Antero Resources’ Record Output Tops 4.2 Billion Cubic Feet a Day Despite Earnings Miss
Key Facts
Antero Resources reported third-quarter results on October 28, 2026, for the period ended September 30, after the market closed, posting record net production of more than 4.2 billion cubic feet equivalent per day. Production rose 23% year over year, while net income attributable to the company climbed to $367.14 million from $76.179 million a year earlier, a gain of 382%. Revenue also missed expectations, leaving results that combined strong operational growth and reported profitability with performance below market estimates for adjusted earnings and revenue.
Revenue totaled $1.563 billion in the third quarter, compared with $1.214 billion in the same period of 2025, an increase of 29%. However, it fell short of the $1.59 billion forecast by four analysts surveyed by Zacks Research. The company reported operating income of $391.783 million, up from $118.117 million a year earlier, a gain of 232%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and exploration came to $634 million, up 99% year over year. The contrast shows that year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings did not prevent results from trailing analysts’ estimates for the quarter.
Cash generated from operating activities was $575 million, while adjusted free cash flow reached $215 million, up 137% from the year-earlier period. The company said cash production costs fell to $2.05 per million cubic feet equivalent, compared with $2.44 in the third quarter of 2025. It attributed the decline to the continued integration of HG Energy assets and improved gas transportation agreements. These metrics align with the production increase recorded during the quarter, which was accompanied by lower cash production costs and expanded free cash flow. In the second quarter of 2026, an earlier EL7 report noted production growth of 21%, compared with the 23% year-over-year increase in the third quarter.
Chief Executive Michael Kennedy said the company had increased net production by about 1 billion cubic feet equivalent per day over the past 12 months, attributing the gain to transactions that strengthened its assets and efficiency gains. He added that the company repurchased 1.6 million shares for about $56 million during the third quarter. It retained nearly $821 million in capacity under its repurchase program. The figures put production growth and improved efficiency alongside the allocation of some cash to share buybacks, with substantial capacity still available in the program. EL7 data show the stock’s closing price rose from $39.04 on October 22 to $40.16 on October 23, then to $41.54 on October 26 and $42.1 on October 27, before the results announcement.
The company set fourth-quarter 2026 production at about 4.3 billion cubic feet equivalent per day, with an estimated production reduction of between 15 and 20 billion cubic feet equivalent because of lower regional prices. It said the development plan is expected to drive high-single-digit production growth in 2027. The results release after the market closed on October 28 had been announced in advance, while the conference call to discuss the results was scheduled for October 29 at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time. The guidance follows record third-quarter output but includes a temporary production cut in the next quarter in response to regional prices. The company thus provided a near-term timetable for discussing its results and production expectations for the fourth quarter and next year.