Expand Energy NASDAQ: EXE said its newly acquired Twin Eagle marketing platform is expected to bolster margins and cash-flow resilience as the company navigates a weaker natural-gas price environment and prepares for anticipated demand growth tied to liquefied natural gas, data centers, industrial projects and electrification.
During its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, Interim President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair Mike Wichterich said the company has spent the past nine months expanding from an upstream producer into an integrated gas company with production and marketing operations across North America. He also introduced Danny Brown, who had begun his third day as the company’s permanent CEO.
“We now have a premier upstream business, a coast-to-coast marketing platform, a strong balance sheet, and a team that plays to win,” Wichterich said.
Marketing Business and Twin Eagle Integration
Expand closed its acquisition of Twin Eagle on Sept. 16, adding a marketing organization, customer relationships and transportation capabilities. Marcel Teunissen, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the companies were integrating their operations, with the Twin Eagle team having moved into Expand’s offices and the organizations aligned.
The combined marketing and commercial businesses are expected to generate $80 million in EBITDA during the fourth quarter, equivalent to roughly $0.12 per Mcfe, according to management. The forecast assumes a low-price, low-volatility market environment.
Expand expects marketing and commercial EBITDA to rise to $500 million by 2028, or about $0.20 per Mcfe at current production levels, as it captures synergies and grows customer relationships. The company’s longer-term target is $750 million in annual marketing and commercial EBITDA, or about $0.30 per Mcfe, with LNG-related opportunities expected to contribute after 2028.
Teunissen said the company is pursuing opportunities across LNG, data centers and commercial and industrial customers rather than concentrating on a single end market. Twin Eagle has relationships with more than 1,000 customers, according to Chief Operating Officer Josh Viets, and provides Expand with access to supply and demand markets across North America.
Management said its LNG strategy is intended to connect domestic production with international gas pricing. Expand previously signed an agreement with Delfin for 1.15 million tons of LNG offtake, beginning in 2031 and extending into late 2032. Teunissen said the company expects to add to its LNG portfolio over time.
Production Flexibility and Gas-Market Outlook
Expand produced approximately 7.5 Bcfe per day during the third quarter. Wichterich said the company’s hedging program improved realized prices by $0.46 per Mcfe, while the company repurchased $305 million of its shares during the quarter.
Viets said the natural-gas market remains well supplied despite record LNG flows and summer power demand. He said additional supply that entered the market late last year, along with new Permian Basin takeaway capacity, has pressured the 2027 forward curve.
In response, Expand has reduced activity from about 12 rigs to 10 rigs and deferred roughly nine well turn-in-lines from the third quarter. The company’s fourth-quarter production guidance range of 7.4 Bcf to 7.6 Bcf per day reflects continued flexibility around curtailments and timing of new volumes, Viets said.
Management expects about 13 Bcf per day of incremental demand to arrive by the end of 2028. Viets characterized 2027 as a transition year and said the company intends to align production with more constructive pricing conditions.
- Expand expects Haynesville demand growth and LNG development to support longer-term natural-gas markets.
- The company said the Haynesville may need to grow by about 5 Bcf per day over the next four to six years to meet anticipated demand.
- Management said Permian gas supplies alone are not expected to satisfy upcoming demand growth over that period.
Capital, Balance Sheet and Operational Improvements
Expand reported net debt of $4.7 billion and leverage of 0.8 times. Teunissen said the company’s cash break-even, including dividends, is about $2.80 per Mcf. Management expects the growing marketing business to lower that level to about $2.60 per Mcf by 2028 and to approximately $2.50 per Mcf when it reaches the $750 million marketing and commercial EBITDA run rate.
The company’s capital-allocation priorities remain drilling and completion spending, dividends, the balance sheet, and then growth opportunities such as share repurchases when management sees value, Teunissen said. Following the Twin Eagle acquisition, the company has adopted a more balanced approach between reducing leverage and opportunistic buybacks.
For 2026, Expand expects to spend about $250 million on organic lease acquisitions. Viets said the company acquired approximately 3,000 acres in Pennsylvania’s Bradford County for around $15 million and expects wells on that acreage to begin production early next year.
Management also cited efficiency gains in Appalachia, where Southwest Appalachia drilling footage per day improved 20% from 2025 to 2026 and drilling cost per foot improved about 10%. In the Haynesville, the company expects 2% to 3% year-over-year well-productivity improvement, aided by its investment in sand supply.
Viets said 2027 cost inflation could be in the low- to mid-single digits. While Expand expects diesel use to decline about 50% as more electric frac fleets enter its program, the company is monitoring potential pressure-pumping and oil country tubular goods cost increases.
New CEO Outlines Focus
Brown said he was attracted to Expand’s scale, diversified inventory-rich assets, investment-grade balance sheet, low breakevens, operational flexibility and the customer access gained through Twin Eagle. He said his prior experience allocating capital across assets and risk profiles, as well as leading a public company, would be applicable to his new role.
Brown said Expand would remain open to inorganic opportunities but would apply a disciplined approach. Any transaction would need to improve the company and deliver “strong risk-adjusted, full-cycle value,” he said.
“The foundation is set,” Brown said. “Now it is time to execute and leverage the platform that has been created to deliver differentiated value for our shareholders.”
About Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE)
Expand Energy Corporation NASDAQ: EXE is an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company's activities include drilling and operating unconventional oil and gas wells, primarily in major shale formations.
Expand Energy was formed through the combination of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company, a transaction completed in October 2024. Chesapeake's portfolio included assets in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale plays, while Southwestern was also a major operator in the Appalachian and Haynesville regions.
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