At a glance
Valaris Limited is worth $7.06B, about 7 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 0.3% to $2.37B in fiscal 2025, with 41.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 10.7% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $425.0M buying back its shares over FY2020–FY2025. The stock returned +79.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +22.5% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 37.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 3 months after the low.
The business in plain English
Valaris is an offshore drilling contractor. Oil and gas companies hire its rigs and crews to drill and complete wells. As of February 20, 2026, it owned 46 rigs. Thirteen were drillships and two were semisubmersibles, which are floating rigs built for deep water. The other 31 were jackups, which stand on legs on the seabed in shallower water. It also owned half of ARO, a joint venture with Saudi Aramco that owned nine more rigs. Its customers include large international and government-owned oil companies, plus independent producers.
Customers pay Valaris a “day rate,” a fixed fee for each day a rig is under contract. The rate can fall, even to zero, when a rig breaks down or work stops. Valaris may also earn lump-sum fees for moving or upgrading rigs. It pays running costs such as crew wages and maintenance. The customer pays nearly all well costs and bears the risk that the well disappoints.
In 2025, revenue was $2.37 billion. Floaters brought in 53%, jackups 39% and “Other” 8%. Other covers managing rigs owned by others and lease arrangements with ARO. That total leaves out ARO's own sales, because Valaris accounts for the joint venture separately. About 86% of revenue came from outside the U.S. The five largest customers supplied 49%. Petrobras, BP and Azule Energy together supplied 35%.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
VAL +79.9% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Floaters | $1.26B | 53.2% |
| Jackups Member | $912.8M | 38.5% |
| Other | $195.6M | 8.3% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $593.6M, down 0.4% from a year earlier, and net income was $46.1M (-75.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.37B (+0.3% year over year; +10.7% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 41.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +10.7% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 20.1% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 8.6% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 31% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 18.5% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-563.4M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | $2.05B | $-198.0M | $-503.9M |
| FY2020 | $1.43B | $-4.86B | $-345.5M |
| FY2022 | $1.60B | $176.5M | $-80.0M |
| FY2023 | $1.78B | $865.4M | $-428.6M |
| FY2024 | $2.36B | $373.4M | $-99.7M |
| FY2025 | $2.37B | $982.8M | $202.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $7.06B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 7.3 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Valaris Limited’s market value went from $2.70B at the end of 2021 to $7.06B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.6 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 101%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $7.06B | +101.3% |
| 2025 | $3.51B | +11.5% |
| 2024 | $3.15B | -37.1% |
| 2023 | $5.00B | -1.7% |
| 2022 | $5.08B | +88.3% |
| 2021 | $2.70B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAL price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +101.6% | +79.9% | +15.3% | +22.5% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +101.7% |
| 2025 | +13.9% |
| 2024 | -35.5% |
| 2023 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | +87.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 45% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 37.7%, back to its old high 3.4 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 0 sales ($0.00).
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 11.1% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| FMR LLC | 4.4% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Giovanni Agnelli B.V. | 3.48% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in VAL
| XES SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF | 4.68% |
| OIH VanEck Oil Services ETF | 2.69% |
| IEZ iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF | 2.16% |
| GRPM Invesco S&P MidCap 400 GARP ETF | 2.08% |
| RFG Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Growth ETF | 1.65% |
| PEXL Pacer US Export Leaders ETF | 0.91% |
| EES WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Fund | 0.7% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.58% |
What could go wrong
- The Transocean deal could fail or slip. The deal needs shareholder, court and regulatory approvals. If it falls through, the share price could drop. In some cases, Valaris must also pay Transocean a termination fee of about $173 million.
- A few customers bring in much revenue. Petrobras, BP and Azule Energy together supplied 35% of 2025 revenue, and the five largest customers supplied 49%. Losing one big contract, or a customer merging or changing strategy, could hurt results.
- Contracts can end early or not renew. Customers can often cancel early, sometimes without a termination payment, or decline extension options. So backlog, meaning revenue already under contract, may not fully arrive. New contracts may also carry worse terms.
- Accidents could cost more than insurance covers. Blowouts, spills and rig damage can happen. Third-party liability cover generally tops out at $855 million, and windstorm cover in the Gulf of America is limited. Customers' promises to cover losses may not hold up.
- Profits can fall faster than revenue. Running costs don't shrink in step with revenue. In the quarter to June 30, 2026, revenue fell 12.4% from a year earlier while net income fell 56.2%.
- Oil prices and offshore budgets drive demand. Rig demand and day rates follow offshore spending, which follows oil and gas prices. In February 2026, the company called the oil market oversupplied. Drillers also often compete mainly on price.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Valaris paid no dividends in fiscal 2020 through 2025. An income investor collected nothing and would have had to sell shares to raise cash. Instead, the company spent $425 million over that period buying back its own shares. The share count fell 7.4% between October 28, 2021 and July 30, 2026. Free cash flow is the cash left after running the business and investing in rigs. It turned positive at $202.7 million in 2025 after three negative years.
The stock swings hard. In the 2022 bear market, the stock market fell from its January 3 peak to its October 12 low. Over that span Valaris gained 45%. Even so, it fell 37.7% between June 1 and July 14, then recovered by October 25. Its deepest drop in the three years to October 28, 2026 was 63.8%. Its price record is too short to cover 2008 or the 2020 COVID crash. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Valaris make money?
Valaris supplies offshore drilling rigs and crews to oil and gas companies. It charges a day rate, a fixed fee for each day a rig is under contract. Of its $2.37 billion in 2025 revenue, 53% came from floaters, which are drillships and semisubmersibles for deep water. Jackups for shallower water brought in 39%, and other work, such as managing rigs owned by others, brought in 8%. Petrobras, BP and Azule Energy together supplied 35% of revenue.
Is Transocean buying Valaris?
Yes, if the deal closes. On February 9, 2026, Transocean agreed to buy all Valaris shares, paying 15.235 Transocean shares for each one. Valaris holders would then own about 47% of the combined company. The deal needs shareholder, court and regulatory approvals. Either side may end it if it hasn't closed by February 9, 2027, a date that can be extended. Holders would receive shares, not cash, so Valaris's share price is likely to track Transocean's while the deal is pending.
Does Valaris pay a dividend?
No. Valaris paid no dividends in fiscal 2020 through 2025. Instead, it spent $425 million over that period buying back its own shares, including $100 million in 2025. Its share count fell 7.4% between October 28, 2021 and July 30, 2026. For an income investor, any return from this stock would have to come from price gains rather than regular payouts.
How has Valaris stock performed?
It has climbed sharply, with big swings. As of October 28, 2026, the share price was up 101.6% year to date and 79.9% over one year. Over five years it gained 22.5% a year. Calendar-year results ranged from an 87.8% gain in 2022 to a 35.5% loss in 2024. Its deepest drop in the three years to that date was 63.8%. One-year volatility, a measure of how widely the price moves, was 56%.
What is Valaris's P/E ratio?
About 7.3 as of October 28, 2026, based on 2025 earnings of $13.86 per share. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio divides the share price by a year's earnings per share. A lower number means paying less for each dollar of profit. One caution: 2025 net income of $982.8 million was about double operating income of $477 million. That means items outside day-to-day operations boosted profit. Net income also fell 56.2% in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared with a year earlier.