Better Buy: Baker Hughes vs. Core Laboratories N.V.

Oil and natural gas prices are low today, and that's been a major headwind for energy companies, which in turn is bad for energy services companies like Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) and Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB). That's because energy producers tend to pull back on spending when energy prices are low.

However, there's more to know if you are considering these two key industry players. And at the end of the day, one looks a little bit better positioned for 2020 than the other right now. But you don't need to rush in and buy either name at this point, so take your time and understand what's going on. Here's a quick primer.

The first thing to understand about Baker Hughes and Core Labs is that they both serve the energy industry, but they do that in different ways. Core Labs is largely an asset-light business that uses technology to help its customers find and extract oil and natural gas more efficiently. It does this by offering high-tech data processing services to exploration and production companies around the world. The model affords the company impressive operating margins, which were recently in the mid-teens. 

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