Energy Transfer (ET) Q1 2026 Earnings Report

The call was broadly positive: management reported strong Q1 operational results and raised full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance, supported by record volumes, successful project commissioning, long-term contracted growth projects, and increased capex to capture demand. Offsetting items include a modest decline in midstream EBITDA, reliance on one-time/optimization gains and weather-driven effects in Q1, expected Q2 hedge offsets, and execution/regulatory risks tied to a large project slate and geopolitical uncertainty. Overall the tone was upbeat with clear growth visibility but with acknowledged near-term volatility and execution risk.

Energy Transfer raised 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to approximately $18.2–$18.6 billion (prior $17.45–$17.85B), reflecting a Q1 beat of ~ $500 million and a midpoint uplift of ~$750 million after capturing its full‑year optimization target in Q1; management assumes a conservative commodity stack for the balance of the year but noted sustained prices could push results to the high end or above. Organic growth capital guidance was raised to ~$5.5–$5.9 billion (prior $5.0–$5.5B), excluding Sun and USAC, after spending ~$1.5 billion in Q1; project-level items called out include ~ $600 million for the Springerville lateral (≈120 miles, ~625 MMcf/d capacity), ET’s share of FGT Phase 9 and South Florida of roughly $565 million and $110 million, a new 3 million‑barrel ethane cavern (Mont Belvieu, in service 2027), Mustang Draw plants (275 MMcf/d each), Hugh Brinson Phase 1 (1.5 Bcf/d; in service late 2026 with Phase 2 in 2027), intrastate additions adding ~300 MMcf/d with ~400 MMcf/d in advanced talks, Nexus initial 150 MMcf/d, Tiger lateral commitments of ≥250k MMBtu/day (option up to 1 Bcf/d), and crude growth items (~250k bpd Canadian capacity and Bayou Bridge expansion up to ~600k bpd in 1Q27). They reiterated long‑term targets of 3–5% annual distribution growth, leverage of 4.0x–4.5x EBITDA, expected mid‑teen returns on growth projects, and stated upside remains possible from continued market volatility.