EQT Beats Q2 Estimates, Cuts Capex as Gas Prices Stay Weak

EQT Corp. posted a second-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates, driven by higher natural gas liquids output and costs that came in below forecast. The company also cut its full-year spending target as it slows well completions into a weak gas price environment.

Adjusted earnings came to $0.42 a share, above the $0.33 consensus, on revenue of $1.38 billion. Average daily production of 5.8 billion cubic feet equivalent ran ahead of the company's own guidance range, driven by 188,000 barrels a day of NGL output that topped the April forecast by more than 10%.

EQT now expects 2026 capital spending of $1.6–1.75 billion, down from an earlier plan of $1.8–2.0 billion. The reduction comes as the driller idles one of its eight completion crews and defers roughly 20 wells into 2027, betting that winter demand will lift prices enough to make those later wells more profitable.

The cut brings EQT more in line with peer Permian producers, which have held spending flat or trimmed it through midyear as Henry Hub futures slumped. The company sold roughly 70% of its remaining 2026 production at an average $3.56 per Mcf through the quarter, limiting spot-price exposure.

Cash flow from operations hit $625 million, up from $512 million in the first quarter, as NGL realizations improved relative to Mont Belvieu benchmarks. EQT used about $300 million of that to pay down debt, trimming net debt to $3.9 billion, its lowest in two years.

CEO Toby Rice attributed the lower cost per foot on drilling to a new bit design deployed across the Marcellus acreage. “We are getting more gas per dollar than a year ago,” he said on the call.

For the third quarter, EQT guided to total production of 5.55–5.95 Bcfe a day, roughly flat with Q2. The company expects full-year 2026 output of 6.1–6.25 Bcfe a day, a slight reduction from the original plan because of the deferrals.

Shares of EQT rose 2.8% in early trading. The stock carries an Alpha Score of 45 out of 100, reflecting a mixed outlook on near-term earnings momentum versus valuation relative to the energy sector.

Dividend growth held at $0.18 a share, unchanged from last quarter.

Analysts on the call pressed management on the timing of the deferred wells. Rice said one crew would resume work in October if winter strip prices hold above $3.50. The other crew stays parked through year-end.

Rig count across the Appalachian Basin has fallen 12% in the past six months, according to Baker Hughes data, as producers respond to 12-month gas forwards averaging $3.15. EQT’s hedging program covers 75% of the next 12 months at $3.52 per Mcf, offering a buffer against further softening.

Net debt to trailing EBITDA dropped to 1.2 times, the lowest in the company’s history as a pure-play gas producer, from 1.5 times at year-end. The company now targets 1.0 times by mid-2027, which Rice said could support a $1 billion share buyback authorization.

The balance sheet improvement comes as EQT’s joint venture with Blackstone’s energy infrastructure arm closed in March, bringing $550 million of net proceeds that the company used to retire higher-cost term debt.

Analysts at Wolfe Research called the quarter “operation-focused and capital-disciplined” in a note.

Those same dynamics will be tested in the fourth quarter when the first deferred wells are scheduled to flow into a market that may be tighter or softer depending on winter weather and LNG feedgas demand from the delayed Plaquemines facility. EQT’s hedge book covers the risk either way.