While Hughes was engaged in his Hollywood and aviation enterprises, managers in Houston, such as Fred W. Ayers and Maynard Ellsworth Montrose, kept the tool company growing through technical innovation and international expansion.

In 1949, OBI introduced Black Magic SFT, a drilling fluid additive to free stuck pipe that is still sold today.

In 1942, driven in part by the shortage of steel during World War II, the company introduced the Model D Packer, which enabled multiple completions in the same well.

In 1970, Baker Oil Tools acquired Lynes, Inc., which produced liner hangers and other completion equipment.

In the mid-1930s, the company mined barites in conjunction with the Magnet Cove Barium Corporation (later called Magcobar).

After a hiatus during World War II, the company resumed grinding operations using barite from a mine in Missouri and conducted mud sales through independent distributors.

[19] In April 2007, the company pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and agreed to pay $44.1 million in fines and penalties for making $4.1 million in "commission" payments between 2001 and 2003 that allegedly resulted in an oil-services contract in the Karachaganak Field in Kazakhstan.

[20][21] In 2001, the company introduced the largest fracking proppants vessel for deepwater work in the Gulf of Mexico.

It was named after founder Howard R. Hughes Sr.[22] On June 11, 2012, during the annual period of negotiations between trade unions, including SAFE, the Norwegian union for energy workers, and their employer counterparts in Norway, 114 Baker Hughes employees were called to a strike action, which would have affected over a dozen installations.

[24] In January 2019, Baker Hughes pledged to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050 from a 2012 baseline.

[25] In June 2021, Baker Hughes signed a memorandum of understanding with Borg CO2 to develop carbon capture, liquefaction, and transportation technologies on a waste-to-energy plant in Sarpsborg.

In 1990, the company acquired Eastman Christensen, a leader in directional drilling systems and diamond bit technology, for $600 million.

[27] In 1990, the company also sold Totco division of its Exlog subsidiary to NOV Inc. for $41 million in cash and stock.

To receive approval from the United States Department of Justice, the company sold its Hughes Tool diamond bit business.

Hughes Christensen next introduced the Genesis HCM bits for steerable motors with patented EZSteer depth-of-cut control technology.

[5] Petrolite was formed in 1930 from the merger of William Barnickel's Tret-O-Lite with Petroleum Rectifying Company of California (PETRECO).

[39] On August 10, 1998, Baker Hughes acquired Western Atlas for $5.5 billion in stock plus the assumption of $700 million in debt.

[48] In 2001, Baker Hughes acquired OCRE (Scotland) Ltd. from Maritime Well Service, a division of Aker ASA.

[49] In February 2006, Baker Hughes acquired Nova Technology Corporation, a supplier of permanent monitoring, chemical injection systems, and multiline services for deepwater and subsea oil and gas well applications, for $70 million in cash and assumed debt.

[52] In 2017, after the division suffered market share losses, the company sold a majority interest in BJ Services to private equity firms to obtain approval for the merger with GE Oil and Gas.

[58] As part of the transaction, the company sold a 53.3% percent stake in the hydraulic fracturing and cementing business to CSL Capital Management and Goldman Sachs’ West Street Energy Partners for $325 million.

[59] General Electric announced plans to divest its stake by 2023; by year-end 2021, its remaining ownership was approximately 11.4%.

[1] In 2019, the company sold its Reciprocating Compression division to Arcline Investment Management, a private equity firm.

[64] In 2021, Baker Hughes acquired ARMS Reliability, a company providing advisory services and software to several industries.

[65] In March 2021, Baker Hughes acquired a license for the use of mixed-salt process technology for flue gas carbon capture from SRI International.

[66][67] In March 2021, Baker Hughes announced the creation of a joint venture for drilling services with Akastor ASA's subsidiary, MHWirth AS.

[68] in March 2022, Baker Hughes acquired Altus Intervention, an oilwell specialist company headquartered in Norway.

[69] In August 2022, after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company agreed to sell its operations in Russia to local management.