Northern Oil & Gas, Inc. (NOG) · Nov 5, 2026 · Earnings
Beat — Adjusted diluted EPS $1.32 vs ~$1.09 consensus
Northern Oil & Gas earnings beat adjusted EPS expectations, while higher production guidance and unchanged capex point to better execution.
NOG is a scaled non-operator focused on acquiring minority working interests across major U.S. oil and gas basins, with its current strategy centered on adding production through diversified basin exposure and small “ground game” acquisitions. The third-quarter filing strengthens that operating story: the market had already seen preliminary evidence of higher activity, but the completed results show the improvement converted into cash flow and a higher full-year production target.
Underlying earnings cleared the market’s bar. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.32 versus a published consensus near $1.09, a meaningful beat; Adjusted EBITDA reached $444.5 million, up 11% sequentially, while free cash flow was nearly $150 million. The headline GAAP loss of $111.8 million is less informative here because a $308.0 million unrealized derivative loss overwhelmed the operating result.
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus / prior guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted diluted EPS (Non-GAAP reconciliation) | $1.32 | $1.03 | ~$1.09 consensus |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP reconciliation) | $444.5M | $387.1M | |
| Free cash flow (Free Cash Flow reconciliation) | $148.6M | $118.9M | |
| Average production, Boe/day (Production table) | 156,239 | 131,054 | |
| FY2026 production guide, Boe/day (Guidance table) | 147,000–150,000 | 143,000–148,000 | |
| FY2026 capex guide, $ millions (Guidance table) | $850–$900 | $850–$900 |
The main business change is more output for the same planned capital. NOG raised its full-year production range from 143,000–148,000 Boe per day to 147,000–150,000 while leaving the $850 million–$900 million capital budget unchanged. That is a clean execution upgrade, although management expects spending toward the high end of the range and the oil-production range barely moved. 〔0〕
Cash generation and balance-sheet progress make the beat more durable. Production rose 19% year over year, 23.9 net wells were added during the quarter, and leverage ended at 1.47 times annualized Adjusted EBITDA. The company also said it reduced debt by more than $100 million while continuing repurchases and maintaining its dividend. 〔1〕 This matters because the company is growing without showing the same dependence on incremental borrowing that would weaken the non-operator model.
The offset is commodity-hedging noise, not an operating collapse. Derivative losses drove GAAP revenue down to $345.9 million and produced a $1.06 diluted GAAP loss, while realized oil and gas economics before hedges improved and production expanded. The hedges still reduced reported cash realization in the quarter, so the quality of the earnings beat depends on whether the reader prioritizes operating cash generation or GAAP results; for this company, the former is the more relevant measure, but the volatility remains material.
Bottom line: This was more than a routine quarterly beat: NOG is producing above plan, generating more cash, and raising output without expanding its capital budget. The hedging loss muddies GAAP results, but the underlying business story clearly moved forward versus expectations.```
Q3 earnings conference call, November 6
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