Venture Global Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Venture Global delivered record quarterly performance, with second-quarter revenue rising 48% to $4.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA increasing 79% to $2.5 billion. The company raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.7 billion-$9.1 billion, citing higher volumes and LNG prices but noting continued market volatility.
• The company strengthened its financial position by refinancing more than $5.3 billion and repaying $1.4 billion of debt through July. It also raised its quarterly dividend 122% to $0.04 per share and said annual interest and preferred dividend savings should exceed $100 million.
• CP2 remains on schedule and on budget for first LNG in the second half of 2027, while Venture Global is planning expansions at CP2 and Plaquemines. The projects could lift total production capacity to about 85 MTPA, with expansion investment decisions targeted for 2027.

Venture Global NYSE: VG reported second-quarter 2026 results marked by higher LNG sales volumes, stronger earnings and an increase to its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook, while outlining continued progress on its CP2 project and planned expansions at CP2 and Plaquemines.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Sabel said the company generated its largest quarterly EBITDA to date, reporting consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 billion. Venture Global raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.7 billion to $9.1 billion, from a prior range of $8.2 billion to $8.5 billion. Management said the wider-than-usual range reflects LNG price volatility related to events in the Middle East, though it expects to narrow the range after the third quarter as it contracts remaining expected volumes.

Second-Quarter Financial Results

Revenue totaled $4.6 billion in the second quarter, up 48% from $3.1 billion in the year-earlier period, according to CFO Jack Thayer. Higher sales volumes contributed $1.3 billion to the increase, while higher net LNG sales prices added $102 million.

• Sales volumes increased to 466 TBtu from 329 TBtu a year earlier.
• Income from operations rose 111% to $2.2 billion from $1.0 billion.
• Net income attributable to common stockholders climbed 266% to $1.3 billion, compared with $368 million in the second quarter of 2025.
• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 79% to $2.5 billion from $1.4 billion.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin was 54% during the quarter.

Thayer said the increase in adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by higher sales volumes and higher LNG prices net of feed-gas costs. Operating and maintenance costs rose year over year as commissioning work at Plaquemines increased and more company-owned vessels entered operation. General and administrative expenses were largely unchanged despite a larger workforce, he said.

Venture Global exported 127 cargoes during the quarter and said it shipped its 1,000th cargo in early March, four years after its first cargo in 2022. The company said its 2026 portfolio is more than 91% contracted, up from 84% reported during its first-quarter call.

Capital Structure and Shareholder Returns

The company increased its quarterly common dividend to $0.04 per share, a 122% increase. Sabel said the increase reflects the company’s growing business and confidence in its cash-flow outlook. He added that the company expects to grow the dividend over time, while Thayer said share repurchases could also be considered as its capital program matures.

Venture Global refinanced more than $5.3 billion of capital across term loans, bonds and preferred equity since its prior earnings call. The actions included refinancing $2.25 billion of senior secured notes in June, raising $1.5 billion in vessel financing and repricing a $1.07 billion senior secured term loan in July alongside WhiteWater.

Management expects the refinancing activity to reduce annual interest costs and preferred dividend coupon obligations by more than $100 million. Through July, the company had repaid $1.4 billion of debt, including about $1.3 billion of the CP2 bridge loan, Thayer said.

Project Development and Expansion Plans

Sabel said CP2 remains on schedule and on budget just over a year after its final investment decision. The project has roofs installed on all four LNG storage tanks, 16 fabricated liquefaction modules on site and five gas and steam turbines installed on foundations, according to the company.

Venture Global is assembling heat recovery steam generators at its Morgan City, Louisiana, facility. Five of those units have been built and transported to CP2. Sabel said bringing the work in-house removes what the company views as a significant construction bottleneck and should help streamline the timeline to first LNG.

The company continues to guide to CP2 first LNG in the second half of 2027. During the question-and-answer session, Sabel said management is remaining conservative in its public timing guidance, while describing project progress as strong.

Venture Global filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in May for a 10 million metric tons per annum expansion at CP2, entirely within the existing project footprint. The company expects to make a final investment decision on that expansion in early 2027 and targets first LNG in late 2028.

At Plaquemines, the company plans an initial expansion phase consisting of eight liquefaction trains producing 6.4 MTPA. Venture Global is targeting a final investment decision in the first half of 2027, with Phase One production expected in 2029. Once the Phase One Plaquemines expansion is producing, management expects total production capacity across its three projects to reach about 85 MTPA.

Contracting Strategy and Market Outlook

Management said approximately 53 MTPA of the expected 85 MTPA production runway is committed under long- and medium-term contracts, while 100% of nameplate capacity across the company’s first three projects is contracted.

Sabel said Venture Global intends to use a portfolio approach that combines long-term agreements supporting financing with medium-term contracts designed to improve returns and preserve flexibility. He said the company expects to contract most excess production capacity on multi-year agreements while retaining commissioning volumes and other capacity that can benefit from shorter-term market opportunities.

Thayer said that for cargoes remaining to be sold in 2026, the new EBITDA outlook assumes a liquefaction fee of $12.50 to $13.50 per MMBTU. A $1-per-MMBTU change in fixed liquefaction fees over the remainder of the year would affect adjusted EBITDA by an estimated $180 million to $210 million. Management said the comparable 2027 EBITDA sensitivity is expected to be $650 million to $700 million.

Sabel said customer discussions remain active across both 20-year and shorter-duration contracts. He said interest in five-year and shorter-term arrangements has increased amid uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict, while demand discussions remain broadly distributed between Europe and Asia.

The company also said it remains open to settling outstanding Calcasieu Pass arbitration matters. Sabel said Venture Global expects a resolution in the next arbitration before year-end and has another hearing scheduled to begin at the end of November if a settlement is not reached.

About Venture Global (NYSE:VG)

Venture Global NYSE: VG is a Houston-based energy company that develops, constructs and operates large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the United States. The company focuses on converting domestically produced natural gas into LNG for shipment to international markets, positioning itself as a supplier of pipeline-quality gas in vessel-ready form for global customers.

Venture Global's core activities include site development, engineering and construction of liquefaction and export terminals, commissioning and ongoing operations of those facilities, and commercial marketing of LNG under both long-term and short-term contracts.

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