Western Midstream Announces First-Quarter 2026 Results

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• Reported first-quarter 2026 Net income attributable to limited partners of $342.4 million, generating record first-quarter Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $683.1 million, which represents a 15-percent increase compared to the prior-year period, and first-quarter Distributable Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ of $508.9 million.
• Reported first-quarter 2026 Cash flows provided by operating activities of $469.9 million, generating first-quarter Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ of $242.3 million.
• Announced a first-quarter distribution of $0.930 per unit, which is 2.2-percent higher than the prior quarter's distribution, or $3.72 per unit on an annualized basis, and in-line with prior management commentary.
• Expecting to be towards the high-end of the 2026 Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ and Distributable Cash Flow⁽²⁾ guidance ranges of $2.50 billion to $2.70 billion and $1.85 billion to $2.05 billion, respectively, should the current crude-oil and NGLs pricing environment continue.
• Expecting 2026 total capital expenditures⁽³⁾ to still range between $850.0 million to $1.00 billion.

HOUSTON, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) ("WES" or the "Partnership") announced first-quarter 2026 financial and operating results. Net income (loss) attributable to limited partners for the first quarter of 2026 totaled $342.4 million, or $0.85 per common unit (diluted), with first-quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ totaling $683.1 million and Distributable Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ totaling $508.9 million. First-quarter 2026 Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $469.9 million and first-quarter 2026 Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ totaled $242.3 million. First-quarter 2026 capital expenditures⁽³⁾ totaled $250.5 million.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Generated record Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $683.1 million, an increase of approximately 7-percent sequentially, driven by a full quarter of contribution from the Aris acquisition and excess natural-gas liquids and higher skim oil volumes at elevated commodity prices.
• Reduced operation and maintenance expense by 7-percent, compared to the first-quarter of 2025, excluding the Aris acquisition, reflecting continued cost discipline despite increased throughput.
• Gathered record crude-oil and NGLs throughput in the Delaware Basin of 272 MBbls/d, representing a 4-percent sequential-quarter increase and a 6-percent year-over-year increase.
• Achieved record produced-water throughput⁽⁴⁾ of 2,795 MBbls/d, representing a 4-percent sequential-quarter increase, and 140-percent year-over-year increase primarily driven by the full quarter contribution from the Aris acquisition.
• Subsequent to quarter-end, retired $440.5 million of senior notes due 2026 with proceeds from the senior notes issued in the fourth quarter of 2025.
• Subsequent to quarter-end, and as announced earlier today, executed an agreement to acquire Brazos Delaware II, LLC ("Brazos") in the Delaware Basin for a purchase price of approximately $1.6 billion, comprised of $800 million in cash and $800 million in WES common units, with an expected close by the end of the second quarter of 2026.

On May 15, 2026, WES will pay its first-quarter 2026 per-unit distribution of $0.930, or $3.72 on an annualized basis, which represents growth of 2.2-percent over the prior quarter's distribution. First-quarter 2026 Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ after distributions totaled negative $137.4 million.

First-quarter 2026 natural-gas throughput⁽⁴⁾ averaged 5.2 Bcf/d, representing a 1-percent sequential-quarter increase. First-quarter 2026 crude-oil and NGLs throughput⁽⁴⁾ averaged 521 MBbls/d, representing a 3-percent sequential-quarter increase. First-quarter 2026 produced-water throughput⁽⁴⁾ averaged 2,795 MBbls/d, representing a 4-percent sequential-quarter increase.

"WES delivered record Adjusted EBITDA of $683.1 million in the first-quarter of 2026, increasing 7-percent sequentially and 15-percent compared to the prior-year period, which was primarily driven by a full quarter's contribution from the Aris acquisition, throughput growth across all three products, and successful cost reduction efforts," commented Oscar K. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of WES. "Additionally, our Adjusted Gross Margin in the first quarter benefited as crude-oil prices increased in March. This performance also reflects the results of our efficiency and cost reduction strategies, as this and several other variables came together to produce the strongest quarter in the Partnership's history."

"What distinguished Aris among its peers was the quality and structure of its long-term contracts, which include substantial acreage dedications that provide the same fee-based cash flow foundation that defines WES's broader portfolio, and the ability to create additional value from retained skim oil volumes in a favorable commodity price environment. As crude-oil prices increased in March, we benefited directly through skim oil recoveries on the Aris system and the fixed recovery natural-gas processing contracts we have been deliberately building across our portfolio. Combined with the cost reduction actions executed in 2025, which have materially improved our operating leverage, the earnings power of WES is increasingly evident."

"The Delaware Basin remains the cornerstone of our growth strategy and the primary driver of our capital allocation. It is the premier operating basin in North America, and WES has built one of the most integrated midstream platforms across crude-oil, natural-gas, and produced-water in an area which will continue to attract producer capital for decades. The sanctioning of the Pathfinder Pipeline and North Loving II, the Aris acquisition, and today's announcement pertaining to the purchase of Brazos, each reflect that conviction. More than 60-percent of WES's 2026 Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be generated from the Delaware Basin, and that proportion will only grow as our organic growth projects come online in first and second quarters of 2027."

"The Brazos acquisition further enhances our Delaware Basin footprint and is in line with WES's M&A philosophy of making accretive, strategic acquisitions that enhance the value of WES's existing asset base, provide a diverse set of high-quality customers, and generate strong Free Cash Flow, all while protecting our investment grade credit ratings. The asset is contiguous to our existing footprint, can be efficiently integrated into our system, and provides exposure to additional geologic trends, including the growing Woodford Shale. The transaction is expected to contribute approximately $100 million of incremental Adjusted EBITDA in 2026, assuming a close by the end of the second quarter."

"Looking ahead, our fee-based contract structures, supported by substantial minimum-volume commitments and acreage dedications, provide durable, protected cash flows across commodity cycles. While we are not currently updating our annual guidance ranges, as we have not yet received formal changes to our producers' drilling plans for this year, we expect to be towards the high end of both the Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow ranges, without taking into account the impact of the Brazos transaction. This improved outlook is due to increased commercial discussions, the very favorable commodity price environment, and our improving operating leverage due to our successful and ongoing cost competitiveness efforts. With that said, we intend to reevaluate our 2026 guidance ranges in conjunction with our second-quarter results after the scheduled close of the Brazos transaction."

"All in all, years of hard work that have culminated in multiple quarters of record operational and financial results continue to demonstrate WES's financial flexibility to consummate accretive M&A, fund its organic growth program, and sustain a balanced capital return program, all while maintaining one of the strongest balance sheets in the midstream sector."

CONFERENCE CALL TOMORROW AT 9:00 A.M. CT

WES will host a conference call on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time) to discuss its first-quarter 2026 results. To access the live audio webcast of the conference call, please visit the investor relations section of the Partnership's website at www.westernmidstream.com. A small number of phone lines are available for analysts; individuals should dial 888-880-3330 (Domestic) or 646-357-8766 (International) ten to fifteen minutes before the scheduled conference call time. A replay of the live audio webcast can be accessed on the Partnership's website at www.westernmidstream.com for one year after the call.

For additional details on WES's financial and operational performance, please refer to the earnings slides and updated investor presentation available at www.westernmidstream.com.

ABOUT WESTERN MIDSTREAM

Western Midstream Partners, LP ("WES") is a master limited partnership formed to develop, acquire, own, and operate midstream assets. With midstream assets located in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, WES is engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural-gas liquids, and crude oil; and gathering, transporting, recycling, treating, and disposing of produced water for its customers. In its capacity as a natural-gas processor, WES also buys and sells residue, natural-gas liquids, and condensate on behalf of itself and its customers under certain gas processing contracts. A substantial majority of WES's cash flows are protected from direct exposure to commodity-price volatility through fee-based contracts.

For more information about WES, please visit www.westernmidstream.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements. WES's management believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results, or other expectations expressed in this news release. These factors include our ability to meet financial guidance or distribution expectations; our ability to safely and efficiently operate WES's assets; the supply of, demand for, and price of oil, natural gas, NGLs, and related products or services; our ability to meet projected in-service dates for capital-growth projects; construction costs or capital expenditures exceeding estimated or budgeted costs or expenditures; and the other factors described in the "Risk Factors" section of WES's most-recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public filings and press releases. WES undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

WESTERN MIDSTREAM CONTACTS

Daniel Jenkins
Director, Investor Relations
[email protected]
866.512.3523

Rhianna Disch
Manager, Investor Relations
[email protected] 
866.512.3523

 

 

 

Western Midstream Partners, LP
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP MEASURES

WES defines Adjusted Gross Margin attributable to Western Midstream Partners, LP ("Adjusted Gross Margin") as total revenues and other (less reimbursements for electricity-related expenses recorded as revenue), less cost of product, plus distributions from equity investments, and excluding the noncontrolling interest owners' proportionate share of revenues and cost of product.

WES defines Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Western Midstream Partners, LP ("Adjusted EBITDA") as net income (loss), plus (i) distributions from equity investments, (ii) non-cash equity-based compensation expense, (iii) interest expense, (iv) income tax expense, (v) depreciation and amortization, (vi) impairments, and (vii) other expense (including lower of cost or market inventory adjustments recorded in cost of product), less (i) gain (loss) on divestiture and other, net, (ii) gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt, (iii) income from equity investments, (iv) income tax benefit, (v) other income, (vi) other items impacting comparability with WES's core operating performance, and (vii) the noncontrolling interest owners' proportionate share of revenues and expenses.

WES defines Distributable Cash Flow as Adjusted EBITDA, less Total revenues and other recognized in Adjusted EBITDA in excess of (less than) customer billings; net cash paid for (i) interest expense (net of interest income recorded in other income (expense) and non-cash capitalized interest), (ii) maintenance capital expenditures, (iii) income taxes; and Distributable Cash Flow attributable to noncontrolling interests to the extent such amounts are not excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

WES defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities less total capital expenditures and contributions to equity investments, plus distributions from equity investments in excess of cumulative earnings.

Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and Free Cash Flow are not defined in GAAP. The GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to Adjusted Gross Margin is gross margin. Net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities are the GAAP measures that are most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA. The GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to Distributable Cash Flow is net income (loss). The GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to Free Cash Flow is net cash provided by operating activities. Our non–GAAP financial measures (i) should not be considered as alternatives to the comparable GAAP measures or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP, (ii) have important limitations as analytical tools because they exclude some, but not all, items that affect the comparable GAAP measures, (iii) should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP, and (iv) may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies in our industry, thereby diminishing their utility as comparative measures.

Management compensates for the limitations of our non-GAAP measures as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences, and incorporating this knowledge into its decision–making processes. We believe that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures that our management considers in evaluating our operating results.

The following tables present reconciliations of the GAAP measures to our non-GAAP measures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE Western Midstream Partners, LP