The quarterly results of leading oil services supplier Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) are interesting not just for their implications for the share price but also as a pulse reading for the entire global oil industry. No other company has its equipment in quite so many hydrocarbon hoards on every continent and ocean of the planet.

As usual, Schlumberger exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, delivering a 24 percent year-over-year increase in pro-forma earnings per share and a  12 percent sequential jump as margins continued to expand. Revenue rose 11 percent, boosted by gains in the Gulf of Mexico, Canada, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, as well as offshore Asia. Continental US remained a soft spot, but “showed impressive resilience…in a highly competitive market,” according to the company. Work in Mexico and Brazil continued to stagnate.

Schlumberger offered a reasonably upbeat macro forecast:

“The global economic outlook remains largely unchanged as relatively encouraging news among OECD countries and in China has offset lower growth expectations in some of the major emerging economies. In the US, the underlying trends are positive and the level of macroeconomic uncertainty was reduced in the near term following the temporary resolution of the fiscal debate. Demand for oil in 2013 has again been revised upward and current estimates for 2014 point to even stronger growth in demand. Overall, the market continues to support Brent prices at current levels while international natural gas prices remain steady. The upward E&P spend revision made in June continues to be confirmed by rig count improvement and increased customer activity. Within this landscape, we remain positive on the outlook for the industry.”

On the post-earnings conference call, CEO Paal Kibsgaard endorsed consensus expectations for similar earnings growth in the fourth quarter, and said 2014 should see a continuation of current trends, albeit with the possibility of stronger demand replacing some of the geopolitical premium currently embedded in the price of oil.

Meanwhile, Schlumberger tends to its knitting, stretching record margins with industry leading technology, unrivaled project expertise and continuous operating improvements.

The stock rose almost 3 percent Friday in response to the earnings news, hitting a new two-year high. It remains one of the best bets in the energy sector, and indeed in the stock market, given the strength and breadth of the franchise and the growth it’s currently generating. Continue buying SLB below $100.

Another Growth Portfolio holding, Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), delivered perhaps an even more impressive report after today’s market close. Production dominated by crude was up 12% year-over-year, and up 23% excluding a recent asset sale that will allow reinvestment into the higher-return Bakken fields driving the return to shareholders.

The return to our portfolio has been 24 percent since we added Whiting in mid-March, and it figures to improve now that the company has reported a 57 percent revenue surge that topped estimates by a whopping 21 percent. Earnings of $1.28 a share came in 17 percent ahead of expectations.

Our recent portfolio update on the stock pointed to one source of the outperformance cited by the company today — a new hydraulic fracturing and stage completion technology driving dramatic improvement in subsequent well performance. As promised in that piece, we’ve reviewed — and raised — our buy below target. Buy WLL below $70.