Williams Companies Beats on Q4 Earnings, Raises Guidance

The Williams Companies, Inc. WMB reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents. The Northeast G&P and West segments delivered strong results, leading to the outperformance.However, the bottom line decreased from the year-ago period’s level of 48 cents due to the weak year-over-year performance of the Gas & NGL Marketing Services and increasing expenses in the Transmission & Gulf of Mexico unit.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.Tulsa, OK-based oil and gas storage and transportation company’s revenues of $2.7 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.9 billion. The figure also decreased from the year-ago quarter’s reported number of $2.8 billion. This underperformance was due to decreased service revenues on a year-over-year basis.Williams Companies, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Williams Companies, Inc. (The) price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Williams Companies, Inc. (The) QuoteIn 2024, Williams made significant progress with several key projects, including bringing Transco's Regional Energy Access, Southside Reliability Enhancement and Carolina Market Link expansions into service. It entered into key expansion projects like MountainWest, the Marcellus South gathering system and the Deepwater Gulf. The company also integrated its Gulf Coast storage, where 115 Bcf of strategically located storage will serve growing LNG exports and power generation demand. Six high-return transmission projects announced in 2024 will add 885 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) of capacity and serve key demand centers.Williams enhanced its portfolio by consolidating interest in the Gulf Discovery system, the Wamsutter upstream joint venture and divesting Aux Sable. Further, the company made a bolt-on acquisition at DJ Basin, reduced emissions and acquired leadership in sustainability.WMB’s Key TakeawaysAdjusted EBITDA totaled $1.8 billion in the quarter under review, which was up 3.2% year over year. This was due to continued growth in natural gas demand driven by the abundance of low-cost U.S. natural gas.Cash flow from operations amounted to $1.2 billion, down 32.8% from the corresponding quarter of 2023.WMB’s Segmental AnalysisTransmission & Gulf of Mexico: The segment reported an adjusted EBITDA of $826 million, up 9.8% from the year-ago quarter’s level. This was driven by favorable net contributions from the Gulf Coast Storage and Discovery acquisitions, and the Regional Energy Access expansion project. However, the figure was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $849 million due to higher costs.West: This segment focuses on the gathering and processing of assets in the Western United States. Adjusted EBITDA for this segment totaled $345 million, up 6.8% from the prior-year quarter’s level of $323 million and ahead of the consensus mark of $332 million. Despite lower gathering volumes, this strong performance was driven by the DJ Basin acquisitions. Gathering volumes totaled 5.46 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), compared to 6.03 Bcf/d a year ago and the consensus mark of 5.41 Bcf/d.Northeast G&P:This segment registered an adjusted EBITDA of $499 million, up 2.9% from $485 million in the year-earlier quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was due to higher rates at Susquehanna Supply Hub, Ohio Valley Midstream and Bradford. Partly offsetting these positives was a decline in gathering volumes, which fell 4.8% from the fourth quarter of 2023 to 4.16 Bcf/d and lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4.37 Bcf/d.Gas & NGL Marketing Services: The unit reported an adjusted EBITDA of $36 million, a decrease from $69 million from the prior-year quarter. This was due to lower gas and NGL marketing margins. The adjusted EBITDA consensus mark was $42.5 million.WMB’s Costs, Capex & Balance SheetIn the reported quarter, total costs and expenses of $2 billion increased almost 17.6% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.Total capital expenditure (Capex) was $2.6 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $60 million and a long-term debt of $24.7 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 62.5%.WMB’s 2025 GuidanceWilliams has raised its expectations for 2025, forecasting adjusted EBITDA between $7.45 billion and $7.85 billion, indicating a 3% rise to the guidance midpoint. The company maintains its 2025 capital expenditure plans, expecting growth Capex to range from $1.65 billion to $1.95 billion and maintenance Capex to fall between $650 million and $750 million. This excludes $150 million dedicated to emissions reduction and modernization projects.The company is improving its leverage ratio for 2025 to settle at a midpoint of 3.55x and has also raised its dividend by 5.3%, increasing the figure to $2 per share for 2025, up from $1.90 in 2024.WMB currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Important Energy EarningsThere have been a few key energy releases in the middle of earnings season. Let us glance through a couple of them.Liberty Energy LBRT, the Denver, CO-based oil and gas equipment company, announced an adjusted net income of 10 cents per share, which marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents. This was primarily due to a year-over-year decrease in costs and expenses. However, the bottom line underperformed the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 54 cents due to poor equipment and service execution, along with lower activity.Ahead of the earnings release, Liberty Energy’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share to its Class A common shareholders of record as of March 6. The payout, unchanged from the previous quarter, will be made on March 20.The company returned $175 million to its shareholders through the repurchase of 3.8% of shares and quarterly cash dividends in 2024. For the quarter ended, Liberty repurchased and retired 1,581,495 shares of Class A common stock at an average price of $17.88 per share, representing 1% of shares outstanding for a total of around $28 million.Energy infrastructure provider Kinder Morgan, Inc. KMI reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents. The bottom line improved from 28 cents in the prior-year quarter.Total quarterly revenues of $3.99 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.16 billion. The top line decreased from $4.04 billion in the prior-year quarter.The lower-than-expected quarterly earnings were primarily due to decreased volumes on certain systems, asset divestitures, and lower crude, CO2 and NGL volumes.As of Dec. 31, 2024, KMI reported $88 million in cash and cash equivalents. At the quarter's end, its long-term debt amounted to $29.8 billion.SLB SLB, a Houston, TX-based oil and gas equipment and services provider, reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of 92 cents per share (excluding charges and credits), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago quarter’s level of 86 cents.The oilfield service giant recorded total quarterly revenues of $9.28 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.18 billion. The top line improved from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $8.99 billion.The strong quarterly earnings were primarily driven by broad-based earnings growth and margin expansion, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Additionally, advancements in AI and autonomous operations continue to contribute significantly to SLB’s growth.SLB reported a free cash flow of $1.63 billion in the fourth quarter. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had approximately $4.67 billion in cash and short-term investments. It registered a long-term debt of $11.02 billion at the end of the quarter.Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025Hurry – you can still get in early on our 10 top tickers for 2025. Handpicked by Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian, this portfolio has been stunningly and consistently successful. From inception in 2012 through November, 2024, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,112.6%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +475.6%. Sheraz has combed through 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and handpicked the best 10 to buy and hold in 2025. You can still be among the first to see these just-released stocks with enormous potential. See New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB): Free Stock Analysis Report Schlumberger Limited (SLB): Free Stock Analysis Report Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI): Free Stock Analysis Report Liberty Energy Inc. (LBRT): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks