Earnings Highlights KMI & LBRT

 

Kinder Morgan (KMI)

On June 23, 2026, Gulf Coast Express expansion project (KM-share approximately $160 million) was placed in service. Kinder Morgan delivered exceptional H1 2026 results, raising full-year EBITDA guidance to >5% above budget ($430M+ additional) and EPS guidance to >12% above budget, with every business segment contributing positively and natural gas pipeline utilization at 90% across its five largest systems. The company's $9.6bn project backlog remains overwhelmingly gas-focused (~92%), with the three largest projects — Mississippi Crossing ($1.7bn), South System 4 ($1.8bn), and Trident ($1.8bn, ~60% complete) — all on time and on budget, while new opportunities like TGP 219 South and PermianLink emerge from a >$10bn shadow backlog that keeps replenishing. KMI's commentary signals sustained upstream activity driven by Haynesville production growth (+54% YoY at KinderHawk in Q2), Permian associated gas expansion (GCX immediately full upon startup), and producer hedging that makes near-term volumes price-insensitive — though refined product demand softness (-5% in Q2) and compression equipment supply tightening are emerging risks. For Hyperion users, the key takeaway is that KMI sees 20+ bcfd of U.S. supply growth to 2030 requiring sustained rig/frac activity across the Haynesville, Permian, and Northeast, with data center power demand (~277 GW under development) representing a step-change in gas consumption only beginning to materialize.

Read the full analysis on the dashboard.

 

Liberty Energy (LBRT)

Liberty Energy delivered a strong sequential rebound in Q2 2026 with revenue of $1.2B (+16% QoQ) and Adjusted EBITDA of $151M (+20% QoQ), driven by record fleet utilization, modest pricing recovery, and higher product sales — but the earnings call transcripts reveal that sand/chemical margins remain structurally challenged, large public E&Ps have still not increased activity budgets, and WTI volatility post-MOU has complicated pricing conversations despite equipment tightness. The most dramatic shift from Q1 to Q2 was the acceleration of Liberty's power and data center strategy — from one partnership and a cancelled contract in Q1 to five concrete deals in Q2 (PowerBridge JV, SLB alliance, Bergen/Wartsila equipment, Liberty Wholesale Commodities, Wyoming permit) — though CapEx guidance was raised 50% to $1.5B and the flagship Alpha Campus has no signed leases yet. For Hyperion's production outlook, the transcripts confirm private E&Ps are driving incremental completions activity with gas basin operators taking a "long view" on LNG demand, while Canada emerged as a newly bullish market driven by M&A consolidation and pipeline developments. Key risks to monitor: PowerBridge lease signings, Q3 pricing realization vs. commodity volatility, Strait of Hormuz stability, China demand trajectory, and whether private E&P activity can sustain into H2 without public E&P participation.

Read the full analysis on the dashboard.

 

New Dataset Release: US Demand

SynMax has released a new US Gas Demand Dataset for our Hyperion Clients.  It consists of a daily demand estimate, broken out by EIA gas storage region and by demand component.

It covers the four weather-driven end-use sectors (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Electric Power), built as an ensemble of pipeline flow data and weather-driven modeling, calibrated to EIA's monthly totals. It also includes LNG feedgas at all US liquefaction and regasification terminals, pipeline trade flows with Mexico and Canada, and supporting components like lease/plant fuel and pipeline/distribution use — giving a complete, regionally resolved daily picture of the lower-48 gas balance.

The data is currently out on query_datalinks and on Agents and will be rolled out to the SynMax frontend and the traditional API over the coming weeks. See here for overview and access methods, and here for full methodology and details.

As usual, contact support@synmax.com with questions.