Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) raised its 2026 profit forecast on Tuesday after third-quarter results beat analyst estimates, as record sales and earnings at the Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter lifted revenue 43% to $4.8 billion. The company also set out plans to supply off-grid power for artificial intelligence data centers, a business it believes it can begin delivering in late 2028.
Venture Global now expects 2026 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $10 billion to $10.3 billion, up from $8.7 billion to $9.1 billion and above the roughly $9.2 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 69% to $2.6 billion, ahead of estimates of about $2.5 billion. Shares rose about 3% in morning trading.
The company said stronger production and its pricing outlook drove the increase. The new range assumes a liquefaction fee, the charge for cooling gas into liquid for shipping, of $21 to $22 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on its remaining unsold 2026 cargoes. About 99% of available 2026 cargoes are contracted at a weighted average liquefaction fee of $6.46 per MMBtu.
The company said it is seeing increased demand for long-term supply from Asian buyers amid continuing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. "It's an extremely attractive 20-year market for us right now. Probably as good as we've seen since the beginning," Chief Executive Mike Sabel told analysts on a conference call. He said the company expects to sign more long-term agreements by year-end.
#Plaquemines Begins Commercial Operations as Quarterly Exports Rise 24%
Venture Global exported 124 cargoes in the quarter, up from 100 a year earlier, and sold 465.8 trillion British thermal units of LNG, a 25% increase. The company said higher volumes from its Plaquemines plant as commissioning progressed, along with higher LNG prices net of feed gas costs, drove the gains.
Net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $2.5 billion, or 96 cents per diluted share, from $429 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier. The result included a $1.37 billion gain on interest rate swaps, a non-operating item. Income from operations rose 74% to $2.3 billion.
Phase 1 of Plaquemines reached commercial operations on Oct. 31, the point at which a plant moves from selling early output to supplying long-term contract customers. The company said this came just over 53 months after the project's final investment decision, and the plant had loaded six cargoes for contract customers by Nov. 10. Phase 2 remains targeted for mid-2027.
Venture Global began producing LNG in 2022 and operates the Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines plants in Louisiana. Its third project, CP2, is expected to produce first LNG in July 2027, about 24 months after its final investment decision, the company said.
During and after the quarter, Venture Global signed 2 million tonnes per year of new or expanded 20-year supply deals. These include 1 million tonnes per year with ConocoPhillips starting in 2030, 0.5 million tonnes per year with China Gas, and a 0.5 million tonne increase to an existing contract.
#Venture Global Targets 5 GW of Off-Grid Data Center Power by 2031
Rising electricity demand from AI data centers is straining US power grids, creating openings for companies that can supply dedicated generation. In October, Venture Global signed frame agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes Energy Services for up to 16 power island units of 720 megawatts each, about 11.5 gigawatts in total, plus transformers and grid equipment.
Island-mode power is generation that runs independently of the public grid, which the company already uses at its LNG plants. Venture Global said it expects its first 250 megawatts of capacity to come online in late 2028 and is targeting about 5 GW by the end of 2031 across its sites in Cameron and Plaquemines parishes. The release did not name any data center customers.
"We're not connecting and reliant on the utility grids, we have no impact on the community's grids or available power generation or prices, and we're not reliant on the water utilities either," Sabel said on the call. He added that cash flow from the LNG business should be ample to fund both its LNG expansions and the data center push.
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#Expansion Plans Depend on Approvals, Financing and Gas Prices
Venture Global is targeting a final investment decision on its CP2 expansion in early 2027, with first production in late 2028. It is targeting a decision on the Plaquemines expansion in mid-2027, subject to regulatory approvals, with first LNG in 2029. Its Venture Global LNG unit secured a $3 billion, 364-day revolving credit facility, partly to fund those projects.
Long-term debt stood at $42.9 billion at Sept. 30, up from $33.4 billion at the end of 2025. The company said changes in domestic and international gas prices could affect its guidance, with each $1 per MMBtu change in fees on unsold cargoes moving 2026 adjusted EBITDA by $20 million to $30 million. It also cited pending arbitrations among its risks.
Management expects to export 509 to 518 cargoes in 2026, with modestly higher fourth-quarter output at Calcasieu Pass, though gas price swings, regulatory approvals for its expansions, pending arbitrations and execution of the planned data center business remain key risks to the outlook.