Noble Corporation plc — Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Summary

Financial Performance:

• Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2026, was $729 million, down from $798 million in the prior year period and up from $720 million in the prior quarter.
• Contract drilling services revenue totaled $684 million in Q3 2026, compared to $757 million in Q3 2025 and $679 million in Q2 2026.
• Net loss was $(117) million for Q3 2026, compared to a net loss of $(21) million in Q3 2025 and $(37) million in Q2 2026.
• Diluted loss per share was $(0.73) in Q3 2026, compared to $(0.13) in Q3 2025 and $(0.23) in Q2 2026.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $201 million in Q3 2026, a decrease from $254 million in Q3 2025 and $212 million in Q2 2026.
• Adjusted net loss was $(92) million in Q3 2026, compared to adjusted net income of $30 million in Q3 2025 and adjusted net income of $2 million in Q2 2026.
• Adjusted diluted loss per share was $(0.57) in Q3 2026, compared to $0.19 in Q3 2025 and $0.01 in Q2 2026.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $144 million in Q3 2026.
• Capital expenditures were $192 million in Q3 2026.
• Free cash flow was $(48) million in Q3 2026.
• Total debt principal value was $1.9 billion as of September 30, 2026.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $337 million as of September 30, 2026.

Guidance and Future Outlook:

• Full year 2026 revenue guidance was narrowed to $2,850-$2,900 million (previously $2,800-$2,900 million).
• Full year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance was narrowed to $850-$900 million (previously $850-$925 million).
• Full year 2026 Capital Expenditures guidance was increased to $680-$705 million (previously $615-$665 million), primarily due to higher customer reimbursable capital expenditures.
• Excluding the $40 million increase in customer reimbursable capital expenditures (from $25 million to $65 million), capital expenditures guidance would remain within the prior range.
• Management expects a meaningful inflection in fleet utilization and cash flow starting in the second half of 2027.
• Contracted capacity in the fleet is expected to be approximately 20% higher in the second half of 2027 compared to the first half of 2027.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• Utilization of the 28 marketed rigs was 70% in Q3 2026, up from 67% in Q2 2026.
• Utilization of the 23 marketed floaters was 66% in Q3 2026, up from 64% in Q2 2026.
• Utilization of the 5 marketed ultra-harsh jackups was 86% in Q3 2026, up from 80% in Q2 2026.
• Recent contract awards added approximately 44 months of new floater backlog, with leading edge dayrates for Tier-1 drillships ranging between the mid-$400,000s and $500,000.
• Recent contract awards added approximately 26 months of new jackup backlog, with leading edge dayrates ranging between $230,000 and $300,000.
• New contracts awarded since the July fleet status report include:
  • Noble BlackRhino: Four-well contract with TotalEnergies in Nigeria (commencing Q4 2026, 150 days + options).
  • Noble Faye Kozack: Five-well contract with Tullow in Ghana (commencing mid-2027, 250 days + options).
  • Noble Interceptor: One-well contract with DNO in Norway (commencing Q3 2027, 50-90 days), followed by a 670-day P&A scope with ConocoPhillips.
  • Noble BlackHawk: One-well contract with Apache in Uruguay (commencing Q4 2027, 50 days, approx. $25 million).
  • Noble Globetrotter I: Two-well contract with Occidental in Peru (commencing Q2 2027, $400,000/day), followed by a 3-year Capacity Reservation Agreement with TotalEnergies in West Africa.
  • Noble Intrepid: One-well contract with ORLEN in Norway (commencing Q3 2027, 40-60 days).
• The sale of the Noble Resolve was finalized on October 9, 2026, with $45 million in proceeds received.
• The sale of the Noble Globetrotter II is expected to close in Q4 2026 for $38 million.

Market and Competitive Landscape:

• Forward contract coverage and dayrate trends for deepwater and ultra-harsh environment jackups continue to improve.
• Recent contract fixtures span a diversity of customers and regions, from frontier exploration to late-cycle well operations.
• Backlog as of October 26, 2026, stands at $6.7 billion, excluding mobilization and demobilization revenue.
• Approximately $560 million in new contract value was awarded since the July fleet status report.

Risks and Challenges:

• The press release includes standard forward-looking statement risks regarding market conditions, customer demand, oil and gas prices, geopolitical conflicts, operational hazards, and regulatory changes.
• Management notes that Adjusted EBITDA and Capital Expenditures are forward-looking non-GAAP measures and cannot be reliably reconciled to GAAP Net Income and Capital Expenditures without unreasonable effort due to the forward-looking nature of insurance claims and other components.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• Robert W. Eifler, President and CEO, stated that Q3 2026 featured a 5% sequential decrease in Adjusted EBITDA but marked the successful resumption of operations for both rigs in Brazil.
• Management noted that Q3 was impacted by several rigs transitioning between contracts.
• The tone reflects confidence in the strengthening fleet utilization profile moving into 2027 despite limited apparent demand tailwinds from higher oil prices in 2026.

Other Key Points:

• The Board of Directors declared an interim quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share for Q4 2026.
• The dividend is expected to be paid on December 17, 2026, to shareholders of record as of November 25, 2026.
• Future quarterly dividends and shareholder returns remain subject to Board approval.
• Contract drilling services costs were $469 million in Q3 2026, up from $446 million in Q2 2026.
• Average rig utilization for floaters was 63% in Q3 2026, compared to 65% in Q3 2025 and 59% in Q2 2026.
• Average rig utilization for jackups was 79% in Q3 2026, compared to 54% in Q3 2025 and 83% in Q2 2026.
• Average dayrates for floaters were $403,113 in Q3 2026, compared to $423,489 in Q3 2025 and $412,650 in Q2 2026.
• Average dayrates for jackups were $207,651 in Q3 2026, compared to $202,982 in Q3 2025 and $197,380 in Q2 2026.