TacticScaleWhat Valaris Does & How It Makes Money (VAL)
Updated October 2026 · reflects Valaris's latest reported financials
Offshore oil and gas drilling contractor with a fleet of rigs. It earns contract drilling revenue by leasing its rigs and crews to oil and gas producers, usually at day rates.
How Valaris makes money
It earns contract drilling revenue by leasing its rigs and crews to oil and gas producers, usually at day rates. It also earns fees for managing rigs owned by third parties.
What Valaris does
Valaris Limited is an offshore contract drilling company headquartered in Houston, Texas, with roots going back to 1975. It owns a fleet that includes drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersibles, a moored semisubmersible and jackup rigs. It reports four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO and Other. Its customers are international, government-owned and independent oil and gas companies, and it operates in Brazil, the UK, the Gulf of America, Australia, Angola and other regions. Besides drilling with its own fleet, Valaris provides management services for rigs owned by third parties. Because its business depends on drilling activity, it is closely tied to offshore oil and gas exploration and development spending.
Products & services
- Drillships
- Dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs
- Moored semisubmersible rig
- Jackup rigs
- Offshore contract drilling services
- Third-party rig management services
What is Valaris worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, Valaris's most-likely value is about $43 versus a recent price near $84 (48% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$28) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
⚠ Capital-intensive — this business reinvests heavily, so free cash flow runs well below its earnings. Fair value here is built on free cash flow, which understates owner earnings for reinvestment-heavy companies — read it as conservative.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
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