Expand Energy Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Production

On July 27, Expand Energy announced the acquisition of Twin Eagle, creating North America’s leading integrated natural gas company.

EXE’s Production & Price Realizations

The company reported the average second-quarter daily production (comprising 92% natural gas) of 7,482 million cubic feet of gas equivalent (MMcfe/day), increasing 3.9% from the year-ago level of 7,202 MMcfe/day. The daily production levels surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7,460 MMcfe/day. Natural gas volume for the period came in at 6,896 MMcfe/day, up 4.5% year over year. The consensus mark called for 6,898 MMcf/day of natural gas. EXE’s oil production was 14 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d), while NGL output totaled 83 MBbl/d.

The average sales price for natural gas during the second quarter was $2.42 per Mcf, down 17.4% from the prior-year realization of $2.93 per Mcf. It was also below the consensus mark of $2.64. The average realized oil price was $84.71 per barrel compared with the consensus mark of $80. Meanwhile, the average realized NGL price was $26.26 per barrel, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$25.79.

EXE’s Q2 Costs & Expenses

Total operating expenses in the quarter were $2.3 billion, lower than the year-ago quarter’s $2.4 billion. This was mainly backed by a decrease in exploration, marketing and depreciation, depletion and amortization expenses. The company’s exploration, marketing and depreciation, depletion and amortization expenses of $16 million, $649 million and $722 million during the second quarter of 2026 decreased from the year-ago levels of $20 million, $791 million and $769 million, respectively.

Dividend & Share Repurchases

In the second quarter, the company plans to pay its quarterly base dividend of 57.5 cents per share on Sept. 3, 2026, to its shareholders of record on Aug. 13. Furthermore, Expand Energy expects to continue its returns-focused allocation of capital, including share repurchases, while preserving its balance sheet capacity.

Year-to-date through July 24, 2026, Expand Energy has redeemed approximately $1.3 billion of gross debt and executed $849 million of share repurchases.

Financial Position

Cash flow from operations totaled $1.1 billion, decreasing from the prior-year quarter levels of $1.3 billion, while Expand Energy’s capital expenditure totaled $753 million, leading to a free cash flow of $343 million. It also paid out $138 million in dividends during the period.

As of June 30, 2026, the company had $663 million in cash and cash equivalents. Expand Energy had a long-term debt of $3.7 billion, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization of 16%.

Expand Energy’s Guidance for Q3 & 2026

Expand Energy is targeting an average daily production in the range of 7,400-7,500 MMcfe for the third quarter of 2026 and 7,400-7,600 MMcfe for full-year 2026. The company has budgeted its capital spending between $700 million and $780 million for the upcoming quarter, while for 2026, the figure is projected to be between $2.75 billion and $2.95 billion.

Expand Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Important Earnings at a Glance

While we have discussed EXE’s second-quarter results in detail, let us take a look at three other reports in this space.

Halliburton Company HAL reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted net income per share of 55 cents, marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents. The outperformance was backed by year-over-year revenue growth. However, the bottom line was flat compared with the prior-year level. Meanwhile, HAL’s second-quarter revenues of $5.7 billion were up 3.7% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.5 billion. The outperformance was driven by higher revenues in both segments of the company — the Completion and Production segment and the Drilling and Evaluation segment.

Halliburton reported second-quarter capital expenditure of $235 million. As of June 30, 2026, the company had approximately $2 billion in cash/cash equivalents and $7.1 billion in long-term debt, representing a debt-to-capitalization of 39%.

Liberty Energy Inc. LBRT reported a second-quarter 2026 adjusted net profit of 9 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 cents. The outperformance was driven by the company’s focus on AI-driven technology advancements and strong operational execution. However, the bottom line decreased from the year-ago quarter’s profit of 12 cents due to increased year-over-year costs and expenses. LBRT's revenues totaled $1.2 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.1 billion. The top line also increased from the prior-year quarter’s $1 billion by 14%, supported by record utilization and a modest pricing uplift along with higher product sales.

As of June 30, Liberty Energy had approximately $555.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. The pressure pumper’s long-term debt of $1.3 billion represented a debt-to-capitalization of 39.5%.

Houston, TX-based oil and gas storage and transportation company Kinder Morgan Inc. KMI reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents by 19.35%. Earnings increased 32.1% from 28 cents in the year-ago quarter. KMI’s Revenues increased 10.8% year over year to $4.48 billion from the prior year’s figure of $4.04 billion. Revenues surpassed the consensus estimate of $4.29 billion by 4.43%.

Cash flow from operations was $1.96 billion in the quarter. Meanwhile, free cash flow was $978 million and free cash flow after dividends reached $313 million. As of June 30, 2026, KMI reported $89 million in cash and cash equivalents. Net debt stood at $32.03 billion at quarter-end.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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