Announces 2026 Financial Guidance
-- Reported fourth-quarter 2025 Net income attributable to limited partners
of $187.2 million, generating record fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA(1) of
$635.6 million, which included $29.5 million of unfavorable non-cash
revenue adjustments.
-- Reported full-year 2025 Net income attributable to limited partners of
$1.154 billion, generating record full-year Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $2.481
billion, exceeding the midpoint of the full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA
guidance range of $2.350 billion to $2.550 billion, and representing a
6-percent year-over-year increase.
-- Reported fourth-quarter 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities
of $557.6 million, generating fourth-quarter Free Cash Flow(1) of $340.8
million.
-- Reported full-year 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities of
$2.223 billion, generating full-year Free Cash Flow(1) of $1.526 billion,
exceeding the high end of the full-year 2025 Free Cash Flow guidance
range of $1.275 billion to $1.475 billion, and representing a 15-percent
year-over-year increase.
-- Announced a fourth-quarter distribution of $0.910 per unit, which is
consistent with the prior quarter's distribution, or $3.64 per unit on an
annualized basis.
-- Providing 2026 Adjusted EBITDA(2) guidance range of $2.500 billion to
$2.700 billion, representing an approximate 5-percent increase at the
mid-point relative to 2025.
-- Providing 2026 total capital expenditure(3) guidance range of $850.0
million to $1.000 billion, implying a mid-point of $925 million, which is
significantly below previous expectations of at least $1.1 billion of
total capital expenditures.
-- Providing 2026 Distributable Cash Flow(2) ("DCF") guidance range of
$1.850 billion to $2.050 billion, or $4.59 to $5.08 per unit(4),
respectively.
-- Planning to recommend to the Board a distribution increase of $0.02 per
unit to $0.93 per unit, or $3.72 per unit on an annualized basis,
starting in the first quarter of 2026, which represents a 2.2-percent
increase over the prior quarter's distribution.
HOUSTON, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Western Midstream Partners, LP $(WES)$ ("WES" or the "Partnership") announced fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial and operating results. Net income (loss) attributable to limited partners for the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled $187.2 million, or $0.47 per common unit (diluted), with fourth-quarter 2025 Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaling $635.6 million. Net income (loss) attributable to limited partners and Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the fourth quarter of 2025 include a non-cash decrease to revenue of approximately $29.5 million associated with revenue recognition cumulative adjustments related to cost-of-service agreements at the DJ Basin oil and Springfield systems. Fourth-quarter 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $557.6 million, and fourth-quarter 2025 Free Cash Flow(1) totaled $340.8 million. Fourth-quarter 2025 capital expenditures(3) totaled $231.0 million.
Net income (loss) attributable to limited partners for the full-year 2025 totaled $1.154 billion, or $2.98 per common unit (diluted), with full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaling $2.481 billion. Full-year 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $2.223 billion, full-year 2025 Free Cash Flow(1) totaled $1.526 billion, and full-year 2025 capital expenditures(3) totaled $721.8 million.
FULL-YEAR 2025 AND RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
-- Generated record Adjusted EBITDA(1) in 2025 primarily driven by increased
Delaware Basin throughput and cost reduction initiatives that commenced
during the second quarter of 2025, resulting in a 2-percent
year-over-year reduction in reported operation and maintenance expense,
excluding the acquisition of Aris Water Solutions, Inc. ("Aris").
-- Excluding the Aris acquisition, reduced operation and maintenance expense
by 8-percent in the third quarter and 12-percent in the fourth quarter,
compared to the corresponding periods in 2024, reflecting continued cost
discipline despite increased throughput.
-- Achieved record annual natural-gas throughput(5) of 5.2 Bcf/d,
representing a 4-percent(6) year-over-year increase, in-line with our
2025 expectations of mid-single-digits growth.
-- Achieved annual crude-oil and NGLs throughput(5) of 514 MBbls/d,
representing a 1-percent(7) year-over-year increase, in-line with our
2025 expectations of low-single-digits growth.
-- Gathered record annual produced-water throughput(5) of 1,578 MBbls/d,
representing a 40-percent year-over-year increase, primarily due to the
acquisition of Aris in fourth-quarter 2025. Excluding throughput
associated with the legacy Aris system, gathered record annual
produced-water throughput of 1,224 MBbls/d, representing a 7-percent
year-over-year increase in-line with our original 2025 expectations of
mid-single digits growth.
-- Achieved strong throughput growth across all products in the Delaware
Basin, including 9-percent and 6-percent, for natural-gas and crude-oil
and NGLs, respectively, and 40-percent for produced water driven by the
incremental Aris volumes.
-- Expanded Delaware Basin natural-gas processing capacity by 18-percent and
continued supporting WES's position as one of the largest natural-gas
processors in the basin through the completion of North Loving I in the
second-quarter of 2025 and the addition of dedicated capacity at the Mi
Vida plant.
-- Sanctioned North Loving II that will increase Delaware Basin natural-gas
processing capacity by an incremental 13-percent when completed early in
the second quarter of 2027.
-- Sanctioned the long-haul Pathfinder pipeline ("Pathfinder") to transport
over 800 MBbls/d of produced water for disposal and reuse opportunities
in eastern Loving County, supported by long-term fixed-fee contracts.
-- Completed the acquisition of Aris, creating one of the largest,
fully-integrated Delaware Basin produced-water solutions providers,
significantly expanding WES's New Mexico footprint and further
diversifying our customer base with mostly investment-grade
counterparties.
-- Continued to execute on our capital return framework by returning $1.431
billion to unitholders in 2025 while maintaining a net leverage ratio
near 3.0 times throughout the year.
-- Subsequent to year-end, and as previously announced, renegotiated
natural-gas gathering and processing contracts in the Delaware Basin with
Occidental and ConocoPhillips, replacing the legacy cost-of-service
structure with a simplified, fixed-fee structure in exchange for $610
million in WES units owned by Occidental.
On February 13, 2026, WES paid its fourth-quarter 2025 per-unit distribution of $0.910, or $3.64 on an annualized basis, which is consistent with the prior quarter's distribution. Fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 Free Cash Flow(1) after distributions totaled negative $38.7 million and positive $95.0 million, respectively.
Fourth-quarter 2025 natural-gas throughput(5) averaged 5.2 Bcf/d, representing a 4-percent sequential-quarter decrease. Fourth-quarter 2025 crude-oil and NGLs throughput(5) averaged 508 MBbls/d, representing a slight sequential-quarter decrease. Fourth-quarter 2025 produced-water throughput(5) averaged 2,693 MBbls/d, representing a 121-percent sequential-quarter increase which includes two-and-a-half months' contribution from Aris.
Full-year 2025 natural-gas throughput(5) averaged 5.2 Bcf/d, representing a 4-percent(6) increase year-over-year, adjusting for the sale of Marcellus assets in the second quarter of 2024. Full-year 2025 crude-oil and NGLs throughput(5) averaged 514 MBbls/d, representing a 1-percent(7) increase year-over-year, adjusting for the asset sales during 2024. Full-year 2025 produced-water throughput(5) averaged 1,578 MBbls/d, an increase of 40-percent year-over-year, including two-and-a-half months' contribution from Aris in the fourth quarter 2025.
"2025 was a successful and impactful year for WES," commented Oscar K. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We delivered record Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow due to another year of steady throughput growth across all three products, including quarterly records in the Delaware and DJ Basins. We met or exceeded our 2025 financial guidance ranges, advanced our growth strategy with the acquisition of Aris Water Solutions, which meaningfully expands our produced-water capabilities and adds a new operating footprint in New Mexico, all while navigating industry challenges that included volatile Waha Hub pricing and associated third-party production curtailments. The consistency of our assets and the discipline of our teams were evident throughout the year."
"We also moved key strategic projects forward. We sanctioned and began constructing Pathfinder, backed by long-term agreements, brought the North Loving I natural-gas processing train online ahead of schedule and under budget, and sanctioned North Loving II to meet growing natural-gas processing demand. Even as we continued to grow the business and throughput, we successfully executed on our cost reduction plan initiated during the second quarter, enabling us to reduce operation and maintenance expense by 8-percent in the third quarter and 12-percent in the fourth quarter compared to the corresponding periods in 2024, excluding the Aris acquisition. Additionally, the Aris integration is on track to deliver meaningful synergies, with approximately 85-percent of our $40 million target to be captured by the end of the first quarter."
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