GET DAILY SIGNALSEnterprise Products Partners (EPD) Delivers +21% Net Income Growth in Q3 2026
Key Takeaways
- Net income attributable to common unitholders rose 21% year over year to $1.6 billion, or $0.75 per diluted common unit, for the third quarter of 2026.
- Total revenue reached $17.9 billion, comfortably above consensus expectations, helped by record volumes across the partnership's pipeline network.
- Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased 16% to $2.8 billion, with three of four business segments posting higher gross operating margin.
- Operational distributable cash flow (DCF, a key measure of cash available to unitholders) climbed 27% to $2.3 billion, covering the declared distribution by 1.9 times.
- The partnership raised its quarterly distribution 2.8% to $0.56 per common unit and repurchased $112 million of units during the quarter.
- Natural gas processing inlet volumes hit a record 8.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), including a record 4.6 Bcf/d in the Permian Basin.
Why This Quarter Matters for Midstream Investors
Enterprise Products Partners operates one of North America's largest midstream networks, with more than 50,000 miles of pipelines handling natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals. Most revenue comes from long-term fee-based contracts, so the focus stays on volume trends, cash flow, and distribution coverage rather than commodity price swings. The third quarter stood out because Permian Basin output continues to expand and several new assets, including a Delaware Basin processing plant, the Bahia NGL pipeline, and Frac 14, started contributing. These results show how effectively the partnership is turning recent infrastructure spending into higher distributable cash flow.
Quarterly Results in Detail
For the period ended September 30, 2026, net income attributable to common unitholders came in at $1.6 billion, or $0.75 per diluted common unit, up 21% from $0.61 per unit in the same quarter a year earlier. Total revenue reached $17.9 billion, well above the consensus range of roughly $14.5 billion to $15.0 billion, driven by higher volumes and solid international demand. I also checked this using Tickeron’s AI Screener to see how EPD stacks up against other midstream names.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 16% to $2.8 billion. Operational DCF jumped 27% to $2.3 billion, delivering 1.9 times coverage of the declared distribution and leaving $1.1 billion in retained cash flow. Adjusted cash flow from operations grew 18% to $2.4 billion. The partnership declared a $0.56 per unit distribution, up 2.8% year over year, and bought back $112 million of units. On the operational side, equivalent pipeline volumes reached 14.8 MMBPD, up 7%, while marine terminal volumes climbed 28% to 2.5 MMBPD. Natural gas processing inlet volumes set a record at 8.5 Bcf/d, with Permian plant inlet volumes rising 12% to 4.6 Bcf/d.
Market Reaction and Investor Focus
Shares of EPD edged modestly higher after the October 29, 2026 release. The combination of a 21% increase in net income and a 27% rise in operational DCF was well received by income-focused investors, who continue to emphasize distribution sustainability and the comfortable 1.9 times coverage ratio. Broader sentiment toward the midstream sector remains constructive, supported by growing Permian production, rising international demand for U.S. NGLs, and the partnership’s emphasis on organic growth projects over higher-cost acquisitions.
What to Watch Going Forward
Attention now turns to how the partnership converts its project backlog into additional cash flow per unit. Enterprise currently has $6.3 billion of growth capital projects under construction, with start-ups expected through 2028. Two near-term completions stand out for the fourth quarter: the fourth expansion of the LPG marine terminal on the Houston Ship Channel and the new Athena natural gas processing plant in the Midland Basin. The LPG expansion should lift total loading capacity to about 1.1 MMBPD, positioning it as the world’s largest LPG export facility. The Athena plant will add capacity to process 300 MMcf/d of natural gas and extract up to 40 MBPD of NGLs, moving total Permian processing capacity closer to 5 Bcf/d. Management raised its long-term Permian outlook, projecting 34% growth in wet natural gas and NGL production from 2025 through 2030. For 2026, growth capital spending is expected in the $2.9 billion to $3.4 billion range, net of $600 million in asset sale proceeds, plus about $650 million in sustaining capital. I’m watching project execution, commodity conditions, and ongoing buyback activity under the $5.0 billion authorization.
Using Tickeron’s AI Tools in My Research
I often turn to Tickeron’s AI Screener when evaluating energy names like EPD. The tool lets me quickly filter for technical patterns, fundamentals, and sector trends, helping surface comparable ideas and monitor how market conditions are shifting across midstream. It has become a regular part of my workflow for staying organized and spotting potential opportunities without manual screening.
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Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
EPD's RSI Oscillator climbs out of oversold territory
The RSI Indicator for EPD moved out of oversold territory on October 02, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is shifting from a downward trend to an upward trend. Traders may want to buy the stock or call options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 14 similar instances when the indicator left oversold territory. In 9 of the 14 cases the stock moved higher. This puts the odds of a move higher at 64%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 23, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on EPD as a result. In 46 of 92 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 50%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for EPD just turned positive on October 16, 2026. Looking at past instances where EPD's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 18 of 44 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 41%.
EPD moved above its 50-day moving average on October 28, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
Following a +2.86% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where EPD advanced for three days, in 178 of 400 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 44%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 3 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
The 10-day moving average for EPD crossed bearishly below the 50-day moving average on September 24, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted lower and could be considered a sell signal. In 2 of 15 past instances when the 10-day crossed below the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 13%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where EPD declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 31%.
EPD broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 28, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
The Aroon Indicator for EPD entered a downward trend on October 12, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 2 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 41, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 27 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 45 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 48 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. EPD’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 49 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (2.713) is normal, around the industry mean (168.090). P/E Ratio (13.170) is within average values for comparable stocks, (7.180). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (1.302) is also within normal values, averaging (13.660). Dividend Yield (0.059) settles around the average of (144475258880.000) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (1.424) is also within normal values, averaging (4.657).
The Tickeron Seasonality Score of 50 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.
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General Information
an operator of pipelines that transports natural gas, crude oil and petrochemicals
Industry OilGasPipelines
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