SLB, the oilfield-services giant formerly known as Schlumberger, outperformed analyst projections this quarter. The company reported $8.97 billion in revenue, a 5% increase that eclipsed the $8.67 billion forecast by Wall Street. While net profit dipped to $786 million from $1.01 billion a year ago, adjusted earnings of 55 cents per share beat FactSet expectations. A sharp 36% revenue surge in North America provided a critical buffer against a 2.6% decline in international markets, fueled by heavy demand for data-center support.

Simultaneously, the broader energy landscape faces a structural cost crisis. According to Lazard’s latest annual report, construction expenses for natural gas, solar, and wind projects have jumped over 10% since last year. Grid connection delays, permitting bottlenecks, and equipment shortages are creating a bottleneck for new capacity. With electricity demand being driven by AI data centers, these rising capital expenditures are already bleeding into consumer pricing. Utility costs rose 4% in June, outpacing general inflation, as the race to power the next generation of computing infrastructure forces a significant reassessment of long-term energy pricing.