A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Enterprise Products Partners (EPD). Shares have added about 5.6% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Enterprise Products due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Enterprise Products Partners L.P. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Enterprise Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates
The leading North American midstream energy services provider reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per limited partner unit of 75 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 70 cents. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago level of 74 cents.
Total quarterly revenues of $13.8 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.1 billion. However, the top line declined from $14.2 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Strong quarterly earnings are primarily attributable to higher natural gas pipeline volumes. Lower sales margins from marketing activities within Texas crude oil pipelines, related terminals and other marketing activities partially offset the positives.
Segmental Performance
Pipeline volumes in NGL, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals totaled 8.6 million barrels per day (bpd), higher than the year-ago quarter’s 8.4 million bpd. Natural gas pipeline volumes amounted to 21.1 trillion British thermal units per day (TBtus/d), higher than 19.9 TBtus/d in the year-ago quarter. Marine terminal volumes totaled 2.2 million bpd, flat with the year-ago period.
The gross operating margin at NGL Pipelines & Services remained unchanged at $1.5 billion. The gross operating margin from the NGL Pipelines & Services segment was unchanged year over year, reflecting consistent performance in the fourth quarter of both periods.
The gross operating margin from the natural gas processing business and related NGL marketing activities declined from the prior year. This was driven by changes in margins despite higher natural gas processing plant inlet volumes, increased fee-based processing volumes and higher equity NGL-equivalent production volumes in the fourth quarter of 2025 relative to the fourth quarter of 2024.
Natural Gas Pipelines and Services’ gross operating margin increased to $445 million from $323 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The upside can be primarily attributed to the total higher natural gas pipeline volumes.
Crude Oil Pipelines & Services recorded a gross operating margin of $353 million, down from $417 million in the prior-year quarter. The decrease was mainly due to lower sales margins from marketing activities within Texas crude oil pipelines, related terminals and other marketing activities. Crude oil marine terminal volumes experienced a decline.
The gross operating margin at Petrochemical & Refined Products Services was $397 million, compared with $348 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase was aided by higher pipeline volumes and marine terminal volumes in the segment.
Cash Flow
The distributable cash flow totaled $2.22 billion compared with $2.16 billion in the year-ago period, providing a coverage of 1.8X. Enterprise retained $1 billion of distributable cash flow in the fourth quarter. It generated an adjusted free cash flow of $1.17 billion, up from $336 million in the year-ago quarter.
Financials
In the reported quarter, Enterprise’s total capital investment was $1.31 billion.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, the outstanding total debt principal was $34.7 billion, and consolidated liquidity amounted to $5.2 billion.
Outlook
Enterprise’s growth capital expenditure for 2026 is expected to be $2.5-$2.9 billion.
The company expects to sustain a capital expenditure of $580 million for 2026.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, estimates revision flatlined during the past month.
VGM Scores
At this time, Enterprise Products has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Enterprise Products has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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