MTDR

Matador Resources delivered second-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, prompting a positive market reaction. Management attributed the strong performance to successful integration of recently acquired assets, robust production growth, and operational efficiencies. CEO Joe Foran emphasized the benefit of higher oil recovery rates from new properties in the Delaware Basin and the company’s focus on reducing debt through disciplined free cash flow generation. The quarter also saw continued investment in both exploration and midstream infrastructure, boosting Matador’s operational resilience and flexibility. Is now the time to buy MTDR? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $1.19 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.04 billion (32.5% year-on-year growth, 13.7% beat) Adjusted EPS: $2.61 vs analyst estimates of $2.09 (24.7% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $892.5 million vs analyst estimates of $688.2 million (75.2% margin, 29.7% beat) Operating Margin: 48.7%, up from 32.2% in the same quarter last year Oil production per day: up 2.6% year on year Market Capitalization: $6.51 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is 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. Neal Dingmann (William Blair) asked about the drivers behind the high returns from new assets, specifically referencing over 80% rates of return. Executive Vice President Tom Elsener attributed outperformance to high-quality rock, low royalty burdens, and operational synergies with existing midstream infrastructure. Gabe Daoud (Truist) asked whether maintaining mid-single-digit oil growth in 2027 would require a step-up in capital spending. CEO Joe Foran stated the company’s approach is to balance profitable growth with prudent debt management, adjusting spending based on commodity prices and cash flow. Scott Hanold (RBC) inquired about the timeline and development strategy for the newly acquired federal acreage. Executive Vice President Bryan Erman explained that permitting was already underway with plans to drill and complete wells starting as early as year-end, leveraging proximity to existing infrastructure. Derrick Whitfield (Texas Capital) questioned how recent acquisitions would impact the midstream business. CEO Joe Foran and EVP Bryan Erman highlighted that the deals support integrated growth, increase flow assurance, and provide opportunities to serve both Matador and third-party producers. Kevin MacCurdy (Pickering Energy Partners) asked about the significance of the quarter’s marketing gains and whether they reflect a sustainable trend. EVP and Treasurer Michael Frenzel said the gains resulted from effective marketing strategies to mitigate regional price weaknesses but noted that such gains may not recur, though improved gas realizations are expected. In the coming quarters, our team will be monitoring (1) the pace and productivity of new well completions on recently acquired federal leases, (2) the effectiveness of midstream integration in supporting higher production volumes and third-party business, and (3) the company’s progress in reducing acquisition-related debt. Additionally, operational efficiency improvements and execution of planned capital projects will be key markers for Matador’s ability to sustain growth while maintaining financial discipline. Matador Resources currently trades at $52.59, up from $47.03 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,552% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET Senior Vice President, Investor Relations - Mac Schmitz Chairman, Founder, and CEO - Joe Foran EVP and Treasurer - Michael Frenzel Executive Vice President - Andrew Parker Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Q2 2026 Matador Resources Company Earnings Conference Call. My name is Michelle, and I'll be serving as the operator for today. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. We'll facilitate a question-and-answer session at the end of the company's remarks. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes, and the replay will be available on the company's website for one year, as discussed in the company's earnings press release issued yesterday. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Mac Schmitz, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations for Matador. Mr. Schmitz, you may proceed. Mac Schmitz: Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Matador's Q2 2026 earnings conference call. Some of the presenters this morning will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures regularly used by Matador Resources in measuring the company's financial performance. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures with the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP are contained at the end of the company's earnings release issued yesterday. As a reminder, certain statements included in this morning's presentation may be forward-looking and reflect the company's current expectations or forecasts of future events based on information that is now available. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is contained in the company's earnings release, and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K, and any subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. In addition to our earnings press release issued yesterday, I would also like to remind everyone that you can find a slide presentation in connection with our Q2 2026 earnings release under the Investor Relations tab on our corporate website. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Joe Foran, our Chairman, Founder, and CEO. Joe? Joe Foran: Thank you very much, Mac. It's a pleasure to be here with you all again, have an exchange, your questions and our answers and your comments. We appreciate. We like to hear from you. We want to be sure that all of you know that you're welcome here. Come visit, and if you do, you'll be assured of meeting, not only most of the senior staff, but also the opportunity to visit with some of our young staffers that have come in geology and engineering, and you hear directly from them that are doing the work, how they feel about it, and their views on the future and the strength and technology that they're using being state-of-the-art. Second, I'd like to give you an overall picture. We've had near record adjusted free cash flow for this quarter of $303 million, $200 million of which has been used to pay down the bank debt that we had on the acquisition of the federal leases. Now we're under $1 billion on that debt, making progress to get it paid down further in these upcoming quarters. I think that's an important point to remember when people wonder about how we really stand. We have 19 banks in our bank group. They all scrubbed down our numbers pretty thoroughly and had some real good exchanges. They've raised good questions. All 19 have participated and have indicated more is available if we come across opportunities like that. Thank you, banks. We appreciate your backing us and working with us in our relationship with you. Last, two things on this report. If you're asking us how we're doing, we'd just say the true answer is that we've exceeded the high end of our production guidance. It's nice to be sitting in that spot when also mentioned, we've had a 5% increase in our oil and gas, natural gas reserves, up from 667 million barrels of oil or gas equivalent to 703 million barrels of oil or gas equivalent. Nice increase for a quarter. I want to say to all of our teams, our exploration and production teams, good work and keep it up. As I mentioned, these results, cash flow generation has enabled us to pay down $200 million in the borrowings we have for the May federal lease sale on our RBL. We expect to now generate possibly $900 million in free cash flow for the year. We'll have this largely paid down, if not paid off, by the end of the year. Second, in this area, we remain very focused on prioritizing continued debt reduction. It's not very often that you have an opportunity to buy three properties, like Cardinal, like Paloma, and like Ridge Runner, of this quality to bring into your asset group and in the upside of Ridge Runner and, you know, on these properties to continue growing our base in New Mexico. We've steadily risen in the ranks to where we're one of the We're in the top 10, and top five in Lea County. I'm also pleased and excited to provide update. We began the year deciding we had four strategic catalysts that we were planning to execute on. First is the closing and integrating of Cardinal. On that score, that was a very professional work with the Cardinal team. We had good relations, went smoothly, to the point where we gained increasing confidence on the capability of their people who might be interested in Matador, and we made offers to 26 of their field people, their whole staff out there, basically. All 26 accepted the offer. We thought that was a good sign of how professional the negotiations went and the opportunities they feel are ahead of them, being with a company committed to the Delaware as we are. Also want to emphasize that midstream money was used to purchase Cardinal. For midstream assets, that's our policy. Midstream money for midstream assets. On the E&P side, again, we're using Matador money for properties that'll end up in Matador. First, we've closed and we're integrating Cardinal, and as I said, those are two separate companies, but we collaborate with each other, and we think we help each other to better performance. That was the first strategic catalyst. The second one was BLM lease sale. We paid a lot of money for it. Would've been nervous about that, but if you remember back to 2018, we were criticized some for buying and paying what we did for lease sales, and look what that did for us. That boosted us in to the best cash flow and the best properties that we had for a number of times. The Rodney Robinson wells that were drilled and the Nina Cortell were all making over a million barrels a piece. That extra free cash flow has given us a lot of opportunities. We tried to take advantage of it. When the opportunity came up again for BLM lease sale, years later, we really prepared for it, and we're excited by the leases that we received. It extended our inventory life to over 15 years. Good properties like that with nine different zones are likely to have a lot more than just 10 to 15 years of extension. They also are enhanced by the fact we have a midstream system that should be able to increase their cash flow, picking up this gas and getting it to market. I think in the succeeding years, flow assurance is going to play a bigger and bigger role. On page seven of the slides, we have a map showing how all these properties fit together, and on Cardinal, you laid down to give us pipeline movement all around the basin, and you couldn't have really have a better fit than the way it fits in with our other pipeline systems. In that regard, you have 100 rigs approximately out there within 10 mi of our pipelines. That's a great opportunity for our group to pick up some additional business and relationships, and our teams are out there trying to take advantage of it now and bring in new customers and take on the existing customers of Cardinal and build that up into and weave it in to our existing pipeline systems. Finally, the future results of Cardinal and these BLM leases should we expect them turn out to be better than expected, given the quality of the acreage from not only our acquisitions, but the E&P activities of other people in the area. As I mentioned, it's 100 rigs out there working, you can expect if you are not lining up how to get your gas out of the Delaware, need to be doing so, because I think there'll be some tightness in the markets. We'll try to take care of you as best we can. At this point, you might want to take some action to be sure that's lined up, for any investment you make in new wells. All this, we believe, sets us up for a strong finish to 2026, and even stronger performance in 2027 as we're able to plan and coordinate our various activities. As a result, we've raised our production guidance from year-over-year oil growth of 4% to 7%. All this is done with 1% less capital expenditures. One note about capital expenditures, of course, I started this company with some friends 43 years ago, with $270,000, and now we have over $12 billion in assets. On that, we borrowed money the whole way, always paid it back, and we'll need to borrow some as we finish development of these undeveloped acres and extend the coverage the midstream has in these more prolific areas. We think that outlook looks good. The capital will be put to good use, and appreciate the support that we've had, and think things look good going forward. If not, I'd tell you so, that we've got to work through some things. It's very exciting to have the best acreage, the best team that you could have, with the opportunities provided with a bank group that is as solid as we've been fortunate to have in the group, and the shareholders that we have. We've been blessed with a lot of good things. We plan to be good stewards. That's always been our mark. We didn't come up through private equity with friends and family, and I can assure you, your friends and family are rooting for you, but they have a lot of questions, and they're not afraid to ask the tough questions. We tried to answer for them as this transaction unfolded, but now we're ready for yours. With that, I turn you over for the first question. Mac Schmitz: Back to you, Michelle. Thanks. Operator: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one. If your question has been answered and you would like to remove yourself from the queue, press star one again. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraints, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question. Again, we ask that you limit yourself to one question until all have had a chance to ask a question. After which, we would welcome additional follow-up questions from you. Our first question is from Neal Dingmann of William Blair. Your line is open. Neal Dingmann: Morning, all. Joe, nice update. I'll jump right to my question, Joe. My question's around your new asset economics that you all highlighted last night, specifically, you all suggest the rates of return on these newer properties likely to be over 80%. My question is, what's driving this outperformance, these new assets versus peers and your existing assets, which are already over 50%? Given these high returns, do you anticipate more activity in these newer areas? Tom Elsener: Hey, Neal. Thanks for the question. It's Tom Elsener. We're very excited for these new properties, the 80% rate of return is really underpinned first and foremost just by the very high-quality rock. As you can see on the maps on slides five and six, you can see that the acreage we bought is in the core of the Delaware Basin, we expect that there'll be 15%-20% higher oil EURs on those properties, which will greatly enhance the returns on those wells, along with the fact that there's nine or more different benches. That allows for batch development and longer laterals, and will support getting our well costs down significantly, down into the $600 per foot range. Also, the high net revenue interest, particularly on the federal leases with a 1/8 royalty, will also enhance those economics. Not included in the 80% is also the synergies with the midstream, which many of those properties are just a few miles away from our existing infrastructure. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Gabe Daoud of Truist. Your line is open. Gabe Daoud: Thanks, operator. Morning, Joe and everyone. Thanks for all the comments and prepared remarks so far. Guys, just wondering if we could maybe get an updated view on how you think about 2027. At this point, I know profitable growth at a measured pace had always been the strategy here, kind of targeting a mid-single-digit oil growth for 2027. Is that fair? Would that require the same level of spending that you're guiding to for this year, or would that require a step-up in CapEx? Thanks, guys. Joe Foran: Gabe, I'll start. Some of the others may chip in, but first, you got it right. That's our basic policy, profitable growth at a measured pace. That's the way we plan to go. For example, if prices were to collapse to $30 a barrel because $70 wouldn't do the same program. We're expecting right now, despite the volatility in the Mid East, that it's going to level out somewhere in this $70-$80 range. It might be better, and we will adjust accordingly, but I think we can count on making money even at $70 a barrel from these properties. They're that good. We will be careful about our debt, and we will pay that down as reasonable as we can and make adjustments in the year since it's an elective repayment. We'll adjust it to the cash flow per month, but our target would be something at present prices, somewhere in that range of $100 million a month. It's paid off within a year to 15 months on the acquisition. The money's used to acquire Cardinal. We've already brought it down from $1.25 billion to less than $1 billion, a little less than $1 billion, and we're pleased with that activity, and we're going to keep that up. We've always had When you come not from private equity, who has more access to money, but you're relying on friends and neighbors, you're always very careful. They may be your friends and neighbors, but if the debt gets too high, you can be sure they'll be calling you and expressing concern. We've always tried to be forward-looking on getting the debt paid down. It also gives assurance to our base, they're that much more agreeable to making loans if another acquisition opportunity, the quality of what we had in the federal lease sale or acquiring Cardinal, then you couldn't line up two more companies that had a better fit on their undeveloped acreage or production than what we've had with Paloma and with Ridge Runner. Those are quality companies that had great success in developing some of these properties and selling them on, then getting back to putting them together in another quality group. That relationship's gone well. We have great respect and admiration for them, as well as for EnCap as a sponsor of those companies. That's kind of what I foresee. I hope that answers your question. If not, I'll give it another try. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Scott Hanold with RBC. Your line is open. Scott Hanold: Yeah, thanks. Obviously, the federal acreage is a big highlight for you all, can you give us a sense on the path on activity for that? When do you expect permits? Have you gotten some visibility, what is sort of the targeting strategy when you get to there? Are we looking at large pad development that's going to be a big part of your early 2027 activity, or how do you see that unfolding, just the development of that asset? Bryan Erman: Hey, Scott. This is Bryan Erman. Yeah, I'll tackle the first part of your question. I think the advantage of that acreage for us is it's something that we've been targeting for many months. The advantage of that is from the federal permitting process, we hit the ground running day one after the lease sale and are already making significant progress on those permits. We talked about that we'd like to potentially get on those leases as early as the end of this year, if not early part of next year. I just want to highlight the fact that I do think we had a significant advantage on being able to hit the ground running on those because we have looked at those for so long. I'll let Chris or Tom talk about the kind of development plan for. Mac Schmitz: Yeah, Scott, I would just add too, and I'd love for Chris and Tom to add as well, but we highlighted in the release too that there were 12 operated wells that are close to this acreage that we're currently in the process of completing and will plan on turning online in Q3, which I think is important. Also we highlighted the increase in the midstream spend to be able to build out both San Mateo and Matador to these federal properties, which I think is an indicator that we're planning on spudding some wells this year in that vicinity to what was acquired in May. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Derrick Whitfield with Texas Capital. Your line is open. Derrick Whitfield: Good morning, guys. Great quarter and great update. Joe Foran: Thank you. Bryan Erman: Thanks, Derrick. Derrick Whitfield: I wanted to focus on the recent acquisitions. The strategic fit is very clear as shown on slides six and seven. With that said, how do the acquisitions impact your view on the path forward with the midstream business? Joe Foran: I just think it shows the importance of having a midstream business of some sort for ties. The way this came about, Derrick, was when we were going public back in 2012, we were going around one investment house to the other, each time we weren't having any trouble getting our gas to market. In each of those visits to each of those investment houses, we would get a question on, "How are you going to get your gas to market?" Which meant that we weren't having trouble necessarily, but others were. We got on the horn with one of our friends and colleagues that's worked with us in the past and asked him if he would help us start up a midstream company to alleviate some of that problem. He did. He came, he built it up to what it is now, brought people in like Anton and others, Ryan, that whole group. Sean Malloy, we built a midstream business. Now we're starting to hear those same notes from people about there's a looming shortage, because as I mentioned, if you draw a line with the Cardinal system down there that hook up so we're all around the basin, there's concern about flow assurance now. That was a big mover for us, was that we felt this really assured us continued flow assurance out of the basin. You have 100 rigs that are operating within 10 mi of the pipeline. You know production's going to go up in this area with that many rigs running, so you better have some flow assurance lined up, or that's our philosophy right of the way. This way, we can do it in a coordinated fashion that takes into account capital. You're not spending a lot of capital to catch up. It can progress conservatively as needed. You know that the level of production's going to be up, and we want to be prepared to take care of it, not just for ourselves, but for some of our friendly competitors, if we can help them. It's a win-win opportunity, I think, for the industry. Just as it was back in 2012 when we built our first lines and started taking on third-party gas. It's one of those businesses that's win-win. They need an outlet. They need flow assurance. We need the customers. It's helped us develop some good relationships, and we see this serving the same purpose. Someone else may build a line, that's fine. We hope that this will be sufficient, that we take care of our own gas as well as help some of the others, and make it win-win, as I said. I turn that over to Bryan. Any further thoughts? Bryan Erman: Sure. No, I think similar to what you said, Joe. I think you can see the fit in the map on page seven, and you can see it in the map of the acquisitions. The Paloma deal, we talked about the $50 million in midstream value that was ascribed to that, and then similarly in the federal lease sale, closer to $100 million of midstream value. I think these assets stand on their own from the E&P side, but they also have the added benefit of fitting very nicely with our midstream infrastructure and bringing value to that business as well. Joe Foran: I would just add this, we try to have a balanced approach to how we do the capital spend. That some years it's been for enhancements, laying pipeline, doing whatever, till now that San Mateo is independent. The second is, of course, to have an active drilling program. We've got an active ground game that has delivered a lot of growth. Last year, I think it was 17,000 acres. We've got a program that's on those same lines this year. Then there finally is some bigger acquisitions like these, if they come to the front. We actually tie it down to a single strategy. We're supporting all three and seeing where the opportunities emerge. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Kevin MacCurdy with Pickering Energy Partners. Your line is open. Kevin MacCurdy: Hey, good morning, Joe and everybody there. Great to see the stock reacting well this morning. We noticed the marketing gain was pretty significant this quarter. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that and maybe if that's a result of the midstream strategy or other initiatives you've undergone. Michael Frenzel: Hey, Kevin, this is Michael Frenzel, EVP and Treasurer. I'm happy to comment on it. I think that gain is really a good reflection on our marketing team, Anton Langland and Ryan Bellinger, and the efforts that they make to mitigate the weakness in Waha pricing. That gain is not something that we expect to see necessarily going forward, but we do expect a very strong improvement in natural gas realizations. Obviously, from the Hugh Brinson Pipeline, that we expect to come on early, and from the other deals that we've done with Energy Transfer. Operator: Thank you. Our last question comes from Tim Rezvan with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Your line is open. Tim Rezvan: Good morning, folks. Thank you for taking our question. This is more big-picture strategy. We've seen this pattern from Matador in the past with Advance and Meredith, where you make a large acquisition, generally cash, and then there's a period of sort of digesting and de-levering after that. Given where you are now, I'm sure there's still other opportunities out there. Would you say you're in sort of a digest and de-lever mode now? Or if there's more opportunities that come out, are you still going to be active? Just trying to understand is it all about the balance sheet right now, or do you have to keep one eye open for other opportunities? Thank you. Joe Foran: Well, Tim, I think you said it real well, is we're de-levering. That's the first priority, we're also keeping our eye open. If an opportunity comes forward like Cardinal, that just fit us about as well as we could have designed it, or acreage like another federal lease sale, which isn't going to happen, but a quality, we will keep that eye open. Our aim is to de-lever as we've done each time over 43 years. We acquire, we try to make them better, then we de-lever, so that we can be ready again. On capital, I always emphasize here our policy is, on capital, it isn't so much how much capital you spend, but how you spend it. Getting federal leases with an eighth royalty at 12.5% instead of 25%, that is within a few miles of our pipeline, that's an opportunity. It's rock with nine different zones, that's one that we knew we were going to get involved in, we tried to be careful and bid what we thought would work. We were successful on the key tracks that we wanted. We immediately started paying back on that helped us get ready to have the funds available, the bank relationships where they saw that we did what we said we'd do and paid it down, they're willing to loan us more money for another acquisition. That's a pattern we want to maintain, is having the support of 19 banks if we want to do something. They have actually raised our RBL, we have a couple of billion, whatever we need for opportunity that may come up. Until then, we're going to keep paying down our debt, we're also being very careful about our spend on these wells. I got to give a lot of credit to our operations group for drilling the wells as they have, as an example of what they've done is saving us a lot of money. When we first drilled the three-mile wells, they were about 20 days, if I'm right. Isn't that right, that they were about 20 days? They've now reduced it to about 10 days. Well, there's a lot of savings there. The capital spend initially was maybe kind of high, they brought it down to make those properties that much more economical. When you buy something, you hope that you can improve it, to the point where it's actually repaying some of it back. You spend less on each succeeding well because you're drilling them faster, you have a better idea of how to complete them. What I'm trying to say is that, we are trying to be prudent, we're not afraid to borrow money because over a 44-year deal, we've paid every dollar back, even in COVID and even when the bust was in the '80s and the '90s, every time. The banks are feeling more and more comfortable with us all the time. They know that we'll be careful with it, really just spend it on properties that have a high percentage success rate, they're going to get paid. That's a formula that's worked for us, we've made sure we've paid them all back. It's another win-win situation. Operator: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This ends the Q&A portion of this morning's conference call. I'd like to turn the call over to management for any closing remarks. Joe Foran: Okay. I just have this, then I'm going to be quiet. I feel like I've talked enough. I want to be sure you all know that if you're not getting all your questions answered, you're welcome to come here, have lunch with us or breakfast or whatever you want, we'll have a longer session. We appreciate your involvement with us. We like our shareholder group, but want to know that everybody's welcome. We know we're a public company, we want to be sure that you feel you have access to the decision makers, to answer whatever questions that you may have. Thank you very much. We are available, we'd like to have you in particular to see some of the uses of capital that we have, like we call our Mass Comm room that we set up years ago, at the suggestion of our head of drilling at that time, Billy Goodwin, that has worked out great. They keep the drill bit in the zone. Instead of just not being in zone 90% of the time, we're in zone 98%, 99%, which adds, again, a lot of return and spreads that capital spending over more production. I want to leave that with you. We're excited. I hope you can sense from the answers going around about the opportunities that these four acquisitions have done for us. Nobody asked about Rae's Creek, I'm just going to volunteer it here. As we drilled the Rae's Creek well, we got 50,000 acres here, the first test was over 2,200 barrels. Tom or Andrew, you want to say anything to that? Tom Elsener: Certainly. This is Tom. I'll start and I'll pass it to Andrew. Hats off to all of our teams for working so well together to put this project together. From the geoscience side, the reservoir, the land team, everybody did their part. I think we're very excited for this very first Rae's Creek well to come online so strong and come online way better than we expected. We look forward to a bright future for that zone and excited to get that target into the mix. I'll pass it over to Andrew Parker for any additional comments. Andrew Parker: Thanks, Tom. Andrew Parker. Just add this, the reason we want you guys to come in and meet the team is because they are so talented, Rae's Creek is the perfect example of how well we've executed from geoscience putting the concept together, land putting the position together, and operations getting this well in the ground and really exceeding expectations and knocking it out of the park. We're going to continue to do that, and continue to bring these things forward and execute. Joe Foran: Andrew is our head of our geological group. He's the EVP for that group, and thank you. Anyway, we appreciate it, and we appreciate the people that are helping Matador be in positive territory this morning, and hope you'll come see us. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation today. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Matador Resources, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Matador Resources wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $403,337!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,334,946!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 12, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Matador Resources (MTDR) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Matador Resources Company MTDR reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, up 70.6% from $1.53 per share a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.05 per share by 27.3%. Total revenues increased 32.5% to $1.2 billion from $895.3 million a year earlier. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $942.7 million by 25.8%. The strong quarterly results were driven by record oil production and higher realized oil prices. Total production averaged 215,631 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d), up 3% from 209,013 Boe/d recorded for the second quarter of 2025. Matador Resources Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Matador Resources Company Quote MTDR produced a record 126,106 barrels of oil per day (Bbl/d), up 3% from 122,875 Bbl/d in the year-ago quarter. Oil production exceeded management's guidance range of 123,000-125,000 Bbl/d. Natural gas production increased 4% to 537.1 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) from 516.8 MMcf/d recorded in the second quarter of 2025. The production outperformance was primarily driven by stronger-than-expected new wells brought online during the first half, including the company's first 3.4-mile lateral wells on the Guss pad. Matador achieved the results despite about 9,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d) of shut-ins related to weak Waha pricing and third-party plant maintenance. Matador's average realized oil price, excluding derivatives, increased 53% to $98.16 per barrel from $64.34 per barrel. The stronger oil realization, combined with higher oil volumes, provided a significant lift to upstream revenues. Natural gas remained a pressure point. Average realized natural gas prices excluding derivatives were negative 79 cents per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) compared with $2.05 per Mcf a year earlier. Oil and natural gas revenues rose to $1.09 billion from $815.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Total operating expenses were $32.90 per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe) compared with $29.91 per Boe in the prior-year period. The increase included higher midstream operating costs of $3.09 per Boe, taxes other than income of $5.24 per Boe and general and administrative expenses of $2.10 per Boe. Lease operating expenses were $5.45 per Boe, below management's expectation of $5.60 due mainly to lower repair and maintenance costs. Depletion, depreciation and amortization were $16.06 per Boe, above the expected $15.65, largely because of proved undeveloped reserves booked from the May federal lease sale. Matador's combined midstream operations generated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $89.9 million. San Mateo's natural gas gathering volumes increased 18% year over year to 577 MMcf/D, while natural gas processing volumes rose 14% to 552 MMcf/D. The company advanced several strategic transactions. The federal lease purchase added more than 141 net operated locations, while the pending Paloma acquisition adds more than 156. Ridge Runner is expected to expand Matador's Woodford position to about 50,000 net acres and add roughly 150 net operated locations. Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $937.1 million, up from $501.0 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $781.0 million from $594.2 million, while adjusted free cash flow surged to $303.2 million from $132.7 million. The strong cash generation enabled Matador to repay more than $200 million of borrowings associated with the May federal lease acquisition. Management expects full-year 2026 adjusted free cash flow of approximately $900 million and continues to prioritize debt repayment. As of June 30, 2026, Matador had cash and restricted cash of $90.9 million and long-term debt of $5.7 billion. Matador raised its 2026 oil production guidance to a range of 127,500-129,000 Bbl/d from 123,000-125,000 Bbl/d. Total production guidance increased to 218,500-223,500 Boe/d from 210,500-216,000 Boe/d. For the third quarter, the company expects total production to be in the range of 222,000-226,000 Boe/d and oil output to be between 128,500 and 130,500 Bbl/d. Full-year total capital spending is projected at $1.625-$1.725 billion, reflecting accelerated activity and spending tied to recent acquisitions and midstream integration. Matador currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are PBF Energy Inc. PBF, Valero Energy Corporation VLO and Cactus, Inc. WHD. PBF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while VLO and WHD carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each, at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here. PBF reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $6.22 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.05 per share. As of June 30, 2026, PBF had total debt of $1.75 billion, and cash and cash equivalents of $894.1 million. Valero reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $12.54 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.87 per share. As of June 30, 2026, VLO had total debt of $9.10 billion, and cash and cash equivalents of $7.87 billion. Cactus reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents per share. As of June 30, 2026, WHD had cash and cash equivalents of $365 million. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Matador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) : Free Stock Analysis Report PBF Energy Inc. (PBF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cactus, Inc. (WHD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Interested in Matador Resources Company? Here are five stocks we like better. Strong second-quarter cash generation supported deleveraging: Matador Resources produced $303 million in adjusted free cash flow, used $200 million to reduce acquisition-related borrowings, and expects approximately $900 million in full-year free cash flow. Production and reserves outlook improved: The company exceeded production guidance, increased reserves 5% to 703 million barrels of oil equivalent, and raised expected year-over-year oil production growth to 4%–7% while reducing planned capital spending by 1%. Acquisitions and federal leases are central to future growth: The transactions extended inventory life beyond 15 years, could deliver returns above 80%, and may support development beginning in late 2026 or early 2027, although Matador remains focused on debt reduction and has not issued specific 2027 guidance. Matador’s Results Were Better Than Feared, But 2026 Headwinds Still Matter Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) reported near-record adjusted free cash flow of $303 million for the second quarter of 2026 and said it used $200 million to reduce borrowings associated with its federal lease acquisition, according to management’s earnings call. Chairman, Founder and CEO Joe Foran said the company’s acquisition-related bank debt had fallen to less than $1 billion from $1.25 billion. Matador expects it could generate approximately $900 million in free cash flow for the full year and intends to continue prioritizing debt reduction. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling 3 Mid-Cap Energy Firms Analysts See Moving Up to the Big Leagues “We’ve exceeded the high end of our production guidance,” Foran said, adding that reserves increased 5% during the quarter to 703 million barrels of oil equivalent from 667 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company raised its outlook for year-over-year oil production growth to a range of 4% to 7%, which Foran said is being pursued with 1% less capital spending. He reiterated Matador’s strategy of pursuing “profitable growth at a measured pace” while maintaining a focus on balance-sheet management. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High 5 Highly Rated Dividends With 50% Upside According to Analysts Management highlighted the integration of the Cardinal acquisition, federal lease purchases, and the Paloma and Ridge Runner transactions as strategic catalysts for future development. Foran said Matador made offers to 26 Cardinal field employees and that all accepted. Foran also said the company used midstream funds to acquire Cardinal’s midstream assets, while Matador’s E&P business funded acquisitions intended for its upstream portfolio. → No Hangover: Revisiting Microsoft One Week After Earnings The federal lease purchases extended Matador’s inventory life to more than 15 years, according to Foran. He said the acreage includes nine different producing zones and is located near the company’s existing midstream infrastructure, potentially supporting development and gas transportation economics. Tom Elsener, executive vice president of reservoir engineering and senior asset manager, said the company expects the recently acquired properties to generate rates of return above 80%. He attributed those expectations to high-quality reservoir rock, estimated oil recoveries that are 15% to 20% higher than on other properties, multiple productive benches, longer laterals and lower projected well costs. Elsener said Matador expects well costs on the acreage to decline into the $600-per-foot range. He also cited the federal leases’ one-eighth royalty rate and potential midstream synergies, which were not included in the cited 80% return estimate. Bryan Erman, co-president, chief legal officer and head of M&A, said Matador had evaluated the federal acreage for months before the lease sale and began permit-related work immediately after acquiring it. The company could begin operations on the leases as early as late 2026 or in early 2027, he said. Mac Schmitz, senior vice president of investor relations, added that Matador has 12 operated wells near the federal acreage that are being completed and are expected to begin production in the third quarter. The company also increased planned midstream spending to expand San Mateo and Matador infrastructure toward the federal properties, signaling potential drilling activity near the acquired acreage this year. Foran said the company expects the acquisitions and federal lease positions to support a strong finish to 2026 and stronger performance in 2027. However, he did not provide a specific 2027 capital spending or production-growth forecast during the call. Management emphasized that the acquisitions strengthen the fit between Matador’s upstream portfolio and its midstream network. Foran said Cardinal’s pipeline system complements the company’s existing infrastructure across the Delaware Basin and noted that approximately 100 rigs are operating within 10 miles of its pipelines. He said growing activity in the area could create tighter gas transportation markets and increase the importance of flow assurance. Matador aims to use its infrastructure both for its own production and potentially for third-party customers, according to Foran. Erman said Matador assigned $50 million of midstream value to the Paloma transaction and nearly $100 million of midstream value to the federal lease sale. He said the acquired assets stand on their own from an E&P perspective while also adding value to the midstream business. Michael Frenzel, executive vice president and treasurer, said a significant marketing gain in the quarter reflected the company’s marketing team’s efforts to mitigate weak Waha natural gas pricing. He said Matador does not necessarily expect that gain to recur, but anticipates improved natural gas realizations from the Hugh Brinson Pipeline and other agreements with Energy Transfer. Foran described the company as being in a period of deleveraging following its recent transactions, while remaining open to future opportunities that fit Matador’s strategy. He said the company’s revolving-based lending group includes 19 banks and that the group has increased its borrowing base, providing capacity should another acquisition opportunity emerge. He also pointed to drilling efficiency gains, saying Matador reduced drilling time for three-mile wells from roughly 20 days to about 10 days. The company said those operational improvements can lower capital requirements and improve well economics. In closing remarks, management also highlighted the first Rae’s Creek well, which Foran said produced more than 2,200 barrels. Elsener said the initial well came online stronger than expected and that the company sees potential for the target as part of its future development program. Matador Resources Company is an independent energy firm primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. The company focuses on upstream operations, utilizing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques to unlock hydrocarbons from key reservoirs. Its asset base includes both operated and non‐operated positions, with a particular emphasis on the Permian Basin, one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in North America. Matador's core operations are concentrated in the Delaware Basin segment of the Permian Basin, where it holds substantial acreage in both Reeves and Culberson counties in West Texas and Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Matador Resources Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

For the quarter ended June 2026, Matador Resources (MTDR) reported revenue of $1.19 billion, up 32.5% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.61, compared to $1.53 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $942.74 million, representing a surprise of +25.85%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +27.32%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.05. 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 Matador performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Average Daily Production Volumes - Oil: 126,106.00 BBL/D versus the eight-analyst average estimate of 124,594.20 BBL/D. Average Daily Production Volumes - Natural gas: 537.1 millions of cubic feet per day versus 512.5 millions of cubic feet per day estimated by eight analysts on average. Average Daily Production Volumes - Total oil equivalent: 215631 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day versus the eight-analyst average estimate of 210114.4 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day. Average Sales Prices - Oil, with realized derivatives: $83.19 versus the six-analyst average estimate of $85.76. Average Sales Prices - Natural gas, with realized derivatives: $1.24 versus $0.62 estimated by five analysts on average. Average Sales Prices - Natural gas without realized derivatives: $-0.79 versus $-2.02 estimated by five analysts on average. Average Sales Prices - Oil without realized derivatives: $98.16 compared to the $99.26 average estimate based on five analysts. Revenues- Third-party midstream services revenues: $44.59 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $45.37 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +6.2%. Revenues- Sales of purchased natural gas: $41.25 million versus $66.99 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -39.3% change. Revenues- Oil and natural gas revenues: $1.09 billion compared to the $933.09 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +33.3% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for Matador here>>> Shares of Matador have returned -5.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Matador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

In early August 2026, Matador Resources Company reported second-quarter results showing revenue of US$1.19 billion and net income of US$390.65 million, alongside modest year-over-year growth in both oil and natural gas production volumes. Management also raised its full-year 2026 production guidance and highlighted near-record adjusted free cash flow, signaling greater operational efficiency and stronger cash generation capacity than previously outlined. With Matador lifting its full-year production guidance, we’ll now examine how this update reshapes the company’s existing investment narrative. Find 50 companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. To own Matador Resources today, you need to believe its Delaware Basin footprint and operational efficiency can keep turning higher production into solid cash generation, despite capital intensity and regulatory risk. The latest quarter reinforces production and free cash flow as the key near term catalyst, while concentrated Permian exposure and high debt remain the biggest swing factors. The raised 2026 production guidance supports the existing thesis rather than materially changing the risk profile in the short term. The most relevant update is management’s decision to lift full year 2026 oil and gas production guidance after exceeding its prior targets in the second quarter. This ties directly into the production growth catalyst that many investors focus on when assessing Matador, especially as the company also reported near record adjusted free cash flow of about US$303 million and used roughly US$200 million to reduce debt, reinforcing the importance of balance sheet strength alongside growth. Yet behind the higher production and cash generation, investors should still be aware of how Matador’s heavy Delaware Basin concentration could... Read the full narrative on Matador Resources (it's free!) Matador Resources’ narrative projects $4.3 billion revenue and $1.1 billion earnings by 2029. Uncover how Matador Resources' forecasts yield a $72.61 fair value, a 49% upside to its current price. Some of the most optimistic analysts were already expecting revenue to reach about US$4.8 billion and earnings near US$1.7 billion by 2029, so this stronger quarter may either reinforce their view of expanding midstream driven margins or prompt others to reassess long term ESG and regulatory risks in very different ways. Explore 4 other fair value estimates on Matador Resources - why the stock might be worth just $54.00! Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own. A great starting point for your Matador Resources research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards and 3 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision. Our free Matador Resources research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Matador Resources' overall financial health at a glance. The market won't wait. These fast-moving stocks are hot now. Grab the list before they run: The best AI stocks today may lie beyond giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Find the next big opportunity with these 16 smaller AI-focused companies with strong growth potential through early-stage innovation in machine learning, automation, and data intelligence that could fund your retirement. Explore 26 top quantum computing companies leading the revolution in next-gen technology and shaping the future with breakthroughs in quantum algorithms, superconducting qubits, and cutting-edge research. Rare earth metals are the new gold rush. Find out which 28 stocks are leading the charge. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include MTDR. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Performance exceeded the high end of production guidance while achieving a 5% increase in oil and gas reserves to 703 million barrels of oil equivalent. Management reported near-record adjusted free cash flow of $303 million for the quarter, driven by exceeding the high end of production guidance and operational efficiencies such as reducing drilling times for three-mile wells from 20 days to 10 days. Strategic positioning in the Delaware Basin was bolstered by the integration of Cardinal and federal lease acquisitions, extending inventory life to over 15 years across nine different zones. Operational improvements have significantly reduced drilling times for three-mile wells from approximately 20 days to 10 days, lowering capital intensity. The company emphasized a 'midstream money for midstream assets' policy, using midstream-generated funds to acquire Cardinal's infrastructure to ensure flow assurance in a tightening market. Management highlighted the successful retention of 26 field personnel from the Cardinal acquisition, viewing the 100% acceptance rate as a validation of their professional integration process. The company raised year-over-year oil growth guidance to a range of 4% to 7% while simultaneously reducing planned capital expenditures by 1%. Management expects to generate approximately $900 million in free cash flow for the full year, with a target to pay down or pay off acquisition debt by year-end. The 2027 strategy focuses on 'profitable growth at a measured pace,' assuming a price environment of $70 to $80 per barrel to maintain debt reduction targets of $100 million per month. Development plans for new federal leases include potential spudding by late 2026 or early 2027, supported by 12 operated wells currently being completed in the vicinity. Future midstream strategy anticipates a looming shortage of takeaway capacity, positioning Matador's infrastructure as a competitive advantage for both internal production and third-party customers. Debt reduction remains the primary strategic priority, with $200 million already repaid to bring bank debt under $1 billion following the federal lease acquisition. The company noted a significant marketing gain this quarter driven by efforts to mitigate weak Waha pricing, though management cautioned this specific gain is not expected to recur regularly. Federal leases carry a 1/8 royalty (12.5%) compared to the more common 25%, which management identified as a structural driver for the projected 80% rates of return on those assets. Management flagged potential market tightness for gas takeaway in the Delaware Basin, advising that flow assurance will become increasingly critical for regional operators. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Returns are driven by 15%-20% higher oil EURs in the core Delaware rock and the ability to utilize batch development for longer laterals. Well costs are expected to decrease into the $600 per foot range due to operational efficiencies, while the lower 1/8 federal royalty rate on certain leases will further enhance the economics of those properties. Management intends to maintain a measured pace of growth and will adjust the program based on cash flow, targeting debt repayment of $100 million per month at current prices. The company emphasized they are not reliant on private equity and will prioritize balance sheet health over aggressive expansion if prices fluctuate. Matador 'hit the ground running' on the federal permitting process immediately after the lease sale due to months of prior preparation. Activity could begin as early as year-end 2026, supported by increased midstream spending to connect these properties to the San Mateo and Matador systems. De-levering is the immediate priority to ensure the company is ready for the next high-quality opportunity that fits their core footprint. The company maintains a $2 billion capacity on their RBL, with management noting that 19 banks have indicated more capital is available for the right strategic fit.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Adjusted Free Cash Flow: Near-record $303 million for the second quarter of 2026. Debt Repayment: $200 million used to pay down bank debt associated with the federal lease acquisition, reducing the balance to under $1 billion. Oil and Natural Gas Reserves: Increased 5% to 703 million barrels of oil equivalent, up from 667 million barrels. Full-Year Free Cash Flow Guidance: Expected to generate approximately $900 million for the year. Production Guidance: Raised year-over-year oil growth guidance to 4% to 7%. Capital Expenditures: Guidance raised with 1% less capital expenditures. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with MTDR. Is MTDR fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 06, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Matador Resources Co (NYSE:MTDR) reported near-record adjusted free cash flow of $303 million in Q2 2026, enabling a $200 million debt paydown on its RBL, reducing borrowings to under $1 billion. The company exceeded the high end of its production guidance and increased proved reserves by 5% to 703 million BOE, reflecting strong operational performance. Strategic acquisitions (Cardinal, Paloma, Range Rider) and the BLM federal lease sale have extended inventory life to over 15 years, with new properties expected to deliver over 80% rates of return due to high-quality rock and 15-20% higher oil EURs. The midstream business is well-positioned for growth, with new assets fitting seamlessly into existing infrastructure, and the company is capitalizing on flow assurance demand from 100 rigs operating within 10 miles of its pipelines. The first Ridge Creek well exceeded expectations, producing over 2,200 barrels, showcasing the company's technical expertise and potential for future upside. Matador Resources Co (NYSE:MTDR) raised its 2026 production guidance to 4-7% year-over-year oil growth while reducing capital expenditures by 1%, demonstrating capital efficiency. The company has strong banking support with 19 banks, and its RBL was increased, providing financial flexibility for future opportunities. Matador Resources Co (NYSE:MTDR) still carries significant debt from recent acquisitions, with a target to pay down approximately $100 million per month, indicating a prolonged deleveraging period. The company's marketing gains are not expected to recur, and natural gas realizations remain subject to Waha pricing weakness, though mitigated by new pipelines. There is potential for market tightness in gas takeaway capacity in the Delaware Basin, which could impact operations if not managed proactively. The company's growth strategy relies on continued access to capital and favorable commodity prices, with a noted sensitivity to oil price drops (e.g., to $30/barrel), which could alter plans. Integration of recent acquisitions (Cardinal, Paloma, Range Rider) carries execution risks, though the company has successfully retained key personnel. The company's aggressive acquisition strategy may lead to higher leverage, and while it has a history of paying down debt, this pattern could limit near-term shareholder returns. Permitting and development of federal leases may face delays, though the company is making progress, with initial wells expected late 2026 or early 2027. Q: What is driving the over 80% rate of return on the newly acquired properties, and do you anticipate more activity in these areas?A: W. Thomas Elsener, EVP - Reservoir Engineering and Senior Asset Manager, explained that the high returns are underpinned by the very high-quality rock in the core of the Delaware Basin, with expectations of 15-20% higher oil EURs. The properties have nine or more different benches, allowing for batch development and longer laterals, which supports reducing well costs to the $600 per foot range. Additionally, the high net revenue interest, particularly on federal leases with a one-eighth royalty, enhances economics. The 80% return does not even include midstream synergies, as many properties are just a few miles from existing infrastructure. Q: How should we think about 2027 growth and capital spending? Is mid-single-digit oil growth a fair target, and would it require a step-up in CapEx?A: CEO Joseph Foran confirmed the company's basic policy of profitable growth at a measured pace. He noted that while the plan is for mid-single-digit growth, it is contingent on commodity prices. If prices were to collapse to $30 a barrel, the program would be adjusted, but at the current $70-$80 range, the properties are good enough to make money. The company plans to prioritize debt paydown, targeting roughly $100 million per month in elective repayments to pay off the Cardinal acquisition debt within 12-15 months. Q: What is the timeline for activity and permitting on the new federal acreage? When can we expect development to begin?A: Bryan Erman, Co-President and Chief Legal Officer, stated that because the acreage had been targeted for many months, the company hit the ground running on the federal permitting process immediately after the lease sale. They are making significant progress and could potentially get on those leases as early as the end of 2026 or early 2027. CEO Joseph Foran added that there are 12 operated wells close to the acreage currently being completed and turned online in Q3, and the increased midstream spend indicates plans to spud wells this year in the vicinity of the May acquisition. Q: How do the recent acquisitions impact the path forward for the Midstream business?A: CEO Joseph Foran emphasized that the acquisitions highlight the importance of having a midstream business for flow assurance. With 100 rigs operating within 10 miles of their pipelines, production in the area is set to increase, and the company is prepared to take care of that gas, not just for themselves but also for third parties. Bryan Erman added that the Paloma deal had $50 million in ascribed midstream value, and the federal lease sale had close to $100 million, showing that the assets fit nicely with existing infrastructure and bring added value to the midstream business. Q: Can you discuss the significant marketing gain this quarter and whether it is a result of the midstream strategy?A: Michael Frenzel, EVP and Treasurer, attributed the gain to the marketing team's efforts to mitigate weakness in Waha pricing. He noted that while this specific gain is not expected to recur, the company does expect a very strong improvement in natural gas realizations going forward, driven by the Hugh Brinson pipeline coming online and other deals with Energy Transfer. Q: Given the recent large acquisitions, is Matador in a digest-and-de-lever mode, or will you remain active on other opportunities?A: CEO Joseph Foran stated that de-levering is the first priority, but the company keeps an eye open for opportunities that fit as well as Cardinal or the federal lease sale. He reiterated a 43-year track record of acquiring, improving, and de-levering. The company has 19 banks that have raised the RBL, providing capacity for opportunities, but until then, they will focus on paying down debt. He also highlighted operational efficiencies, such as reducing drilling time on three-mile wells from 20 days to about 10 days, which lowers capital costs and improves returns. Q: What is the status of the Ridge Creek well, and what does its performance mean for the company?A: CEO Joseph Foran volunteered that the first test on the 50,000-acre Ridge Creek prospect exceeded 2,200 barrels. Tom Elsener credited the geoscience, reservoir, and land teams for putting the prospect together, noting the well came online better than expected. Andrew Parker, EVP - Geosciences, added that the well is a perfect example of execution across geoscience, land, and operations, and the company will continue to bring these opportunities forward. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Matador Resources (MTDR) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.61 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.05 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.53 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +27.32%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this independent oil and gas company would post earnings of $1.24 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.53, delivering a surprise of +23.39%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Matador, which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, posted revenues of $1.19 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25.85%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $895.31 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three 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. Matador shares have added about 15% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13%. While Matador 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 Matador was mixed. 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 #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.63 on $929.52 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $6.96 on $3.64 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States is currently in the bottom 13% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, Infinity Natural Resources (INR), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 10. This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.86 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -27.1%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.4% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. Infinity Natural Resources' revenues are expected to be $165.37 million, up 122% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Matador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Infinity Natural Resources Inc. (INR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Matador Resources (MTDR) reported $1.19 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 32.5%. EPS of $2.61 for the same period compares to $1.53 a year ago. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $942.74 million, representing a surprise of +25.85%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +27.32%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.05. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. 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 Matador performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Average Daily Production Volumes - Oil: 126,106.00 BBL/D versus the eight-analyst average estimate of 124,594.20 BBL/D. Average Daily Production Volumes - Natural gas: 537.1 millions of cubic feet per day versus 512.5 millions of cubic feet per day estimated by eight analysts on average. Average Daily Production Volumes - Total oil equivalent: 215631 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day compared to the 210114.4 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day average estimate based on eight analysts. Average Sales Prices - Oil, with realized derivatives: $83.19 compared to the $85.76 average estimate based on six analysts. Average Sales Prices - Oil without realized derivatives: $98.16 versus $99.26 estimated by five analysts on average. Average Sales Prices - Natural gas without realized derivatives: $-0.79 versus $-2.02 estimated by five analysts on average. Average Sales Prices - Natural gas, with realized derivatives: $1.24 versus the five-analyst average estimate of $0.62. Revenues- Third-party midstream services revenues: $44.59 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $45.37 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +6.2%. Revenues- Oil and natural gas revenues: $1.09 billion versus $933.09 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +33.3% change. View all Key Company Metrics for Matador here>>> Shares of Matador have returned -6.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Matador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research