Western Midstream Partners, LP (WES) · Nov 4, 2026 · Earnings
Miss — diluted EPS $0.78 vs ~$0.88 consensus
Western Midstream’s third-quarter earnings show record gas throughput and reaffirmed guidance, but EPS missed consensus while capital spending moves above plan.
Western Midstream is in a Delaware Basin expansion cycle: the Brazos acquisition added processing capacity and acreage, while Solitude, Pathfinder, North Loving II, and new Powder River agreements extend the growth runway. Brazos was expected to be immediately accretive, and management had already raised 2026 guidance in August after closing the deal.
The quarter missed the clean earnings benchmark. Diluted EPS was $0.78 versus a published consensus of roughly $0.88, making this an earnings miss despite revenue landing close to the approximately $1.20 billion consensus. The filing says limited partners’ net income was $324.8 million and diluted earnings per unit were $0.78.
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue and other (Income Statement) | $1,194.2M | $952.5M | ~$1,200M |
| Diluted EPS (Income Statement) | $0.78 | $0.87 | ~$0.88 |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation) | $708.3M (+12%) | — | — |
| Distributable Cash Flow (DCF reconciliation) | $512.3M | — | — |
| Natural-gas throughput (Throughput table) | 5.7 Bcf/d (+7% sequentially) | — | — |
| 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance (Highlights) | $2.750B–$2.950B | — | — |
Underlying volumes are advancing, but profitability was less clean. WES reached record Delaware Basin gas throughput of 2.6 Bcf/d, helped by a full quarter of Brazos contribution, and total gas throughput rose 7% sequentially. However, Adjusted EBITDA fell from $736.5 million in the second quarter to $708.3 million as lower crude-oil and NGL pricing, weaker DJ Basin volumes, and higher operating costs offset the volume growth. 〔0〕
The outlook was stable, not upgraded. WES reaffirmed its existing 2026 Adjusted EBITDA, DCF, and Free Cash Flow ranges, while saying full-year EBITDA should be above the midpoint. That is supportive for execution, but the guidance itself was already established in the prior quarter, so this filing adds confidence rather than a fresh estimate increase.
Growth is requiring more capital than planned. Management now expects 2026 capital expenditures to be slightly above the prior $850 million–$1.0 billion range, driven by producer activity and Solitude. Free cash flow after distributions was negative $148.5 million in the quarter, showing that the expansion program is currently consuming cash even as operating volumes improve.
Bottom line: WES’s operating growth story remains intact, led by Delaware Basin volumes and Brazos integration, but this quarter did not improve the existing outlook: EPS missed, EBITDA softened sequentially, and capital spending is edging above plan. That makes the filing a modest setback against expectations rather than a change to the broader business trajectory.
Brazos integration into West Texas Complex, mid-December
A buy-side analyst on every ticker — it reads every public company's filing the instant it drops and decodes it into plain English.
A buy-side analyst on every ticker — the whole market decoded the second it moves, before it's a headline. Free gives you a taste. Pro takes the cap off and opens the full read on every company.
by Signing in NOW, claim your FREE 14-day Pro trial!