Which Is a Better Investment, Tidewater Inc. or Weatherford International plc Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
August 04, 2026
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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 Tidewater Inc. or Weatherford International plc 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 Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc

Tidewater Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore support vessels and marine support services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of offshore marine service vessels worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe/Mediterranean, and West Africa. It offers phases of offshore crude oil and natural gas exploration, field development, production, maintenance, and windfarm development and maintenance activities; towing and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transportation of supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production operations; and field abandonment, dismantlement, and restoration activities. The company also provides offshore construction; seismic and subsea support; various other specialized services, such as pipe laying, cable laying, and geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction. Its vessels consist of anchor handling towing supply vessels, platform supply vessels, and other specialty vessels, as well as crew boats, utility vessels, and offshore tugs. The company serves integrated and independent oil and gas exploration, development, and production companies; mid-sized and smaller independent exploration and production companies; foreign government-owned or government-controlled organizations engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas; offshore drilling contractors; and other companies that provide services to the offshore energy industry comprising offshore construction companies, windfarm development companies, diving companies, and well stimulation companies. Tidewater Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention. It offers managed pressure drilling; directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high temperature and high pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; open-hole and cased-hole logging services; wireline and drilling fluids; and intervention and remediation services. The company also provides tubular handling, management, and connection services; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; completion tools, such as safety valves, production packers, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, isolation packers, multistage fracturing systems and sand-control technologies; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; and well Services. In addition, it offers re-entry, fishing, and well abandonment services, as well as patented downhole tools, tubular-handling equipment, pressure-control equipment, and drill pipe and tubulars; artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, and related automation and control systems, as well as gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; and software, automation and flow measurement solutions. Further, it provides electrical and hydraulic power transmission to subsea equipment; and pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Latest Energy Equipment & Services and Tidewater Inc., Weatherford International plc Stock News

As of August 3, 2026, Tidewater Inc. had a $3.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Energy Equipment & Services median of $1.3 million. Tidewater Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 42.93% in the past year.

Currently, Tidewater Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.0. Tidewater Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 22.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -2.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.367 per share for the current fiscal year. Tidewater Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

Currently, Weatherford International plc’s price-earnings ratio is 17.4. Weatherford International plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.8 billion with a 7.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -8.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.556 per share for the current fiscal year. Weatherford International plc currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc 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 Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Tidewater Inc. TDW A
Weatherford International plc WFRD A

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.

Tidewater Inc. has a Quality Score of 87, which is Very Strong. Weatherford International plc has a Quality Score of 91, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc have a grade of A. 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.

Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Tidewater Inc. TDW C
Weatherford International plc WFRD 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%.

Tidewater Inc. has a Momentum Score of 59, which is Average. Weatherford International plc has a Momentum Score of 63, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Weatherford International plc

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Weatherford International plc is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Tidewater Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Weatherford International plc 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.

Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Tidewater Inc. TDW F
Weatherford International plc WFRD D

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

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Tidewater Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 13, which is Very Negative. Weatherford International plc has a Earnings Estimate Score of 32, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Tidewater Inc. or Weatherford International plc has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors 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 Tidewater Inc. or Weatherford International plc is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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Other Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc Grades

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

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Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Tidewater Inc. or Weatherford International plc Stock?

Overall, Tidewater Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 59, Estimate Revisions Score of 13 and Quality Score of 87.

Weatherford International plc stock has a Momentum Score of 63, Estimate Revisions Score of 32 and Quality Score of 91.

Comparing Tidewater Inc. and Weatherford International plc’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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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