Sifting through countless of stocks in the Energy Equipment & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in RPC, Inc. or NOV Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc.

RPC, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages provision of a range of oilfield services and equipment for the oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties. The company operates through Technical Services and Support Services segments. The Technical Services segment offers pressure pumping, cementing, downhole tools, coiled tubing, snubbing, nitrogen, well control, wireline, and fishing services that are used in the completion, production, and maintenance of wells, as well as well control training. The Support Services segment provides a range of rental tools drill pipe and related tools, as well as pipe handling, pipe inspection and storage services. It rents its tools for use with onshore and offshore oil and gas well drilling, completion, and workover activities. It operates in Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Latin America, and the Middle East. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

NOV Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products for oil and gas drilling and production, and industrial and renewable energy sectors in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Energy Equipment, and Energy Products and Services. The Energy Products and Services segment offers drill bits and borehole enlargement products; independent drilling and intervention downhole tools equipment; frac plugs, frac sleeves, toe initiation burst port systems, and recyclable setting tools; electric submersible pumps, high viscosity pumps, and surface pumps; tubular coating and inspection services for drill-pipe and other oil country tubular goods; solids control and waste management equipment and services; data and digital solutions; precision-engineered drill pipe and drill-stem equipment; connectors and integral thread solutions, including conductor strings, surface casing, and liners; and composite pipe, tanks, and structures. Its Energy Equipment segment provides drilling equipment, such as land rigs, complete offshore drilling packages, and rig components; capital equipment, related consumables, and digital products for hydraulic stimulation, coiled tubing, and wireline services; marine and construction solutions; processing solutions for the separation and treatment of oil, gas, solids, seawater, and produced water production; flexible subsea pipe systems; cavity pumps, specialized mixers and heat exchangers; and reciprocating, multistage, and progressive cavity pumps, midstream products, including closures, transfer pumps, chokes and valves, as well as artificial lift support systems that include production BOPs and stuffing boxes. The company was formerly known as National Oilwell Varco, Inc. and changed its name to NOV Inc. in January 2021. NOV Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Latest Energy Equipment & Services and RPC, Inc., NOV Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, RPC, Inc. had a $1.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Energy Equipment & Services median of $1.4 million. RPC, Inc.’s stock is up 19.5% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and up 35.42% in the past year.

Currently, RPC, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 65.0. RPC, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.8 billion with a 1.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.277 per share for the current fiscal year. RPC, Inc. currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, NOV Inc. had a $7.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 73rd percentile of all stocks. NOV Inc.’s stock is up 36.9% in 2026, up 1.9% in the previous five trading days and up 60.11% in the past year.

Currently, NOV Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 82.6. NOV Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.6 billion with a 1.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -2.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.929 per share for the current fiscal year. NOV Inc. currently has a 2.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
RPC, Inc.	RES	C
NOV Inc.	NOV	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

RPC, Inc. has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average. NOV Inc. has a Growth Score of 47, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither RPC, Inc. or NOV Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if RPC, Inc. or NOV Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
RPC, Inc.	RES	B
NOV Inc.	NOV	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

RPC, Inc. has a Quality Score of 78, which is Strong. NOV Inc. has a Quality Score of 71, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
RPC, Inc.	RES	C
NOV Inc.	NOV	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

RPC, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 57, which is Average. NOV Inc. has a Momentum Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: NOV Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, NOV Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to RPC, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, NOV Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, RPC, Inc. or NOV Inc. Stock?

Overall, RPC, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 59, Momentum Score of 57 and Quality Score of 78.

NOV Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 47, Momentum Score of 73 and Quality Score of 71.

Comparing RPC, Inc. and NOV Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.