The Deal No One Saw Coming: Why Energy Transfer Stock Will Leave Every Other MLP in the Dust

By Trey Thoelcke Published Feb 17, 10:40AM EST

Quick Read

Energy Transfer (ET) has suspended its Lake Charles LNG project to prioritize natural gas pipeline infrastructure, including 900 MMcf/d deliveries to Oracle data centers.
Energy Transfer raised 2026 EBITDA guidance to $17.45B to $17.85B and plans $5.0B to $5.5B in growth capex focused on natural gas expansion.
The company upsized its Desert Southwest pipeline expansion to 2.3 Bcf/d capacity at a $5.6B cost.

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The Deal No One Saw Coming: Why Energy Transfer Stock Will Leave Every Other MLP in the Dust — © Spooh / Getty Images

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET | ET Price Prediction) delivered a mixed fourth quarter 2025 performance, posting $25.32 billion in revenue while net income declined to $928 million, down from $1.08 billion year-over-year. The midstream giant reported $0.25 EPS and adjusted EBITDA of $4.18 billion, representing an 8% increase from the prior year quarter.

Operational Strength Amid Strategic Pivot

Despite the earnings decline, Energy Transfer achieved multiple operational records. Crude oil transportation volumes rose 6%, while NGL fractionation increased 3% and NGL exports jumped 12%. Terminal volumes surged 12%, demonstrating robust throughput across the company’s 140,000-mile pipeline network spanning 44 states.

The company raised its quarterly distribution to $0.3350 per unit, a 3% increase versus Q4 2024, bringing the annualized payout to $1.34. This marks continued distribution growth supported by strong cash generation.

Strategic Shift Toward Natural Gas Infrastructure

Energy Transfer made a significant strategic announcement, reiterating the suspension of its Lake Charles LNG project to prioritize pipeline infrastructure investments. The company commenced 900 MMcf/d natural gas deliveries to Oracle data centers, capitalizing on surging AI-driven energy demand. Management also upsized its Desert Southwest expansion to 2.3 Bcf/d capacity at a $5.6 billion cost.

The company raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $17.45 billion to $17.85 billion from a prior range of $17.3 billion to $17.7 billion, reflecting the J-W Power acquisition by USA Compression. Growth capital expenditures are projected at $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion, focused heavily on natural gas network expansion.

Market Performance

ET shares had gained 11.8% year-to-date as of February 17, outpacing the broader midstream MLP sector, which posted an 11.3% YTD gain as measured by the Alerian MLP ETF.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.