Understand any stock in simple English
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Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.
Forum Energy Technologies makes and sells equipment and services used to drill, complete, and produce oil and gas, plus specialized products for defense and renewable energy.
Forum Energy Technologies is an oilfield equipment maker. It doesn't drill wells or own oil; it builds and sells the hardware that oil and gas companies need to get the stuff out of the ground and keep it moving — things like valves, pumps, pressure-control gear, and the small subsea vehicles used to inspect and repair underwater equipment. It also runs a services arm that rents out tools and sends technicians to job sites.
The business splits into two main pieces. The first sells drilling and completion products: equipment that goes on rigs and into wells during the messy, expensive work of punching holes in the earth and preparing them to produce. The second sells production equipment — the valves, manifolds, and flow-control hardware that keep wells and pipelines running safely once oil and gas are flowing. These are not glamorous products, but they are the kind of gear that has to work, and customers tend to stick with suppliers they trust. Forum's customers are mostly oil and gas drillers, producers, and oilfield service companies, and its fortunes rise and fall with how much they are spending on new wells. When oil prices are high and drilling is busy, orders pour in; when activity slows, it hurts. The company has worked to widen its reach beyond oil and gas, pushing into defense and renewable energy products, which gives it other places to sell when the oil cycle turns down. It is headquartered in Houston, the center of the American oil business.
The last few years have been a turnaround story. Forum struggled badly during the 2020 oil crash, when demand for drilling gear collapsed, and it spent time cutting costs, paying down debt, and rebuilding its balance sheet. More recently it has focused on steady profitability rather than chasing growth at any price, and it has used its cash to reduce debt. The company's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and its stock is closely tied to the oil cycle — a reminder that this is a cyclical equipment supplier, not a steady utility.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026