Expand Energy Targets $500 Million in Marketing Earnings by 2028
Key Facts
Expand Energy’s management said it is targeting $500 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from its marketing and commercial activities by 2028, equivalent to about $0.20 per thousand cubic feet. The announcement came on the third-quarter earnings call, following the company’s acquisition of Twin Eagle and the start of integrating its operations. The target is part of a plan to expand marketing’s contribution to the company’s results alongside its gas production. Management said expected growth in 2027 and 2028 would depend mainly on higher revenue. Priorities include capturing more value from the company’s gas, expanding Twin Eagle’s customer relationships, and making use of storage and transportation when the market is volatile.
The company expects combined marketing and commercial earnings of $80 million in the fourth quarter of 2026, in a low-volatility environment, or about $0.12 per thousand cubic feet. The forecast follows Expand Energy’s report of $150 million in adjusted marketing earnings for the nine months ended September 30. The fourth-quarter figure is an estimate for a specific period, while the $500 million target is a level the company aims to reach by 2028. Management said the fourth-quarter forecast includes Twin Eagle’s operations. It said on the call: "We guided to $80 million for the fourth quarter, in a somewhat low-volatility environment."
Expand Energy completed its acquisition of Twin Eagle on September 16, 2026, and the chief financial officer said the teams had spent two weeks together by the end of the quarter. He added that work had begun to integrate operations and align the two organizations and their back-office functions. This marks the start of implementing the deal in day-to-day operations, while marketing growth forecasts depend on expanding the customer network and using storage and transportation capabilities. When the company announced the agreement in July, it said the purchase price was $1.25 billion and that it expected to realize $150 million in annual synergies by the end of 2028. Total acquisition consideration was about $1.4 billion after purchase-price adjustments, according to a company filing.
Third-quarter results showed net income of $519 million and net production of 7.54 billion cubic feet equivalent per day, while the company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and exploration of $1.229 billion. These figures provide context for the marketing segment’s targets, after it generated $150 million in adjusted earnings during the first nine months of the year. Under its operating plan, the company expects to operate 11 to 12 drilling rigs in 2026, with capital investments of about $3 billion. It also expects average daily production of between 7.45 billion and 7.55 billion cubic feet equivalent during the year. The company said it repurchased $305 million of shares in the third quarter, with $1 billion in capacity remaining for additional buybacks.
Management distinguished the $500 million target by 2028 from a longer-term target of $750 million in marketing and commercial earnings, which it said would come after 2028 and be tied to liquefied natural gas opportunities. That target also differs from the $750 million in annual incremental free cash flow the company announced when it signed the Twin Eagle deal, which it said was 50% above the previous level. In the market, EXE shares closed at $94.62 on October 27, compared with a close of $92.83 on October 21. The company scheduled its participation in the Stephens Annual Investment Conference for November 19, 2026. The company is expected to provide investors with an update there as part of its announced investor-relations schedule.