Helmerich & Payne
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 2/4
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $35.02m | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | -5.8% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 0.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 1/3
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Operating margin | 0.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/3
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -5.8% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 0.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 1/3
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -5.8% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Return on equity, sustained | 2 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 1/4
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 0.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | -4.4% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | 0.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | 0.1% | 10-yr median 0.1% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.80x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 0/3
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.80x | 2.00x published | ✗ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 3.16x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 0 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 1/2
| Measure | HP | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.73x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | -4.4% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Helmerich & Payne. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | whyLost $1.66 per share — no earnings to pay from. |
| Operating cash flow | 18.6% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 86.4% | whyWhat producers set distributions against. Check for variable or special dividends before reading a trend. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 67.9 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 15 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 5/50Direction 10/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-09-30 | 86.4% |
| 2024-09-30 | 88.9% |
| 2023-09-30 | 46.0% |
| 2021-09-30 | 201.0% |
| 2020-09-30 | 65.4% |
| 2019-09-30 | 78.9% |
10% of the 31 energy here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.250 ÷ diluted EPS $-1.66
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $101m ÷ operating cash flow $543m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $101m ÷ (operating cash flow $543m − capex $426m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2025-11-21 · accession 0000046765-25-000071
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS $0.25 filed as declared, but dividends paid imply $1.01 — one of the two underlying facts is wrong. The filed per-share figure is used.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Helmerich & Payne files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.