Key Highlights

  • Diluted EPS of USD 5.65 beat the consensus estimate of USD 4.33 and compared with USD 4.75 a year earlier.
  • Revenue of USD 6.17 billion rose 39% year over year and topped the consensus estimate of USD 5.36 billion.
  • Volumes recognized in LNG revenues reached 697 TBtu versus 584 TBtu, supported by added Corpus Christi Stage 3 trains.
  • The company bought back USD 731 million of stock in the quarter and declared a USD 0.625 quarterly dividend.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) reported third quarter 2026 Diluted Earnings per Share of USD 5.65, above a consensus estimate of USD 4.33, compared with USD 4.75 in the same quarter of 2025. Total revenues were USD 6,173 million, ahead of a consensus estimate of USD 5.36 billion and 39% higher than the USD 4,441 million a year earlier. Net Income attributable to Cheniere was USD 1,170 million versus USD 1,049 million, and income from operations reached USD 1,915 million versus USD 1,817 million.

Volumes, Pricing Mix and Derivatives

LNG revenues were USD 6,099 million. Sales from the liquefaction projects under third party long term agreements brought in USD 4,027 million, up from USD 3,481 million, while short term sales by the integrated Marketing function rose to USD 1,876 million from USD 630 million. Total volumes recognized in LNG revenues were 697 TBtu compared with 584 TBtu. The company ties a USD 417 million increase in revenues net of cost of sales, excluding derivative Fair Value changes, to added Corpus Christi Stage 3 trains and a larger share of cargoes sold at prices indexed to global LNG or Natural Gas benchmarks.

Cost of sales rose to USD 3,207 million from USD 1,750 million. Changes in the fair value of agreements accounted for as Derivatives were USD 142 million unfavorable before tax, and the effective tax rate fell to 10.2% from 18.9%, a USD 135 million favorable swing in the tax provision. For the nine months, net income attributable to Cheniere was USD 736 million versus USD 3,028 million, with liquefaction Supply derivatives recording USD 2,306 million of losses in cost of sales.

Capital Returns, Liquidity and Projects

The company repurchased 2.81 million shares at a weighted average price of USD 260.52 for USD 731 million in the quarter, and 7.69 million shares for USD 1,818 million over nine months. The board lifted the repurchase authorization to about USD 10 billion for 2026 through 2030, with approximately USD 8.4 billion remaining. In October it declared a quarterly Dividend of USD 0.625 per share, payable November 17, 2026 to holders of record on November 9, 2026.

Total available liquidity was USD 8,079 million, including USD 1,663 million of cash, USD 393 million of restricted cash and USD 6,023 million of available Credit commitments. Nine month Operating Cash Flow was USD 5,124 million versus USD 3,484 million. Long term debt, net, stood at USD 22,582 million. Two midscale trains at Corpus Christi, labeled Trains 8 and 9, are under construction and would add about 5 mtpa of capacity, including debottlenecking.

Items That Move the Next Filing

Derivative marks remain the main swing factor, as the Level 3 liquefaction supply derivatives carried a net fair value asset of USD 317 million at quarter end. The share of volumes sold short term, 119 TBtu from the marketing function versus 56 TBtu a year earlier, shows the pricing mix. The November 17 dividend payment, the USD 8.4 billion of remaining repurchase capacity, and construction progress on Midscale Trains 8 and 9 are other dated or measurable items.