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Helmerich & Payne (HP): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 FY26, to Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 6, 2026; rules v1.1
Helmerich & Payne (HP): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Jun 30, 2026. 2 to review; 4 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
Adjusted profit = economic profit To review · confidence low
Adjusted EPS was 10% or more above GAAP in 2 of the last 3 quarters: read the reconciliation before taking the adjusted figure.
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 21.47 a share (price 35.22); 27% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from 0.82 to 40.82; across every method the research ran the range is -102 to 240. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Not triggered confidence high
Free cash flow did not rise ($190M → $117M): the trap does not arise.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY24 |
| Fiscal year | FY25 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $685M |
| Operating cash flow | $543M |
| Capex, year before | $495M |
| Capex | $426M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $190M |
| Free cash flow | $117M |
| Change in FCF | −$73M |
| Change in capex | −$69M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | −$51M |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY25 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY24 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 0.8% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY25 |
| Stock compensation | $32M |
| Revenue | $3.7B |
| SBC / revenue | +0.8% |
| Buybacks | 0 |
| Buybacks / SBC | 0.0 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 99.1M shares |
| Diluted shares | 99.3M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.2% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY25 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 11% against revenue -1% in Q3 FY26; DSO 74 against a median of 68: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 FY26 |
| Revenue, year over year | -0.6% |
| Receivables, year over year | +11.1% |
| Quarter before | Q2 FY26 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | -8.2% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +3.1% |
| Days sales outstanding | 73.9 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 68.3 |
| Receivables | $869M |
| Revenue | $1.0B |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q3 FY26 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 FY25 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit To review confidence low
Adjusted EPS was 10% or more above GAAP in 2 of the last 3 quarters: read the reconciliation before taking the adjusted figure.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter / adjusted EPS / GAAP EPS / gap | 2025-12-31 / -0.15 / -0.98 / 5.533; 2026-03-31 / -0.38 / -0.59 / 0.553; 2026-06-30 / -0.11 / 0.74 / -7.727 |
| Quarters with adjusted ≥ 10% above GAAP | 2 |
| Quarters compared | 3 |
| Latest gap | -772.7% |
the analysts' 'actual' (usually the company's adjusted EPS) against GAAP net income ÷ diluted shares for the matching quarter; a gap of 10% or more counts (the stand-in until three releases' reconciliation tables are on file)
Source: 2025-12-31 (adjusted -0.15 vs GAAP -0.98) · 2026-03-31 (adjusted -0.38 vs GAAP -0.59) · 2026-06-30 (adjusted -0.11 vs GAAP 0.74)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The reconciliation shows the excluded items ending (a restructuring with its final charge, a settlement paid) and the gap to GAAP closes in the next quarters
- The excluded items are only amortisation of acquired intangibles and the cash paid for the deals is in the investing cash flow
Look again: next filing.
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
$7M comes due within a year, 79.7× covered by cash and investments of $231M plus $315M of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $231M |
| Debt | $1.9B |
| Net debt | $1.6B |
| Due within a year | $7M |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $315M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $547M |
| Coverage of what is due | 79.7 |
| Due in the second year | $207M |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-06-30 |
due within a year from the maturity table (else the current portion of debt), against cash and investments plus free cash flow over the last twelve months (zero if negative); no credit lines assumed
Source: FY25 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not applicable
a loss in one of the quarters: EPS growth has no meaning
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not applicable
a loss on a trailing or mid-cycle basis: the P/E has no meaning
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 21.47 a share (price 35.22); 27% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from 0.82 to 40.82; across every method the research ran the range is -102 to 240. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 21.47 |
| price | 35.22 |
| terminal value share | +27.1% |
| swing by input | Operating margin / ±3 pts / 0.82 / 40.82; Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 16.53 / 27.12; WACC / ±1 pt / 18.74 / 25.06; Capex (share of revenue) / ±1 pt / 19.21 / 23.72 |
| range all methods | -102.27; 239.52 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Helmerich & Payne: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.