Cheniere Raises Share Repurchase Target After Q4 Profit Doubles

Cheniere Energy said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand and the company raised its share repurchase target to more than $10 billion through 2030.

Shares of the largest LNG producer in the U.S. were up 1.2% at about $223 in premarket trading on Thursday.

The U.S. is the world's largest LNG exporter and had shipped 15 billion cubic feet per day (bcfpd) of the supercooled fuel last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), up 26% from 2024.

Commercial activity in the sector gained further momentum after President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits after taking office in January last year.

Cheniere's Corpus Christi Stage 3 project, an export facility in South Texas, was 94.1% complete as of December 31, the company said on Thursday.

In late December, the company completed Train 4 at the project with the three remaining trains set to be finished in 2026.

The project is expected to add 10 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG to Cheniere's production capacity of 15 mtpa at the Corpus Christi export facility.

Separately, the LNG producer said it will supply 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to Taiwan's CPC from 2026 through 2050.

STRONG QUARTER

The company reported net income attributable to Cheniere of $2.3 billion or $10.68 per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with $977 million or $4.33 per share a year earlier.

LNG revenue rose 24.5% to $5.31 billion in the quarter, from a year earlier, while the number of cargoes exported was up about 11% at 185.

The company said the revised buyback plan reflects a $9 billion increase to its existing authorization, which included $1 billion deployed in the fourth quarter.

Cheniere forecast an adjusted core profit between $6.75 billion and $7.25 billion for 2026, which fell below Wall Street estimates of $7.27 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reuters)