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ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS PARTNERS L.P. (EPD)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q3 2025 delivered resilient operational growth but lighter financials: Revenue rose to $12.03B (+1.9% vs S&P consensus), GAAP diluted EPS was $0.61 (below consensus), and Adjusted EBITDA was $2.405B (below consensus), pressured by lower processing margins, recontracted LPG loading fees, and PDH/fractionator downtime . Versus Q3 2024, net income fell to $1.356B and EPS to $0.61 from $0.65 .
  • Significant capital-return catalyst: The Board expanded the buyback authorization from $2.0B to $5.0B, with $3.6B remaining capacity; payout ratio over the last twelve months was 58% of Adjusted CFFO .
  • Operations set nine new records; Neches River Terminal Phase 1 started in July, FRAC14 ramped mid-October, and Bahia NGL pipeline is on track for late November, positioning an FCF inflection in 2026 as the multi-year build cycle nears completion .
  • Street setup: EPD beat revenue but missed EPS and EBITDA vs S&P consensus; management emphasized sequential tailwinds from project startups and improving PDH run rates into 2026 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Record activity and strong throughput: Record natural gas processing inlet of 8.1 Bcf/d (+6% YoY), natural gas pipeline volumes of 21.0 TBtus/d (+8% YoY), and equivalent pipeline volumes of 13.9MM BPD (+7% YoY) .
  • Export and pipeline momentum: Ethane export volumes increased at Morgan’s Point/Neches River; Eastern ethane pipelines (ATEX/Aegis) saw higher fees and +109 MBPD volumes; Permian/Rocky NGL pipelines +138 MBPD .
  • Strategic capital return: Buyback authorization lifted to $5B with $3.6B remaining; management guided to splitting 2026 discretionary FCF roughly evenly between buybacks and debt paydown .
    • Quote: “We announced a $3.0 billion increase to Enterprise’s common unit buyback program…gives us the ability to increase our annual buybacks as our free cash flow increases” – Jim Teague .

What Went Wrong

  • Margin headwinds and downtime: Lower sales/processing margins, recontracted LPG loading fees at EHT, and maintenance at NGL fractionators and PDH units pressured gross operating margin (GOM) and EBITDA; Q3 included $34M MTM hedge losses vs $3M gains in Q3 2024 .
  • LPG at EHT: Gross operating margin declined by $44M YoY due to lower loading fees; LPG export volumes decreased by 42 MBPD .
  • PDH2 reliability: A ~60-day turnaround to address coking issues; while restarting and improving, it deferred contribution from Q3 into late 2025/2026 .
    • Analyst concern: EBITDA and EPS missed S&P consensus despite volume strength; Street likely revisits near-term margin trajectory [GetEstimates*].

Financial Results

Key Financials (GAAP and non-GAAP) – Sequential trend

MetricQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Revenues ($USD Billions)$15.417 $11.363 $12.023
Operating Income ($USD Billions)$1.761 $1.795 $1.686
Net Income ($USD Billions)$1.406 $1.454 $1.356
Diluted EPS (GAAP)$0.64 $0.66 $0.61
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP, $USD Billions)$2.444 $2.408 $2.405

Year-over-Year – Q3 comparison

MetricQ3 2024Q3 2025
Revenues ($USD Billions)$13.775 $12.023
Operating Income ($USD Billions)$1.780 $1.686
Net Income ($USD Billions)$1.432 $1.356
Diluted EPS (GAAP)$0.65 $0.61
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP, $USD Billions)$2.442 $2.405

Margins and Cash Flow – Sequential trend

MetricQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
EBITDA Margin %15.00%*20.74%*18.91%*
EBIT Margin %10.88%*15.08%*13.42%*
Gross Profit Margin %11.27%*15.68%*13.92%
Cash from Operations ($USD Billions)$2.314 $2.061 $1.738
Capital Expenditures ($USD Billions)$1.062 $1.299 $1.375
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.

Segment Gross Operating Margin (non-GAAP) – Sequential trend

Segment GOM ($USD Millions)Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
NGL Pipelines & Services$1,418 $1,297 $1,303
Crude Oil Pipelines & Services$374 $403 $371
Natural Gas Pipelines & Services$357 $417 $339
Petrochemical & Refined Products Services$315 $354 $370
Total Segment GOM$2,464 $2,471 $2,383
Total GOM (non-GAAP)$2,431 $2,477 $2,385

KPIs – Volumes and throughput

KPIQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
NGL pipeline volumes (MBPD)4,447 4,562 4,694
NGL marine terminal volumes (MBPD)994 942 908
NGL fractionation volumes (MBPD)1,652 1,667 1,636
Natural gas processing inlet (MMcf/d)7,719 7,768 8,057
Fee-based gas processing (MMcf/d)7,181 7,266 7,454
Equity NGL-equivalent production (MBPD)225 214 225
Natural gas pipeline volumes (BBtus/d)20,310 20,405 21,027
Crude pipeline volumes (MBPD)2,484 2,622 2,631
Refined/petrochem pipeline volumes (MBPD)949 1,008 1,056
Equivalent pipeline volumes (MMBPD)13.225 13.562 13.914

Estimates vs Actuals (S&P Global)

MetricQ3 2025 ConsensusQ3 2025 Actual (SPGI basis)Beat/Miss
Primary EPS$0.6513$0.6336Miss (-2.7%)*
Revenue ($USD Billions)$11.799$12.023Beat (+1.9%)*
EBITDA ($USD Billions)$2.501$2.273Miss (-9.1%)*
Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Note: Reported GAAP diluted EPS ($0.61) and Adjusted EBITDA ($2.405B) per press release differ from SPGI’s Primary EPS and EBITDA basis used for consensus comparisons .

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Organic growth capexFY2025$4.0–$4.5B ~$4.5B Maintained at high end
Organic growth capexFY2026$2.0–$2.5B $2.2–$2.5B Maintained/narrowed to high end
Sustaining capexFY2025~$525M ~$525M Maintained
Quarterly distributionQ3 2025$0.545 (Q2 2025) $0.545; +3.8% YoY vs Q3’24 Maintained q/q; raised YoY
Buyback authorizationMulti-year$2.0B $5.0B; $3.6B remaining Raised
Leverage targetOngoing3.3x ± 0.25x 3.3x ± 0.25x Maintained
Project milestonesH2 2025–2026FRAC14 ramp mid-Oct; Bahia late Nov; NRT Phase 1 July; full NRT mid-2026 Updated timelines

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q1 & Q2 2025)Current Period (Q3 2025)Trend
Permian-driven volumetric growthRecord inlet and gas pipeline volumes; new plants Mentone West 1, Orion; upstream momentum Nine new operational records; 8.1 Bcf/d inlet, 21.0 TBtus/d NG volumes Strengthening
Ethane exports / Neches River TerminalNRT Phase 1 commissioning mid-July; ethane export uplift Record ethane export volumes; NRT ramping; first train full by mid-2026; second train flex Building
PDH reliabilityPDH1 above 90% in Q2; PDH2 improving run-rate PDH2 turnaround; coking addressed; optimistic on 2026 improvement Improving
LPG fees/exportsQ2: lower EHT fees; mixed LPG volumes Lower loading fees (legacy recontracting); cargo timing; demand robust Mixed; margin headwind persists
Capital allocation & buybacks$0.545 distribution; opportunistic buybacks; payout ~57–58% of Adj CFFO Buyback authorization to $5B; plan to split discretionary FCF between buybacks and debt More programmatic buybacks
Power/data center demand via NGNot highlightedIndirect upside through TX/LA power generation; advantaged interconnect footprint Emerging tailwind

Management Commentary

  • “Benefits to gross operating margin from volume growth were offset by overall lower sales and processing margins, lower LPG loading fees… and downtime associated with maintenance… PDH 2… in the process of restarting… we are confident in our outlook” – Jim Teague .
  • “With… Neches River Terminal… we are nearing the culmination of a significant capital deployment cycle… We believe 2026 will see an inflection point in the partnership’s free cash flow… announced a $3.0 billion increase to… buyback program” – Jim Teague .
  • “Organic growth capex… ~$4.5B for 2025 and $2.2–$2.5B for 2026… discretionary free cash flow being evenly split between buybacks and retiring debt” – Randy Fowler .
  • “At September 30, we had consolidated liquidity of $3.6B… leverage ratio is 3.3x… we believe our leverage will return to our target range by year end 2026” – Randy Fowler .

Q&A Highlights

  • Permian egress and producer economics: More gas pipelines support basin health; PDP base volumes durable; gathering growth expected into 2026 .
  • PDH2 outlook: Coking addressed via procedures; expect higher PDH run rates and “great improvement in 2026” .
  • NRT contracting: ~90% contracted on LPG; fully contracted on ethane; first train full by mid-2026 .
  • Capital allocation: 2026 organic capex at $2.2–$2.5B; buybacks a mix of programmatic and opportunistic, with debt paydown .
  • LPG market/storage optionality: Lower LPG prices and contango create storage/arbitrage opportunities given EPD’s leading storage footprint .

Estimates Context

  • Versus S&P Global consensus, EPD beat on revenue but missed EPS and EBITDA in Q3 2025: EPS $0.6336 vs $0.6513, revenue $12.023B vs $11.799B, EBITDA $2.273B vs $2.501B [GetEstimates*].
  • Street models should contemplate: (1) recontracted LPG fees at EHT, (2) PDH2 improving trajectory into 2026, (3) FRAC14 and Bahia contributions starting late Q4, and (4) NRT ramp through 2026 .

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Near-term margin pressure but robust volumes: Operational records underpin resilience; margin headwinds from LPG fees and downtime drove consensus misses on EPS/EBITDA .
  • Multiple catalysts into Q4/Q1: FRAC14 ramp, Bahia start-up, PDH normalization, and NRT ramp support sequential improvement and 2026 FCF inflection narrative .
  • Capital returns accelerating: Authorization to $5B and plan to allocate discretionary FCF to buybacks/debt reduces equity supply and supports distribution growth per unit .
  • Segment mix is shifting: Petrochemical & Refined Products GOM rose sequentially; Natural Gas GOM normalized post Q2 MTM gains; NGL fractionation pressured by maintenance costs .
  • Watch LPG pricing/fee trajectory: EHT loading fees recontracting is a structural headwind; contango/arbitrage could partially offset via storage economics .
  • Thesis: High-quality integrated footprint with Permian/Haynesville optionality and export scale; setup favors medium-term FCF and buybacks as large projects roll in .
  • Trading lens: Near-term sentiment may hinge on confirmation of PDH2 stability and visible contribution from FRAC14/Bahia; buyback scale is a positive offset to margin variability .
Sources:
- Q3 2025 press release and 8-K: **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:1]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:2]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:3]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:4]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:6]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:7]** **[1061219_0001061219-25-000033_epd-20251030xex991.htm:14]**; Business Wire press release mirrors exhibits: **[1061219_2b0afb9196624005aa3d76d435025310_0]**–**[1061219_2b0afb9196624005aa3d76d435025310_20]**
- Q3 2025 earnings call transcripts: **[0001061219_2216457_1]**–**[0001061219_2216457_10]** **[0001061219_2220716_1]**–**[0001061219_2220716_10]** **[0001061219_2220908_1]**–**[0001061219_2220908_10]**
- Q2 2025 press release: **[1061219_450c609f7a9a4d53b9c6171fc6495eb3_0]**–**[1061219_450c609f7a9a4d53b9c6171fc6495eb3_20]**
- Q1 2025 press release: **[1061219_ef7bad8863c243d58db7a8b427efe12f_0]**–**[1061219_ef7bad8863c243d58db7a8b427efe12f_20]**
- S&P Global consensus and actuals: GetEstimates*
- S&P Global margin metrics and certain financials: GetFinancials* (values marked with *)