Quality Investor

Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc

Rank #460Hypergrowth

HLX · NYSE · Energy

Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc (HLX) — Rank #460 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.06) · ROE 1.9% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0000866829 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. provides marine transportation services to exploration and production, oilfield service, offshore construction, and military customers.

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It operates offshore supply vessels, multi-purpose support vessels, and a shore-based facility to provide logistics support and speciality services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry. Its fleet of U.S.-flagged OSVs and MPSVs support deep-well, deep-water, and ultra-deep-water activities of the offshore oil and gas industry, such as oil and gas exploration, field development, production, construction, installation, well-stimulation, and other enhanced oil recovery activities, as well as inspection, repair, and maintenance services. The company also provides vessel management services, including crewing, daily operational management, and maintenance activities for other vessel owners. It serves oilfield end-markets including oilfield services, oilfield specialty, oilfield drilling; non-oilfield end-markets including military support services, renewable energy, and other non-oilfield services such as HADR and aerospace support services. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. was formerly known as Hornbeck-Leevac Marine Services, Inc. and changed its name to Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. in May 2002.

The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Covington, Louisiana.

Industry
Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Sector
Energy
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Price History

HLX+128.0% · +17.9% CAGRSPY+87.6% · +13.4% CAGR

Company Snapshot

P/S is the primary valuation lens — earnings are reinvested, not available for P/E.

Market Cap

$1.56B

P/E (annual)

50.5

P/S (annual)

1.2

P/B

1.0

P/OCF (annual)

11.4

Shareholder Yield

-42.1%

Employees

2,212

Industry

Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

Exchange

NYSE

Signal Flags

3 green2 yellow
Revenue growth acceleratingGrowth rate increasing year over year
Deferred revenue growingRevenue and deferred revenue both growing — retention signal
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 1-quarter streak
Dilution above 2%Annual share count increase exceeds 2%. May be acceptable for high-growth companies funding talent via stock compensation
Disclosure regressionA previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.06
Return on equity
1.9%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.62
Current ratio
3.47×
Net cash
$347.93M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.5%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
52.6%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
42.1%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

1.9%

incredible deal

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Dilution drag: 42.1% — per-share value needs a total required return of 44.0% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: -7.2%

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

-2.1%

r = 10% (base)

1.9%

r = 12%

5.3%

Net debt / market cap: -22.1%

Base FCF: $120.4M3Y mean FCF: $75.6M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

16.9xFair
15.5xmed 19.1x38.7x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

1.3xCheap
0.6xmed 1.5x3.0x

P / B

Price / book value per share

0.6xCheap
0.6xmed 1.0x1.8x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

7.0xFair
3.6xmed 8.9x50.4x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

33.4xExpensive
5.8xmed 18.1x33.4x

Revenue growth and the path to profitability (margin trend) are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.06

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

6th of 6 SIC 13 peers

Return on equity

1.9%

Gross margin

12.3%

6th of 6 SIC 13 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

52.6%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2010201120122013
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.62

3rd of 6 SIC 13 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

3.47×

1st of 6 SIC 13 peers

Quick ratio

3.16×

Net cash

$347.93M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$120.41M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

2.91

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.5%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Lifecycle Phase History

20082013
Decline
Op. Leverage
Hypergrowth
Value