FANG

For the quarter ended March 2026, Diamondback Energy (FANG) reported revenue of $4.24 billion, up 4.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $4.23, compared to $4.54 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +10.55% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.84 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $3.55, the EPS surprise was +19.23%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Diamondback performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Average daily production / Daily combined volumes: 979,356.00 BOE/D compared to the 954,228.60 BOE/D average estimate based on eight analysts. Average Prices - Natural gas liquids, hedged: $/16.68 compared to the $/16.64 average estimate based on five analysts. Average Prices - Oil -hedged: $/72.53 versus $/69.45 estimated by five analysts on average. Average Prices - Natural gas, hedged: $1.9 per thousand cubic feet versus $2.12 per thousand cubic feet estimated by five analysts on average. Average Prices - Natural gas liquids: $/16.68 versus the four-analyst average estimate of $/17.1. Total Production Volume - Natural gas liquids: 21,519.00 MBBL versus the four-analyst average estimate of 20,890.23 MBBL. Total Production Volume - Natural gas: 118,402.00 MMcf compared to the 116,838.10 MMcf average estimate based on four analysts. Total Production Volume - Oil: 46,889.00 MBBL versus the four-analyst average estimate of 45,694.76 MBBL. Revenues- Oil, natural gas and natural gas liquid: $3.83 billion versus $3.54 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +4.6% change. Revenues- Oil sales: $3.45 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $2.94 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +13.4%. Revenues- Natural gas liquid sales: $359 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $354....

Riley Exploration Permian REPX has become an interesting Permian Basin oil and gas idea after its reported first-quarter results. The company delivered an earnings beat, higher year-over-year production and positive free cash flow, even as weak natural gas and NGL realizations weighed on results. For investors looking at Permian-focused exploration and production names, REPX offers a different profile from larger peers such as Diamondback Energy FANG and Permian Resources PR: it is smaller, more growth-oriented and trading at a discounted valuation. Diamondback Energy and Permian Resources also posted solid Q1 updates, but REPX’s production growth and improving estimates make the stock worth a closer look. REPX reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 99 cents by 3%. Revenues of $114 million rose 11.1% from the year-ago period but came in slightly below expectations. The bigger story was production. Total equivalent production averaged 35.6 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), up from 24.4 MBOE/d a year earlier, while oil production averaged 20.2 thousand barrels per day. Management said production exceeded the high end of guidance, while capital spending came in below the low end of its guided range. Like Diamondback Energy and Permian Resources, REPX benefited from strong Permian activity. However, the quarter also showed the basin’s biggest near-term challenge: gas takeaway constraints. Riley Exploration Permian’s natural gas and NGL revenues after fees were negative, reducing total net revenue. Diamondback Energy and Permian Resources also faced weak gas realizations, showing that this is not just a REPX issue but a broader Permian theme. REPX’s oil-heavy output mix helped soften the impact. Riley Exploration Permian shares have gained more than 30% in three months, outperforming other Permian-focused E&Ps such as Diamondback Energy, which is up 19%, and Permian Resources, which has advanced 17%. That relative strength suggests investors are recognizing the company’s growth story. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Still, the stock does not look expensive. From a valuation standpoint, REPX trades at a discount to the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States subindustry on a forward price-to-earnings basis. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The earn...

Diamondback Energy’s first quarter results surpassed Wall Street’s revenue and profit expectations, yet the share price declined following the announcement. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to robust oil production growth, driven by operational improvements in well completions and field automation. CEO Kaes Van’t Hof highlighted advances in completion design and downtime reduction as major contributors, noting, “Better wells and lower downtime is a good recipe for a production beat.” The team also credited ongoing optimization efforts and recent merger synergies for supporting both volume and efficiency gains. Is now the time to buy FANG? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $4.24 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.84 billion (4.7% year-on-year growth, 10.5% beat) Adjusted EPS: $4.23 vs analyst estimates of $3.75 (12.8% beat) Operating Margin: 2.7%, down from 41.3% in the same quarter last year Oil production: up 9.5% year on year Market Capitalization: $53.08 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Neil Singhvi Mehta (Goldman Sachs): Asked about the decision to increase drilling activity and the flexibility of the capital return framework. CEO Kaes Van’t Hof explained the response to global supply disruptions and reaffirmed a focus on cyclical, value-driven buybacks. Scott Michael Hanold (RBC Capital Markets): Inquired about the drivers of stronger production performance and sustainability of well outperformance. Van’t Hof attributed results to new completion designs, reduced downtime, and ongoing field automation efforts. Neal Dingmann (William Blair): Questioned the impact of negative Waha gas prices and oilfield service (OFS) inflation on activity. Van’t Hof noted robust financial and physical hedges, ongoing power project initiatives, and limited service cost inflation so far. Arun Jayaram (JPMorgan Securities): Sought clarity on capital allocation in a high oil price environment, especially for the Barnett area. Management emphasized prudent project-level returns and incremental focus on Barnett development given improved economics. John Christopher Freeman...

Diamondback Energy, Inc. FANG reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.23, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.55, driven by strong production. However, the company’s bottom line declined from the year-ago adjusted profit of $4.54. The underperformance was due to a 91.5% drop in the year-over-year realized natural gas prices. This Midland, TX-based oil and gas exploration and production company’s revenues of $4.2 billion increased 4.7% from the year-ago quarter and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.6%, fueled primarily by higher sales of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, increased sales of purchased oil and higher revenues from other operating income. Diamondback Energy, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Diamondback Energy, Inc. Quote In the first quarter of 2026, Diamondback Energy generated free cash flow of about $1.7 billion, while adjusted free cash flow stood at $1.74 billion. Over the same period, it bought back nearly 3.3 million common shares for roughly $548 million at an average price of $167.61 per share, excluding excise taxes. This included a $509 million transaction to repurchase 3 million shares from SGF FANG Holdings, LP. Overall, shareholder returns totaled approximately $859 million through a combination of share repurchases and the declared base dividend for the quarter, accounting for 50% of adjusted free cash flow. FANG’s board of directors approved a 5% increase to the company's base quarterly dividend, raising it to $1.10 per common share for the first quarter of 2026, payable on May 21, 2026, to stockholders of record on May 14. FANG’s production of oil and natural gas averaged 979,356 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d), comprising 53.2% oil. The figure was up 15.1% from the year-ago quarter and beat our estimate of 951,053.3 BOE/d. While crude and natural gas output increased 9.5% and 17.7% year over year, respectively, natural gas liquids volumes climbed 26.9%. The average realized oil price during the quarter was $73.47 per barrel, 3.5% higher than the year-ago realization of $70.95. The figure also beat our estimate of $51.71 per barrel. Meanwhile, the average realized natural gas price decreased to 18 cents per thousand cubic feet from $2.11 in the prior year. The figure was also below our estimate of $1.71. Overall, the upstream oil and gas company fetched $43....

Investors might want to bet on Diamondback Energy (FANG), as earnings estimates for this company have been showing solid improvement lately. The stock has already gained solid short-term price momentum, and this trend might continue with its still improving earnings outlook. Analysts' growing optimism on the earnings prospects of this energy exploration and production company is driving estimates higher, which should get reflected in its stock price. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. This insight is at the core of our stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank. The five-grade Zacks Rank system, which ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record of outperformance, with Zacks #1 Ranked stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 2008. For Diamondback Energy, strong agreement among the covering analysts in revising earnings estimates upward has resulted in meaningful improvement in consensus estimates for the next quarter and full year. The chart below shows the evolution of forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimate: The earnings estimate of $5.15 per share for the current quarter represents a change of +92.9% from the number reported a year ago. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Diamondback has increased 19.85% over the last 30 days, as three estimates have gone higher while three have gone lower. For the full year, the earnings estimate of $18.84 per share represents a change of +40.9% from the year-ago number. There has been an encouraging trend in estimate revisions for the current year as well. Over the past month, seven estimates have moved up for Diamondback versus four negative revisions. This has pushed the consensus estimate 27.61% higher. Thanks to promising estimate revisions, Diamondback currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank is a tried-and-tested rating tool that helps investors effectively harness the power of earnings estimate revisions and make the right investment decision. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Our research shows that stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) significantly outperform the S&P 500. Diamondback shares have added 5.5% over the past four weeks, sugg...

Management transitioned from a 'yellow-light' to a 'green-light' framework, adding two to three rigs and a fifth completion crew in response to the world's largest oil supply disruption in history. The decision to grow production is driven by a clear market signal of declining global inventories and Diamondback's advantaged position with high-quality Permian inventory and a low cost structure. Q1 production outperformance was attributed to better-than-expected well performance, reduced downtime through automation and AI, and optimized completion designs including sand loading and perforating strategies. The company is prioritizing capital efficiency over rapid growth, choosing to run five frac crews consistently rather than fluctuating activity levels which previously led to operational inefficiencies. Management views the U.S. shale cost curve as moving upward due to geologic degradation across the basin, positioning Diamondback's low-cost, high-depth inventory as a competitive differentiator. Strategic gas marketing is becoming a secondary focus to oil, with plans to utilize natural gas for in-basin power projects and data centers to capture advantaged pricing. Oil production guidance has been raised to a new baseline of 520 thousand-plus barrels per day, with the board reviewing potential further increases on a quarter-by-quarter basis. The company intends to use excess free cash flow to rapidly pay down debt, aiming to reach $10 billion net debt within a few months and potentially targeting zero net debt long-term. Capital allocation will shift toward debt repayment and balance sheet strength over aggressive share buybacks if stock prices continue to rise and triple-digit oil persists. Activity in the Barnett play is being accelerated to meet obligations, with well costs already trending toward the $800 per foot target necessary to compete with the base program. Management anticipates a Permian-wide rig count increase of 25–30 rigs by year-end, though they expect private operator response to be more muted than the 2022 cycle due to recent consolidation. Negative Waha gas pricing is currently impacting economics, leading to minor voluntary shut-ins of 2 thousand to 3 thousand barrels per day, though financial hedges provide significant protection. The company has ceased selling its stake in Viper Energy, maintaining a 39% ownership position to participate...

MIDLAND, Texas, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) (“Viper,” “we,” “our” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) (“Diamondback”), today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS Q1 2026 average production of 65,000 bo/d (130,711 boe/d) Q1 2026 lease bonus income of $15 million Q1 2026 consolidated net income (including non-controlling interest) of $215 million; net income attributable to Viper of $97 million, or $0.53 per Class A common share; consolidated adjusted net income of $221 million, or $1.22 per Class A common share Q1 2026 cash available for distribution to Viper’s Class A common shares (as defined and reconciled below) of $204 million, or $1.05 per Class A common share Declared Q1 2026 base cash dividend of $0.38 per Class A common share; implies a 3.0% annualized yield based on the May 1, 2026 Class A common share closing price of $49.90 Declared Q1 2026 variable cash dividend of $0.30 per Class A common share; total base-plus-variable dividend of $0.68 per Class A common share implies a 5.5% annualized yield based on the May 1, 2026 Class A common share closing price of $49.90 During Q1 2026, repurchased 2.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock (including both Class A shares and Class B shares paired with OpCo units) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $96 million, excluding excise tax (average price of $43.59 per share) Total Q1 2026 return of capital to Class A stockholders of $183 million, or $0.94 per Class A common share, represents 90% of cash available for distribution 655 total gross (15.3 net 100% royalty interest) horizontal wells turned to production on Viper’s Permian Basin acreage during Q1 2026 with an average lateral length of 11,583 feet On February 9, 2026, closed the divestiture of Viper’s non-Permian assets to an affiliate of GRP Energy Capital LLC and Warwick Capital Partners LLP for net proceeds of approximately $610 million (including transaction costs and customary post-closing adjustments) As of March 31, 2026, the Company had $28 million in cash and total debt outstanding (excluding debt issuance costs, discounts and premiums) of $1.62 billion, resulting in net debt (as defined and reconciled below) of $1.59 billion, or a decrease of $600 million in net debt from Dece...

Dow Jones Futures: Iran attacks sparked stock market losses Monday. Palantir stock dropped on earnings late.

Image source: The Motley Fool. May 5, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET President and Chief Executive Officer — Kaes Van't Hof Chief Operating Officer — Daniel N. Wesson Chief Financial Officer — Jere W. Thompson Executive Vice President, Reservoir Engineering — Albert Barkmann Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Kaes Van't Hof: Thanks, Adam T. Lawlis, and welcome, everyone. As with the last few years, we are going to go straight into Q&A. Operator, please open the line for questions. Operator: We will now open the call for questions. Thank you very much. One moment. As a reminder, to ask a question, you can press 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Neil Singhvi Mehta of Goldman Sachs. Neil Singhvi Mehta, your line is open. Neil Singhvi Mehta: Good morning, Kaes Van't Hof, and good morning, team. The big development here today that you have been signaling is the move to a green light framework from yellow light, adding the two to three rigs and moving to the fifth completion crew. Can you take a moment for the investors on the line to talk about the thought process that went into this decision and how you are thinking about where and when to add activity? And then on the return of cash capital framework, you did not move away from the fixed framework, and while you bumped the dividend, you indicated that you might be slowing down the buyback a little bit. Can you talk about what you intended to communicate with that? There is a very concentrated seller ownership base here, and if the family ultimately is going to sell into the market or sell down their stake, do you still view Diamondback Energy, Inc. as a logical buyer to help offset that potential risk on the stock? Kaes Van't Hof: Yes, Neil Singhvi Mehta, that is a good question. There are macro elements as well as micro elements, and we will go through both. From a macro perspective, there is a clear market signal. We are two months into the world’s largest oil supply disruption in history. Diamondback Energy, Inc. and our stockholders are very fortunate that we are solely based in West Texas. We are kind of tourists in this situation, but it is obviously a very serious situation with a lot of oil supply off the market. If that is no...

Diamondback Energy (FANG) came out with quarterly earnings of $4.23 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.55 per share. This compares to earnings of $4.54 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +19.23%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this energy exploration and production company would post earnings of $1.88 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.74, delivering a surprise of -7.45%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Diamondback, which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, posted revenues of $4.24 billion for the quarter ended March 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.55%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $4.05 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Diamondback shares have added about 38.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 5.6%. While Diamondback has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Diamondback was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near f...

"Green light framework": Diamondback said a major global oil supply disruption and falling inventories justify higher activity, adding 2–3 rigs and a fifth completion crew and targeting a new oil baseline of 520k+ barrels/day. Capital-allocation shift: management plans more flexibility to make cyclical moves — including directing free cash to debt reduction — with a stated goal to hit about $10 billion net debt much sooner than prior timelines, while M&A is likely to remain quiet. Operational beat: Q1 production outperformed expectations due to stronger well performance, completion design experiments (perforating, rate and sand strategies), and operational gains like reduced downtime, automation and machine-learning initiatives. Interested in Diamondback Energy, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Insider Selling: CRWV, DELL & FANG See +$100M in 2026 Sales Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) used its first quarter 2026 conference call to explain a shift toward what CEO Kaes Van’t Hof described as a “green light framework,” signaling higher activity levels amid what he called a clear market signal following a major global oil supply disruption. Management moved quickly into a question-and-answer format, focusing on changes to development plans, capital returns flexibility, and balance sheet priorities. Van’t Hof said the decision to add activity reflected both macro and micro considerations. On the macro front, he pointed to “the world’s largest oil supply disruption in history” and said declining global inventories were part of the board and management team’s calculus. “We’re gonna do our small part to add some production into the mix,” he said. → Roblox Stock Slides to New Low as Safety Changes Weigh on Outlook Diamondback Sees Resilient Demand Despite Cautious Guidance At the company level, Van’t Hof said Diamondback believed it was positioned to grow efficiently due to inventory quality, cost structure, and preparedness. He emphasized the ability to respond quickly because of a drilled-but-uncompleted well backlog and a plan designed for “up, down or sideways” commodity environments. The company’s approach includes adding “2-3 rigs” and moving to a fifth completion crew, a change analysts connected to the updated operating framework. When asked about additional upside if the macro backdrop remains supportive, Van’t Hof said the situation is fluid and...

Diamondback Energy gave positive guidance late Monday after beating earnings estimates for the first quarter. The oil stock fell Tuesday after hitting a new high. Tidewater and Transocean gave mixed reports.