National Oilwell Varco, Inc. Battled Several Headwinds to Continue Recovering

The third quarter proved to be more challenging than National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) initially anticipated. A dip in oil prices heading into the quarter caused customers to cut spending. On top of that, Hurricane Harvey disrupted oil-field activities along the U.S. Gulf Coast. However, while both headwinds impacted National Oilwell Varco's results, the equipment giant overcame them to post higher revenue while narrowing its net loss.

National Oilwell Varco reported $1.84 billion in revenue for the third quarter, an increase of 4% from the second quarter and 11% higher year over year. Its net loss narrowed to $26 million, or $0.07 per share, which was roughly half what it was last quarter. That lines up reasonably well with the guidance the company provided on its second-quarter conference call. That said, the quarter didn't quite play out as anticipated since revenue from two of its four segments declined:

In millions of dollars. Data source: National Oilwell Varco. Chart by author.

Source: Fool.com