0B-0.5B00.5B
2016Economic profit -444.9M
2017Economic profit -600.7M
2018Economic profit -1.4B
2019Economic profit -338.0M
2020Economic profit -1.1B
2021Economic profit -852.9M
2022Economic profit -259.6M
2023Economic profit 145.4M
2024Economic profit -55.7M
2025Economic profit -391.7M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
-5.8%
Return on assets
-2.4%
Asset turnover
0.55×
Research & development
0.9% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
7.8% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-500M-250M0250M500M
2016Net income -56.8MFree cash flow 497.4MAfter stock-based pay 473.0M
2017Net income -128.2MFree cash flow -26.4MAfter stock-based pay -52.6M
2018Net income 482.7MFree cash flow 91.3MAfter stock-based pay 59.6M
2019Net income -33.7MFree cash flow 397.3MAfter stock-based pay 363.1M
2020Net income -494.5MFree cash flow 398.1MAfter stock-based pay 361.8M
2021Net income -326.1MFree cash flow 54.3MAfter stock-based pay 26.4M
2022Net income 7.0MFree cash flow -17.0MAfter stock-based pay -45.0M
2023Net income 434.1MFree cash flow 438.2MAfter stock-based pay 405.8M
2024Net income 344.2MFree cash flow 189.6MAfter stock-based pay 158.4M
2025Net income -163.7MFree cash flow 116.6MAfter stock-based pay 85.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
5.5B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 61%3.4B
Acquisitions 36%2.0B
Dividends 39%2.2B
Share buybacks 0%0
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -36%-2.0B
Over the same years it paid 304.0M in stock. The share count fell 8.1%.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
-$5.0-$2.5$0.0$2.5$5.0
2016Earnings per share $-0.53Free cash flow per share $4.61Dividend per share $2.78
2017Earnings per share $-1.18Free cash flow per share $-0.24Dividend per share $2.82
2018Earnings per share $4.41Free cash flow per share $0.83Dividend per share $2.82
2019Earnings per share $-0.31Free cash flow per share $3.64Dividend per share $2.87
2020Earnings per share $-4.58Free cash flow per share $3.69Dividend per share $2.41
2021Earnings per share $-3.03Free cash flow per share $0.50Dividend per share $1.01
2022Earnings per share $0.07Free cash flow per share $-0.16Dividend per share $1.01
2023Earnings per share $4.22Free cash flow per share $4.26Dividend per share $1.96
2024Earnings per share $3.47Free cash flow per share $1.91Dividend per share $1.70
2025Earnings per share $-1.65Free cash flow per share $1.17Dividend per share $1.01
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
95M100M105M110M
2016Diluted shares 108.0M
2017Diluted shares 108.5M
2018Diluted shares 109.4M
2019Diluted shares 109.2M
2020Diluted shares 108.0M
2021Diluted shares 107.8M
2022Diluted shares 106.6M
2023Diluted shares 102.9M
2024Diluted shares 99.1M
2025Diluted shares 99.3M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Debt and liquidity
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-1B01B2B
2016Net debt -413.7M
2017Net debt -28.5M
2018Net debt 209.6M
2019Net debt 131.4M
2020Net debt -7.2M
2021Net debt 107.9M
2022Net debt 310.5M
2023Net debt 288.0M
2024Net debt 1.6B
2025Net debt 1.9B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
3.0×
Interest coverage
0× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.80 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 75d
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
4of 8 tests passed
✕ProfitableReturn on assets above zerofailed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✕Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforefailed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✕More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforefailed
✕No new sharesShare count did not growfailed
–Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year before — not reportedno data
✓Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforepassed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
2.68safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.10 × 6.56+0.64
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.39 × 3.26+1.27
Operating income ÷ assets 0.00 × 6.72+0.00
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.73 × 1.05+0.77
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.58below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.34+1.24
Gross margin slipping 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.53
Soft assets 0.51+0.21
Sales growth 1.34+1.19
Slower depreciation 0.92+0.11
Overheads vs sales 0.88-0.15
Profit not in cash -0.11-0.49
Leverage rising 1.11-0.36
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
Receivables are growing 80% against revenue growing 34%.
Benign
A shift towards larger customers on longer terms, or sales concentrated at the end of the period.
Worrying
Sales are being made on looser credit, or revenue has been booked that may never be collected.
Inventory is growing 175% against revenue growing 34%.
Benign
Stocking up for a launch, or securing supply.
Worrying
Demand is softening; discounts or write-downs tend to follow.
Capital spending (426M) is well below depreciation (625M).
Benign
Mature assets, or a business that has become less capital-intensive.
Worrying
Under-investing: today's profit is being held up by consuming tomorrow's capacity.
The effective tax rate is -115.8%.
Benign
A favourable geographic mix, or legitimate tax credits.
Worrying
Not sustainable; projecting it forward inflates the valuation.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$16.06discounted at 8.2% a year · 63% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
—
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
5.5×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.9×
Free cash flow yield
5.3%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today1.3B
Everything after, today2.2B
The whole business3.5B
Minus net debt-1.9B
What belongs to shareholders1.6B
Divided among 99.3M shares: <strong>$16.06</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
-200M0200M400M600M
2016Reported 473.0M
2017Reported -52.6M
2018Reported 59.6M
2019Reported 363.1M
2020Reported 361.8M
2021Reported 26.4M
2022Reported -45.0M
2023Reported 405.8M
2024Reported 158.4M
2025Reported 85.0M
2026Projected 126.6M
2027Projected 145.0M
2028Projected 163.8M
2029Projected 182.6M
2030Projected 200.9M
2031Projected 218.0M
2032Projected 233.2M
2033Projected 246.1M
2034Projected 255.9M
2035Projected 262.3M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
4.3B
4.9B
5.5B
6.2B
6.8B
7.3B
7.9B
8.3B
8.6B
8.8B
Growth
16.0%
14.5%
13.0%
11.5%
10.0%
8.5%
7.0%
5.5%
4.0%
2.5%
Cash margin
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
Free cash flow
126.6M
145.0M
163.8M
182.6M
200.9M
218.0M
233.2M
246.1M
255.9M
262.3M
Worth today
117.1M
123.9M
129.5M
133.5M
135.8M
136.2M
134.8M
131.5M
126.4M
119.8M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
7.1%
17
20
24
29
34
7.6%
14
17
20
23
28
8.2%
12
14
16
19
23
8.6%
9
11
13
15
18
9.2%
7
9
11
13
15
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%
2.4%
6
8
10
13
15
2.7%
8
11
13
16
19
3.0%
11
13
16
19
22
3.3%
13
16
19
22
26
3.6%
16
19
22
25
29
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$-8.73
Median$16.15
90th percentile$47.87
$0.00$50.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$2.50</b> and <b>$30.95</b>; one in ten below $-8.73, one in ten above $47.87.
Does the long run make sense?
3.2×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 3.2 times that year's EBITDA.
Free growthIn year 10 free cash flow is at or above after-tax operating profit, yet the model grows 2.5% forever. Growth needs reinvestment; this assumes it comes for free, which flatters the terminal value.
63%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 5 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market—none in the period
Sold on the open market$5.5M7 sale(s) by 4 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans29%of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Which large funds report holding it
From the Form 13F of the 28 institutions followed on this site, as of the end of their last reported quarter. A 13F is filed up to 45 days later and shows only long positions in US-listed shares.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.