ONEOK posts $967 million in second-quarter profit and raises 2026 outlook
Key Facts
ONEOK reported net income of $967 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 13% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA rose 7% to $2.12 billion, according to results published by the company on August 3. Net income was $1.53 per diluted share, according to an investor relations statement. The results came amid higher transportation and processing volumes across the company’s businesses, including record natural gas liquids volumes. In that announcement, ONEOK raised its 2026 net income outlook to a range of $3.41 billion to $3.79 billion and increased its adjusted EBITDA range to $8.2 billion to $8.5 billion. It kept its full-year capital expenditure outlook unchanged at between $2.7 billion and $3.2 billion.
The company said higher volumes across its businesses drove “another consecutive quarter of earnings growth,” citing record natural gas liquids volumes as a key factor. Other drivers included higher natural gas processing and shipments of refined products through its systems, according to the quarterly results summary. Operating data show that, compared with the second quarter of 2025, natural gas liquids raw feed throughput rose 7%, with a 15% increase in the Gulf Coast and Permian regions. Refined product shipments also increased 8%, while natural gas processing volumes rose 2% year over year. These figures link earnings growth to expanding operating activity across more than one segment, with the Gulf Coast and Permian regions standing out for growth in natural gas liquids raw feed throughput.
In a subsequent expansion move, ONEOK announced on October 6 that it had completed the acquisition of Brazos Midstream’s natural gas gathering and processing assets in the Midland Basin in the Permian region. The total cash consideration was about $4.425 billion, according to the company. The deal expands ONEOK’s presence in gas gathering and processing assets, activities within its businesses spanning the transportation of natural gas, natural gas liquids, refined products and crude oil. However, the figures available here do not specify the deal’s contribution to third-quarter results or the company’s full-year outlook. The company announced in August that its 2026 net income outlook was $3.41 billion to $3.79 billion and its adjusted EBITDA outlook was $8.2 billion to $8.5 billion; the available facts do not independently confirm any newer ranges attributed to third-quarter results.
The company’s balance-sheet data provide one measure of how it is financing its expansion: long-term debt, excluding current maturities, stood at $30.773 billion on June 30, 2026, according to ONEOK’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On October 14, the company declared a quarterly cash distribution of $1.07 per share, unchanged from the previous quarter. The annualized distribution is $4.28 per share, according to an investor relations statement. Payment is scheduled for November 16 to shareholders of record at the close of November 2. The dates place the cash distribution after the announcement of the Brazos asset acquisition, while the cited debt figure reflects the company’s position at the end of June.
In trading, ONEOK shares closed at $92.85 on October 20 and $96.36 on October 26, according to EL7 data. The comparison spans six days between the two prices and does not by itself identify the reason for the move. The company had scheduled its third-quarter earnings conference for October 28, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, or 10 a.m. Central Time. The conference is expected to give the company an opportunity to present and discuss third-quarter results, after second-quarter data showed growth in net income and adjusted EBITDA and higher volumes across several operating businesses. The event follows the October acquisition and comes ahead of the November shareholder record date for the distribution.