Liberty Energy Inc.
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Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Red would require a finding against substance, and there is none: $555.4 million of cash as of June 30, 2026, equity of $1,963.8 million at a 43.8 percent equity ratio, positive operating cash flow, an undrawn $750.0 million revolving facility, covenants met, effective disclosure controls and $1,295.0 million of debt that does not mature until 2031 and 2032. Green would require proof that the core business carries itself: the operating margin was 1.6 percent in the first half of 2026 against 16.0 percent in 2023, the reported profit mostly comes from investments carried at daily quoted prices, and free cash flow has swung from positive $411.3 million in 2023 to negative $239.4 million in the first half of 2026. At the same time roughly $1.9 billion of power equipment is on order while the company itself writes that the flagship arrangements are not yet binding. That is a weighty open operational question, but not a threat to substance — hence yellow. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Liberty Energy is one of the largest hydraulic fracturing contractors in North America and is building a second business in distributed power for data centers. What is proven: a solid balance sheet with $555.4 million of cash, an equity ratio of 43.8 percent, maturities that do not arrive until 2031 and 2032, and an undrawn $750.0 million revolving facility. Against that stands a core business whose operating income fell from $760.6 million in 2023 to $72.7 million in 2025 and accounted for just 1.6 percent of revenue in the first half of 2026. The reported profit mostly comes from investments, free cash flow has turned to negative $239.4 million, and roughly $1.9 billion of power equipment is on order against offtake arrangements the company itself describes as not yet binding. Not investment advice.
Balance sheet and liquidity
Cash stood at $555.4 million on June 30, 2026, up from $27.6 million at the end of 2025. Equity was $1,963.8 million against total assets of $4,488.1 million, or 43.8 percent. The $750.0 million revolving credit facility was undrawn, with $448.3 million of remaining availability. Only $32.2 million of debt matures through 2030 — the remaining $1,295.0 million falls due in 2031 and 2032. All covenants were met at the balance sheet date.
Core business and margin
Operating income fell from $760.6 million in 2023 to $389.5 million in 2024 and $72.7 million in 2025, and stood at $35.0 million in the first half of 2026 — an operating margin of 1.6 percent. Cost of services rose 21 percent in the second quarter of 2026 while revenue rose 14 percent. Adjusted EBITDA fell from $348.9 million to $277.0 million on a half-year basis.
Source of the profit
The reported profit mostly comes from investments: $162.6 million in 2025 against $72.7 million of operating income, and $60.2 million against $35.0 million in the first half of 2026. In the second quarter of 2026 the mark-up of Fervo Energy after its initial public offering alone produced $64.1 million against a quarterly profit of $43.1 million. These positions are carried at quoted market prices and move daily.
Cash flow and capital spending
Operating cash flow halved in the first half of 2026, from $362.7 million to $141.4 million, while purchases of property and equipment rose from $271.4 million to $380.9 million. That leaves negative $239.4 million, after positive $14.1 million for full-year 2025 and positive $411.3 million in 2023. Outstanding power equipment commitments stood at $1.1 billion on June 30, 2026, plus roughly $801 million from the Caterpillar contract of July 22, 2026.
The power generation opportunity
Demand for distributed power is real, and the acquisition of IMG Energy Solutions on March 3, 2025 for roughly $19.6 million bought engineering and interconnection expertise. But the company writes in its own risk factors to the 2025 annual report that the Vantage Data Centers arrangement is not with the end user, and that the 330-megawatt project in Texas still requires a final, binding contract before it can generate revenue.
Valuation
A market capitalization of roughly $2.83 billion (closing price of $17.36 on July 24, 2026 across 163,191,416 shares) equates to a price-to-sales ratio of roughly 0.7 and a price-to-book ratio of roughly 1.4. The price-earnings ratio of roughly 23.5 rests on a profit largely produced by investment revaluations. Fourteen analyst opinions averaged a $33.85 target, split into four "strong buy," two "buy" and eight "hold" (data as of July 25, 2026).
Worth Noting
LBRT reached our research list as number 19 of 81 U.S. hits in our in-house Big Earnings Surprise screen (measured on the live page on July 26, 2026) — part of our series filling the top 50 of that screen with analyses. The scanner lists are recalculated daily, so the rank can move.
What the screen measures: repeated large upside gaps between reported earnings per share and the analyst estimate. That is a statement about how accurate estimates are, not about company quality — and those estimates refer to an adjusted figure, not to the result under U.S. accounting rules.
Metric trap: the price-earnings ratio and return on equity are misleading for Liberty Energy, because a large part of the profit comes from revaluing investments rather than from the business. The Piotroski F-Score stood at 4 of 9 on July 26, 2026 — a nine-point test of the direction of the balance sheet, on which a thoroughly healthy company scores 8 or 9.
Currency note: the most recent quarterly report (Form 10-Q) is dated July 23, 2026 and has been fully analysed, as has the Form 10-K for 2025 dated February 2, 2026. As of July 26, 2026 no filing had been made after July 23, 2026. There is no merger, no take-private, no going-private transaction and no delisting.
Risk of confusion: Liberty Energy Inc. (CIK 1694028) was named "Liberty Oilfield Services Inc." until April 21, 2022, and older sources still carry the former name. The company is unrelated to Liberty Media or Liberty Global. The stakes in Oklo, Tamboran Resources and Fervo Energy are separately listed companies, not parts of the group.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at LBRT since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 10.90 $ to 33.90 $ · Last price: 19.10 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Energy Inc. LBRT | 3.1 | 19.8 | 6.4 | 18.5 | 0.4 | -7.2 | 78.4 |
| Schlumberger NV SLB | 77.5 | 22.2 | 13.2 | 17.0 | 12.3 | -1.6 | 53.4 |
| Baker Hughes Co BKR | 56.1 | 17.9 | 11.2 | 23.7 | 12.3 | -0.3 | 23.6 |
| Tenaris SA TS | 30.3 | 15.1 | 8.3 | 38.5 | 16.7 | -4.3 | 60.6 |
| TechnipFMC PLC FTI | 29.0 | 26.6 | 14.5 | 23.0 | 14.1 | 9.4 | 87.2 |
| Halliburton Company HAL | 28.5 | 18.0 | 9.8 | 15.1 | 12.6 | -3.3 | 57.0 |
| NOV Inc. NOV | 7.3 | 78.5 | 11.0 | 21.7 | 2.3 | -1.4 | 62.6 |
| Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc SEI | 6.8 | – | 23.5 | 49.9 | 25.8 | 98.7 | 109.9 |
| LandBridge Company LLC LB | 6.6 | 76.0 | 19.8 | 98.8 | 66.1 | 81.1 | 59.6 |
| Median of companies shown | 28.5 | 21.0 | 11.2 | 23.0 | 12.6 | -1.4 | 60.6 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 375 | -57 | -61 | -1.08 | -41 | 229 | 452 |
| 2017 | 1,490 | 181 | 169 | 2.44 | 195 | 435 | 852 |
| 2018 | 2,155 | 312 | 126 | 1.07 | 351 | 433 | 1,117 |
| 2019 | 1,990 | 111 | 39 | 0.37 | 261 | 555 | 1,283 |
| 2020 | 966 | -144 | -116 | -1.36 | 85 | 1,151 | 1,890 |
| 2021 | 2,471 | -163 | -179 | -1.03 | 135 | 1,213 | 2,041 |
| 2022 | 4,149 | 514 | 400 | 2.11 | 530 | 1,495 | 2,576 |
| 2023 | 4,748 | 758 | 556 | 3.15 | 1,015 | 1,841 | 3,034 |
| 2024 | 4,315 | 384 | 316 | 1.87 | 829 | 1,979 | 3,296 |
| 2025 | 4,006 | 81 | 148 | 0.89 | 610 | 2,079 | 3,558 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.31 | -42.00 | 944 | -12.20 | 5.50 | 177 | -26 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.12 | -74.60 | 978 | -8.90 | 2.10 | 192 | 58 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.43 | -32.30 | 1,043 | -10.10 | 6.80 | 171 | 33 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.26 | -40.40 | 947 | -16.80 | 4.50 | 52 | -67 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.08 | -73.40 | 1,039 | 10.10 | 1.30 | 195 | -10 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.14 | 11.80 | 1,021 | 4.50 | 2.20 | 8 | -149 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.26 | -39.50 | 1,189 | 14.00 | 3.60 | 133 | 133 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 9 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Aktien.Guide
Breakout & Setup
Dividends
Momentum & Trend
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 0.25 | 0.14 – 0.34 | 4,582 | 67.0% | 6 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.32 | 0.13 – 0.67 | 4,980 | 28.3% | 6 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Free cash flow over the past twelve months is negative, which rules out a serious reverse calculation. Any growth rate only makes a negative cash flow more negative; no present value comes out of it. What the price reflects here is therefore not a stream of cash flows, but the expectation that there will be one at all.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
In den sechs ausgewerteten SEC-Berichten kommt Künstliche Intelligenz ausschließlich als Nachfragetreiber der Rechenzentrums-Kunden vor — Liberty Energy verkauft kein KI-Produkt, weist keinen KI-Umsatz aus, belegt keinen eigenen operativen KI-Einsatz und nennt KI auch nicht als Risiko für das eigene Geschäftsmodell.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„The convergence of AI-driven data center expansion, the onshoring of domestic manufacturing, and increased industrial electrification has created structural demand growth for power."
Das Zusammentreffen von KI-getriebenem Rechenzentrums-Ausbau, der Rückverlagerung heimischer Produktion und zunehmender industrieller Elektrifizierung hat ein strukturelles Nachfragewachstum nach Strom erzeugt.
10-K · 2026-02-02 · View SEC filing
„In addition, the sustainability of the favorable supply-demand dynamic in the power sector depends on multiple factors, including factors relating to technological advancements such as continued demand growth for generative AI computing applications, cloud computing, the level and pace at which the power industry can invest in power infrastructure and the pace of continued electrification-driven demand growth."
Zudem hängt die Dauerhaftigkeit des günstigen Angebots-Nachfrage-Verhältnisses im Strommarkt von mehreren Faktoren ab, darunter technologische Entwicklungen wie das anhaltende Nachfragewachstum nach generativen KI-Rechenanwendungen und Cloud-Computing, das Ausmaß und das Tempo, in dem die Energiewirtschaft in Stromnetze und Erzeugung investieren kann, sowie das Tempo des weiteren elektrifizierungsgetriebenen Nachfragewachstums.
10-K · 2026-02-02 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-07-23 · 10-Q 2026-04-23 · 10-Q 2025-10-17 · 10-Q 2025-07-25 · 10-K 2026-02-02 · 10-K 2025-02-06
Rated on July 26, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years -1.2%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 8.8%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -4.3%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") -6.8%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 11.4%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 0.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 1.2 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 1,433 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 2.9%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 2.0%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
2/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 30.1%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 11.5%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% -39.9%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 10.4x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 7
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% 7.2%
- ROCE > 15% 2.9%
- Expected return > 10% -39.7%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Stock Michael | Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 6,666 | 19.84 | 132,253 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Stock Michael | Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 3,333 | 20.00 | 66,660 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Stock Michael | Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 3,333 | 17.95 | 59,827 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | Murti Arjun N | Director | Buy | 14,053 | 17.79 | 250,003 |
The company
About the Company
Liberty Energy Inc., ein integriertes Energiedienstleistungs- und Technologieunternehmen, bietet Hydraulic-Fracturing-Dienstleistungen und verwandte Technologien für Onshore-Öl-, Erdgas- und verstärkte Geothermie-Explorations- und -Förderunternehmen in Nordamerika an.
- Employees
- 5,800
- Headquarters
- Denver, CO
- Address
- 950 17th Street, 80202 Denver, United States
- Phone
- 303 515 2800
- Website
- libertyenergy.com
- IPO Date
- 01/12/2018
- ISIN
- US53115L1044
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Gusek | President, CEO & Director | 1972 |
| Michael Stock | CFO & Treasurer | 1962 |
| Ryan T. Gosney | Chief Accounting Officer & Vice President of Finance | 1973 |
| R. Sean Elliott | Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1975 |
| Jim Brady | Founder & Senior VP of Operations | – |
| Anjali Ramnath Voria | Director of Investor Relations | – |
| Tracee Quinnell | Vice President of Human Resources | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 07/22/2026 Liberty Energy Inc. (LBRT): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.