SMC

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Summit Midstream first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you'll need to press star one-one on your telephone. If your question has been answered and you'd like to remove yourself from the queue, simply press star one-one again. As a reminder, today's program is being recorded. Now I'd like to introduce your host of today's program, Randall Burton, Treasurer and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Thanks, operator. Good morning, everyone. If you don't already have a copy of our earnings release, please visit our website at summitmidstream.com where you'll find it on the homepage, Events and Presentation section or Quarterly Results section. With me today to discuss our first quarter 2026 financial and operating results is Heath Deneke, our President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman, Bill Mault, our Chief Financial Officer, and Chris Tennant, our Chief Commercial Officer, along with other members of our senior management team. Before we start, I'd like to remind you that our discussion today may contain forward-looking statements. These statements may include, but are not limited to, our estimates of future volumes, operating expenses, and capital expenditures. They may also include statements concerning anticipated cash flow, liquidity, business strategy, and other plans and objectives for future operations.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Please see SMC's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 2025, which the company filed with the SEC on March 16th, 2026, as well as our other SEC filings for a listing of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Please also note that on this call we use the terms EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Distributable Cash Flow, and Free Cash Flow. These are non-GAAP financial measures, and we provided reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in our most recent earnings release. With that, I'll turn the call over to Heath.

Thanks, Randall, and good morning, everyone. Summit reported first quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $54.2 million, which was generally in line with expectations despite lower volumes and realized residue gas prices in the Arkoma. The underperformance in the MidCon segment was partially offset by gains in the Rockies segment, driven by higher than budgeted crude oil pricing. Based on the current activity levels, the recent well performance, and our visibility in the second half of the year volumes, we continue to expect results to trend towards the midpoint of our original 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $225 million-$265 million. Before I get into the operational highlights, I wanted to spend a moment on the macro picture, which we see becoming increasingly constructive for Summit.

Crude oil prices are obviously much higher than the lows we saw earlier this year. For a business like ours, where roughly 80% of our well connects in 2026 are expected in crude oil-oriented basins, a more constructive crude environment translates directly into improved producer economics and an incentive to accelerate and increase activity levels. Several of our Rockies customers have communicated that they are actively working on plans to attempt to accelerate activity into 2026 and increase overall activity levels in 2027. We're also seeing benefits from higher crude oil pricing on our field condensate sales and our optimization activities in the Rockies segment. At the same time, the natural gas outlook remains favorable as well. Henry Hub has remained constructive.

LNG export demand continues to grow rapidly, and the long-term demand outlook from data center growth and electrification is increasingly supportive of the natural gas infrastructure we operate in our MidCon and Permian segments. For our MidCon segment, that is a great backdrop to see activity levels pick up in the coming years in both the Arkoma and the Barnett, as these assets are very well positioned on the natural gas pipeline grid to feed LNG and power markets along the Gulf Coast. The macro outlook is also very supportive of increasing demand for our Double E gas Pipeline in the Permian that transports residue gas from multiple processing facilities throughout the core of the Delaware Basin to the Waha Hub, which then connects to more than 20 Bcf a day of eastern-bound gas infrastructure that serves the East Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast markets.

Turning to operations, we connected 37 wells during the quarter, including the first four Williston wells under the new 10-year crude gathering agreement that we announced last quarter in Divide County. Early production results from those wells have been encouraging. In the Arkoma, while we did experience lower than expected well performance from two pads during the quarter, which was a primary driver of the volume underperformance in that segment. Both of these pads were drilled in the outer edges of our dedicated acreage footprint in an attempt to further extend the boundaries of proven but undeveloped locations in the Caney and Woodford formations. Recently, though, we have brought on a new three-well pad in the dry gas area of our Arkoma system, and we're seeing these wells significantly outperform our internal expectations.

These three wells continue to ramp up but have already averaged approximately 50 million a day combined over the past couple of days since being turned in line, which is a very encouraging early read, and it really gets us excited about future growth in the MidCon segment. We currently have five rigs running behind the system with approximately 80 drilled but uncompleted wells, and we expect approximately 40 new well connects in the second quarter, including 20 in the MidCon segment.

That second quarter activity and well results from some of the wells already connected in the second quarter sets up a very meaningful volume increase as we move into the back half of the year. On the Double E front, subsequent to the quarter end, we executed another 10-year take-or-pay precedent agreement for $100 million a day of firm capacity, which is slated to start in the first half of 2027. That brings our total contracted volumes on Double E to just over 1.7 Bcf/d. We continue to build momentum in our ongoing open season to secure additional commitments to support the previously announced $800 million a day midpoint compressor expansion project.

Given the market interest that we've seen thus far, we remain very optimistic about securing additional contracts that are necessary to help us make a final investment decision on the project this summer. We also made meaningful progress to further simplify and improve the balance sheet this quarter. We repaid all $45 million of accrued Series A preferred stock dividends, which clears a key milestone on the path to reinstate a common dividend. We completed a $42 million private placement of common stock to an affiliate of Tailwater Capital LLC, our largest shareholder, which will help us fund high return organic growth projects across our operating footprint. Finally, we closed the Summit Permian Transmission, LLC term loan refinancing, which provides the financial flexibility to fund Double E Pipeline capital growth while we continue to de-lever Summit's corporate balance sheet.

With that update, let me turn it over to Bill to walk through the details on the financials.

Thanks, Heath, good morning, everyone. Summit reported first quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $54.2 million, Distributable Cash Flow of $26.9 million, and Free Cash Flow of $11.4 million. Total capital expenditures were $19.3 million for the quarter, inclusive of $3.7 million of maintenance capital, with the majority of the growth capital directed towards pad connections in the Rockies and MidCon segments. With respect to Summit's balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $43.4 million of unrestricted cash and $116 million drawn on our revolving credit facility, with approximately $381 million of available borrowing capacity after accounting for $2.7 million of undrawn letters of credit. Now moving on to the segments.

The Rockies segment generated Adjusted EBITDA of $26.4 million, a decrease of $1.5 million relative to the fourth quarter of 2025, primarily due to a $1.2 million non-cash imbalance, a 3% reduction in liquids volumes, a lower realized residue gas prices on our percentage of proceeds contracts, and lower freshwater sales. This was partially offset by a 4.4% increase in natural gas volume throughput and improving crude oil and NGL prices that really started in March of 2026. We connected 18 wells in the DJ Basin and 13 in the Williston, including the first four, three-mile lateral wells under the new crude gathering agreement that we announced last quarter.

Five rigs are currently running with approximately 60 DUCs behind the systems. Several customers are working to try to accelerate their programs given the improved crude oil price environment. The Permian segment reported Adjusted EBITDA of $8.7 million, flat relative to the fourth quarter of 2025. Double E volumes averaged 805 million cu ft per day during the quarter. The Piceance segment reported Adjusted EBITDA of $9.6 million, down $0.4 million from the fourth quarter, primarily driven by volume throughput declines of approximately 7.3%, which included 8 million cu ft per day of temporary shut-ins as well as natural production declines, with no new wells connected during the quarter.

Customers currently have approximately 20 million cu ft per day of volume shut in as a result of low regional gas prices, primarily in the White River Hub. Based on current forward prices in the region, we would expect that production to resume beginning in the third quarter of 2026. Finally, the MidCon segment reported Adjusted EBITDA of $19.3 million, a decrease of $2.1 million from the fourth quarter, primarily driven by natural production declines, partially offset by six new Arkoma well connections during the quarter. Three additional Arkoma wells were connected subsequent to quarter end, and we have 17 Barnett DUCs expected to come online in the second quarter. We expect second quarter activity and recently connected wells to drive an increase in MidCon volumes as we move throughout the remainder of the year.

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Heath for closing remarks.

Thanks, Bill. To summarize, you know, we're still tracking towards the $245 million midpoint of our Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026, and we continue to see a lot of momentum building across the portfolio in response to the improving commodity price outlook. We remain excited about the growth outlook for the business and believe the current macro outlook supports more than $100 million of organic EBITDA growth from our existing portfolio by 2030. We continue to be active on the M&A front, evaluating opportunities that could further scale up the business in a value and credit-accretive manner. We've also taken meaningful steps to further simplify and improve the balance sheet by cleaning up the accrued preferred dividends, completing the Tailwater common stock placement, and closing the Permian transmission refinancing to support Double E growth.

Finally, as we execute the business plan, we continue to have a line of sight on achieving our long-term 3.5x leverage target and being in a position to reinstate a common dividend in the near future. We believe there's a pretty simple and achievable path forward to drive a lot of shareholder value in the coming years, and we're excited to get out on the road in the coming weeks as a management team to continue to tell the Summit story and continue to build momentum with investors. With that, I'd like to thank everyone again for joining the call today and supporting the business. Operator, I think we can open up the call for questions now.

Certainly. As a reminder, if you do have a question at this time, please press star one one on your telephone. Our first question comes from the line of Mark Reichman from Noble Capital Markets. Your question please.

Thanks. Would you please discuss the competitive positioning of the Double E Pipeline? Are you seeing increasing demand for incremental takeaway capacity tied to LNG's export growth? Could Double E ultimately require additional expansion phases beyond what's currently contemplated?

Yeah. Yeah, you bet, Mark. Hey, this is Heath. Look, as far as the competitive position, I think, you know, Double E is in a pretty good, pretty good shape on that front, honestly. We, if you look at what's occurred with the build-out of the Delaware, in terms of rig activity and where we've really seen volumes grow, they kind of started in Texas and have kind of migrated their way up to New Mexico. A lot of the, in fact, I'd say the vast majority, if not all, of the other pipelines that we compete with have really kind of filled up their existing takeaway capacity.

In many cases, they've kind of gotten past the cheap, you know, easy to expand compression type projects and have now for them to materially expand capacity, they're looking at, you know, laying brand new greenfield or big loops, if you will, to their system to get existing capacity. I think we're well positioned, having, you know, recently just filled up our latent, our free flow capacity. I think this expansion that we're in the midst of, on an open season, adding another call it 800 million-900 million a day of capacity.

I think, you know, we're really one of the only options in town, frankly, that we think can be available by the end of 2028 to meet a lot of this incremental residue gas growth that we see in the Permian Basin. We feel strongly about that. I will say, just looking at our rates relative to, you know, other tariffs and the like, we're certainly at market rates with what we, you know, what we sell our capacity for on Double E Pipeline. I think what really kind of gives us the advantage is the low cost expandability that we still have remaining on the pipe and the ability to bring that to market in fairly short order.

And then how's the- [crosstalk]

Yeah, sorry.

Oh, go ahead.

Go ahead.

No, go ahead.

Well, the second part of your question, I think you were asking about LNG growth. Look, there's no doubt if you look at, you know, the amount of infrastructure that has been built out and is in the process of being built out to move gas from Waha over to East Texas to kind of feed the LNG facilities in Texas and frankly across into Louisiana as well, it's definitely been the primary catalyst of new infrastructure development. You know, I think there's upwards of over 20 Bcf/d of capacity that, you know, originates frankly from that Waha area that has access to those growing markets. Clearly, it has been kind of a near-term catalyst.

I will say what's been interesting to watch, particularly develop on Double E Pipeline is that, you know, that market is kind of getting, maybe a little bit saturated in that, you know, there's been a lot of projects pointing that direction. There's gonna be a lot of LNG growth. I think we're starting to see additional markets attract interest from, you know, from our shippers. As an example, Energy Transfer's Desert Southwest project is all about getting gas west into Phoenix to serve some incremental power generation demand growth. We've also seen, you know, additional markets pointed towards the MidCon and or up into the Midwest on the north end of our system, really start to attract interest from shippers to kind of diversify the access that they have to market.

Thematically, I think what we're seeing is this massive, call it 6 Bcf/d, 7 Bcf/d of incremental supply growth over the next three to five years. And we're finding a lot of new projects, if you will, that are, you know, getting that gas distributed to the right points in the market. Absolutely what's fueling the, you know, the current compression project open season. You know, to your other point about, you know, do we think we're done after that? I think the short answer to that is no. I think there You know, as those markets develop kind of on the northern end of our system, we'll have a lot of, you know, backhaul capacity, if you will, to move gas potentially from Waha or other processing plants located south of that.

That really wouldn't require much additional build out. It would just be effectively maybe making that compressor station that we're trying to get FID bi-directional to be able to push gas north or south, depending on in the aggregate which directions flows want to occur. There's also some markets developing around our pipe. You know, we're in discussions with multiple data center/power gen customers that are looking to take advantage of the low gas price in the Permian Basin, you know, that are in close proximity to our pipe. You know, that's an area that, you know, I would say the majority of our customers to date are more supply push, getting supply out to the marketplace, predominantly producers or gathering and processing companies that control residue.

We, you know, we could start to see some actually demand side guys come in and, you know, pay to have us expand our system to reach, you know, multiple processing plants to be able to get to buy gas directly from hubs. We really like how this asset's positioned. I think what we've kind of articulated to the market, you know, we see our EBITDA growing, you know, from roughly $35 up to the mid-$60s here, just with what we have contracted to date. If you look at, you know, with the expansion that we've announced, we think that could grow up to $90 million. I think, you know, beyond that, I think there's ample room to see that EBITDA continue to grow over the next several years.

Well, that's very helpful. Now, how sustainable is Rockies throughput growth over the next several quarters? You know, what level of producer activity are you seeing in the DJ and Williston basins? On that, you might, you know, discuss the commodity mix and margin profile of the Rockies.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

I'll let Bill kind of handle the, you know, the details. Definitely a lot of momentum in both segments, as you can imagine, with, you know, the improving crude strip. We've seen producers in some case look to pick up additional rigs, and we've seen, you know, additional wells even kind of finding their way into the back half of 2026. I think we got a lot of momentum. Bill, why don't you kind of fill them in on some of the details here?

Good morning, Mark. A couple things going on, and I'll start in the DJ, Mark. So there's a large integrated kind of public shipper in the DJ that's a customer of ours. We've actually got 16 wells expected to come online from them here in the second quarter. That is really just the start of a broader program, call it over the next two to three that they intend to execute on. That's one that we've been around and probably talked to you about in the past that we're starting to see actually come to fruition here, you know, starting here in Q2. Excited about that one. There's also a large private in the DJ. They've been drilling behind our Hereford Ranch processing plant.

You know, we've seen outlooks from them that could fill up that processing plant. We'll see how active they get, but they are picking up a second rig in the basin, which again, I think is just dovetailing off kind of this, you know, supportive commodity price environment and trying to take advantage of that. The only other one I'd add in the DJ, you know, Peoria Resources acquired Verdad a few months ago. I think we mentioned this during our Q4 earnings, but that did create a little bit of a stall in activity for them in 2026.

You know, we're excited just given the environment we're in and what they're doing that, you know, I'd expect them to kind of pick back up activity here late 2026 into 2027, which we're really not getting the benefit of here in 2026. Up in North Dakota, Mark, you know, we've had several customers. They're trying to figure out how to accelerate development. Obviously, you know, that takes coordination of completion crews and being able to actually execute on it. There is a push from several customers up there to try to accelerate timing. One thing that, and really in the third quarter, we've had a customer that has been somewhat inactive behind our acreage up in North Dakota the past two years.

They're actually bringing on kind of a pad, focused in the crude oil and produced water gathering area, the services we provide them. The first set of wells is coming on in the third quarter. We've had conversations with them about additional activity in 2027. Mark, as you know, with, you know, the crude and water cuts up there, you know, those pads are meaningful for volumetric growth behind the system. So excited to kind of see that upcoming. As it relates to kind of margin profile, you should think about the Rocky segment is roughly 35% kind of commodity price exposed. That's primarily our POP contracts in the DJ, as well as, you know, we retain all the condensate drip that falls off of our system and our compressor stations.

When you break that down a little further, Mark, I would think about it as, you know, between NGLs and crude, that represents roughly 75%, then residue represents the remaining 25% of that kind of product margin breakdown.

Bill-

Mark, just one thing.

Bill

Just add to what, you know, Bill was talking about with the Rockies segment. I mean, clearly it and the Permian are going to be the two largest drivers of growth for us in the out years. As we've kind of, you know, talked about and provided in some of our investment materials, you know, we see, roughly, you know, upwards of $100 million of EBITDA growth organically from 2025 into the 2030 time frame. If you think about that, you know, what does that mean from a Rockies?

Well, well, the things that Bill Mault has kind of articulated that we're seeing early signs and maybe even accelerating from what we, you know, thought when we actually published that, you know, you could see the Rockies growing from, you know, roughly around $85 million of contribution today to upwards of $160 million, you know, over that, over that, through 2030. Substantial amount of growth there. You know, like I said, we're probably seeing signs that potentially that growth may even get further accelerated from what we thought, the ramp up would be between now and 2030.

Yeah. Jumping on the end of that, Heath. This is Chris Tennant, Mark. We're having conversations with all of our major customers in that area, really thinking about the next cycle of growth and infrastructure needed to really plan accordingly. It gives us a lot of confidence when we look forward in those areas.

Are there any bolt-on acquisition opportunities in your operating regions, particularly the Rockies and Permian, where you're seeing the stronger operational momentum?

Yeah, certainly, I'd say the Rockies is probably where we see the most near-term opportunities. There's still a fair amount of privately owned, privately backed systems that need to find a, you know, a liquidity or an exit point here fairly soon. We're pretty active identifying and working, having conversations around some of those assets. You know, you should think of those kind of fitting that historical profile that we've executed over the past three years.

I mean, these are gonna be, you know, roughly kind of in that, let's call it six, you know, somewhere between 5-7x type purchase multiples on an LTM basis that are synergistic, that we think we can kind of drive down to, you know, a very creative levels or that we would be able to capture a lot of accretion from a value perspective and from a leverage perspective in the out years. I think the Permian is a little different. I do think there are some larger opportunities that we're kind of looking at.

You know, I think that's one of the differentiators between, you know There's probably more actionable items that we see in the Rockies that are kind of fit more that, call it $30 million to upwards of $100 million maybe. When you start getting into the Permian, the type of opportunities that we are seeing are probably, you know, north of that, maybe closer to $150 million-$200 million. They're not completely out of reach, but obviously, they're ones that take, you know, are gonna be more complex, you know, to execute on and something that, you know, I wouldn't rule out in the out years. I think near term, I think we're more focused on the Rockies opportunities at this point.

My last question is just what are the remaining plans and objectives in your broader capital structure optimization strategy? How do you prioritize the capital allocation between debt reduction, organic growth, acquisitions, and return of capital to shareholders?

Go ahead, Bill.

Yeah, Mark. I'd say, you know, over the next couple years, Mark, one thing that we've talked about, particularly when we did the refinancing of, you know, the Double E refinancing here last quarter, you know, we set that up whereby in, call it, that 2028 timeframe, you know, we've got the flexibility to kind of clean that up, bring it up on balance sheet in the recourse borrower group. That's probably the next kind of item on the list. You know, I don't think as we sit here today, Mark, you know, we've been prioritizing post-growth capital, you know, the remaining Free Cash Flow, prioritizing debt repayment to get to our kind of long-term leverage target in 3.5x. I think you'll see us prioritize that, Mark, till we get to that long-term leverage target.

It's a balancing act. As it relates to M&A and organic growth, you know, I'd tell you, a lot of our organic growth projects, you know, are commanding very, you know, call it 20%, 30% plus unlevered rates of return, which are obviously very attractive. You know, we'd make the long-term decision, you know, to focus on reinvesting in growth, you know, to the extent additional opportunities arise on the organic side.

That's great. That's very helpful. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mark.

Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have any questions at this time, please do star one-one on your telephone. This does conclude the question and answer session as well as today's program. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your participation. You may now disconnect.

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Summit Midstream Corp. Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Randall Burton, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Operator, and good morning, everyone. If you do not already have a copy of our earnings release and presentation, please visit our website at www.summitmidstream.com, where you will find it on the homepage, Events and Presentation section, or Quarterly Results section. With me today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial and operating results are J. Heath Deneke, our President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman; William J. Mault, our Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Tennant, our Chief Commercial Officer, along with other members of our senior management team. Before we start, I would like to remind you that our discussion today may contain forward-looking statements. These statements may include, but are not limited to, our estimates of future volumes, operating expenses, and capital expenditures. They may also include statements concerning anticipated cash flow, liquidity, business strategy, and other plans and objectives for future operations. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Please see Summit Midstream Corp.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 12/31/2025, which the company filed with the SEC on 03/16/2026, as well as our other SEC filings, for a listing of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Please also note that on this call, we use the terms EBITDA, segment adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, distributable cash flow, and free cash flow. These are non-GAAP financial measures, and we have provided reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in our most recent earnings release. And with that, I will turn the call over to Heath.

Great. All right. Well, thanks, Randall, and good morning, everyone. I wanted to start this morning by introducing you to a new voice you will hear on the call today. Chris Tennant, who joined Summit Midstream Corp. in February as our Chief Commercial Officer, is joining us. Chris brings more than three decades of experience across the oil, natural gas, and NGL value chain, and he will be leading our commercial organization going forward. Chris has hit the ground running since joining the team and is already making a strong impact across the organization. I am excited to have him here and look forward to the contributions he will make as we continue executing on Summit Midstream Corp.'s growth strategy. Turning now to slide three. We are very pleased with the progress Summit Midstream Corp. made during the quarter and in the first couple of months of 2026. From a financial perspective, Summit Midstream Corp. generated approximately $58,600,000 of adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter along with $33,700,000 of distributable cash flow and $17,000,000 of free cash flow. Operationally, and despite the weakening of oil prices in 2025, we continue to see solid development activity across our systems with seven rigs currently running behind our footprint and approximately 90 drilled but uncompleted wells. At this point, we have visibility to between 116 and 126 well connections in 2026, which is relatively modest compared to prior years. However, we could see activity accelerate in the second half of the year as producers look to take advantage of the recent run-up in oil prices. On the commercial front, we have made a tremendous amount of progress since our last update. Starting with the Double E Pipeline, we recently signed two 11-plus year transportation agreements totaling 440,000,000 per day of firm capacity. In addition, we received an affirmative FID notice on the previously announced Producers Midstream 2 100,000,000 a day agreement that we announced last year. In the aggregate, this represents more than a half a Bcf a day of new long-term take-or-pay agreements that we have executed over the past six months. With these new agreements and the corresponding step-up in committed take-or-pay volumes over the next several years, our Permian segment adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow from $34,000,000 in 2025 to roughly $60,000,000 by 2029. With these new contracts, Double E’s existing mainline capacity is now generally fully subscribed. However, as Chris will get into further in the call, we have launched a binding open season to solicit additional customer commitments to support a mainline compression project that would expand the pipeline’s capacity by approximately 50% to roughly 800,000,000 a day. Additionally, we successfully refinanced the Double E capital structure with a new $440,000,000 term loan facility, which enables an $85,000,000 distribution back to Summit Midstream Corp. we intend to use to repay $45,000,000 of accrued and unpaid dividends and reduce borrowings under the ABL. We will walk through the details of the transaction later in the call, but this transaction is a major win for the company as it increases our financial flexibility while allowing us to continue to execute on these high-return growth projects at Double E, including the mainline compression project, without straining Summit Midstream Corp.’s corporate balance sheet. In addition, the repayment of the accrued dividends on the Series A preferred stock further simplifies Summit Midstream Corp.’s balance sheet and is also an important step towards enabling a sustainable return of capital program for our shareholders in the future. We are also very excited about the growth outlook in the Rockies segment as we continue to see development activity up in the Bakken shift towards our pipeline footprint in Williams and Divide Counties. As Chris will cover later in the call, our Polar and Divide system is uniquely positioned to benefit from that shift, as evidenced by a new long-term crude gathering agreement that we executed in the fourth quarter in Divide County. There is also a lot of positive momentum building up around our G&P system in the DJ Basin that we are excited about as well. I am sure we will be updating everyone on this as we move throughout the rest of 2026. And finally, at the end of the call, I wanted to walk investors through a snapshot of Summit Midstream Corp.’s strong and highly visible organic growth outlook that will be led by our Permian and Rockies segments. We are very excited about the commercial momentum we have around the business and the growing backlog of very attractive, high-returning organic growth projects that we believe will position the company to achieve over $100,000,000 of adjusted EBITDA growth by 2030. We believe we will generate a tremendous amount of shareholder value in the coming years as we execute on these growth plans, maintain our financial discipline, and continue our focus on improving the balance sheet. I will now turn the call over to Bill to walk through our financial results and guidance on slide four.

Thanks, Heath, and good morning, everyone. And before jumping to slide four, why do we not stay on page three. Summit Midstream Corp. reported fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA of $58,600,000, resulting in full year 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $243,000,000. Capital expenditures totaled $19,000,000 for the quarter and $89,000,000 for the full year. With respect to Summit Midstream Corp.’s balance sheet, we ended the year with net debt of approximately $930,000,000 and approximately $890,000,000 pro forma for the $40,000,000 repayment of the ABL associated with the $85,000,000 one-time distribution from the new Summit Permian Transmission term loan. This brings pro forma leverage to approximately 3.9 times. Our available borrowing capacity at the end of the fourth quarter totaled approximately $387,000,000, which included roughly $1,000,000 of undrawn letters of credit. Now on to the segments. The Rockies segment, which includes our DJ and Williston Basin systems, generated adjusted EBITDA of $27,800,000, a decrease of $1,200,000 relative to the third quarter, primarily driven by a decline in liquids volumes due to natural production declines, partially offset by modest growth in natural gas volumes. Liquids volumes averaged approximately 66,000 barrels per day during the quarter, a decrease of roughly 6,000 barrels per day relative to the third quarter, primarily due to natural production declines and no new well connections. Natural gas volumes averaged approximately 160,000,000 cubic feet per day, an increase of roughly 2,000,000 cubic feet per day relative to the third quarter as wells connected early in the year continued to ramp toward peak production. During the quarter, we connected 33 new wells in the DJ Basin, which we expect to reach peak production in 2026. We currently have six rigs running behind the system, including four in the Williston and two in the DJ, and approximately 65 DUCs, which provides good visibility into expected development activity in 2026. The Permian Basin segment, which includes our 70% interest in the Double E Pipeline, reported adjusted EBITDA of $8,700,000, an increase of $100,000 relative to the third quarter, primarily due to higher volume throughput on the pipeline. Volume throughput on Double E averaged 861,000,000 cubic feet per day during the quarter. The Piceance segment reported adjusted EBITDA of $10,000,000, a decrease of $2,500,000 relative to the third quarter, primarily due to a modest decline in volume throughput and certain revenues recognized in the prior quarter. Finally, the Midcon segment reported adjusted EBITDA of $21,500,000, a decrease of approximately $2,100,000, primarily due to lower volume throughput from natural production declines across the Arkoma and Barnett systems. During the quarter, we connected six wells in the Arkoma and no new wells in the Barnett. Subsequent to quarter end, we connected an additional six wells in the Arkoma, and there is currently one rig running behind the Arkoma and approximately 20 DUCs. Let me now turn to page four and discuss our outlook for 2026. We are establishing 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $225,000,000 to $265,000,000 and total capital expenditures of approximately $85,000,000 to $105,000,000, which includes $35,000,000 to $50,000,000 in base business growth capital, approximately $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 of maintenance capital, and approximately $35,000,000 of contributions to the Double E joint venture. The $35,000,000 of contributions to the Double E JV are expected to be fully funded through the new term loan facility we closed yesterday. The majority of the base business growth capital will be directed toward pad connections in the Rockies and Midcon regions, where we continue to see steady development activity behind our systems. Similar to previous years, our guidance range incorporates real-time feedback we are receiving from our customers regarding their development plans, and we actively track rigs and completion crews across our systems to ensure well connects remain on schedule. Just as a reminder of our risking methodology, if our producers hit their current turn-in-line dates and production targets, we would expect to be near the high end of our adjusted EBITDA guidance range. The midpoint of the range reflects modest risking applied to current drilling schedules, while the low end assumes additional delays in well connects expected later in the year, which could push some of that activity into 2027. Across our footprint today, we currently have seven rigs running and approximately 90 DUCs behind our system, which provides line of sight to the 116 to 126 well connections expected in 2026. Approximately 80% of those expected well connections are crude oil-oriented wells. The remaining 20% are natural-gas-oriented. Commodity price assumptions for this range assume average crude oil prices in the mid-sixties and a natural gas price of approximately $3.40 per MMBtu. There has been a lot of upside movement in crude oil prices over the past few weeks, which, if sustained throughout the year, could lead to acceleration of activity from our customers and improvement in product margin associated with certain percentage-of-proceeds contracts in the DJ Basin. In the Rockies, we are currently expecting 90 to 100 well connects in 2026, a fairly even split between the DJ and the Williston. This level of activity, along with the 33 wells connected in the fourth quarter, will drive volume throughput growth in natural gas and liquids. Additionally, of the roughly 45 to 50 wells expected in the Williston, we will be gathering both crude and produced water for nine of those wells, for which we expect around a three-to-one produced water to crude oil ratio. Expected well connections in the DJ are a little bit lower in 2026 than the historical average. This is primarily due to the recently announced acquisition of Verdad Resources, a key customer behind the system, by Peoria Resources, a subsidiary of JPEX Core. Long term, we are excited about the acquisition and expect it to be a net positive to development, but as with all upstream consolidation, it has created some near-term delays in development. In the Midcon, we are expecting 26 wells to be connected to the system, including nine in the Arkoma and 17 in the Barnett. In the Arkoma, all but three of those wells are already connected and flowing, and in the Barnett, all 17 wells are currently in DUC inventory. Our key customer in the Arkoma is evaluating additional development in late 2026 and early 2027, but we have not included that potential activity in our financial guidance until we get confirmation that they intend to drill and complete those wells. With the level of activity included in our financial guidance, we would expect volumes in Midcon to be relatively flat year over year. In the Piceance, we are expecting no new well connects in 2026, which will result in continued decline in volume and EBITDA relative to 2025. Additionally, shortfall payments are expected to decline by approximately $4,000,000 from $17,000,000 in 2025 to approximately $13,000,000 in 2026. As a reminder, MVCs and shortfall payments completely roll off in 2026, so 2027 will not have MVC shortfall payments in the Piceance. Shifting to the Permian, year-over-year EBITDA growth is primarily driven by contractual step-ups in the long-term take-or-pay transportation agreements that fully ramped in November 2025. Additionally, we expect two of the recently signed firm transportation agreements on Double E to begin service in 2026, which will provide some incremental EBITDA. I will now turn the call over to Chris to discuss the commercial momentum we are seeing on Double E and expected growth in EBITDA associated with recently executed commercial contracts on slide five.

Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everyone. Over the past several months, we have made significant progress commercializing the remaining free-flow capacity on the pipeline. With the recently executed transportation agreements, including the previously announced Producers Midstream contract, Double E has secured over 500,000,000 cubic feet per day of new long-term take-or-pay commitments over the past six months. Upon full ramp of those agreements, Double E will have approximately 1.6 Bcf per day of firm take-or-pay contracts with a group of prominent, primarily investment-grade shippers. These agreements also expand Double E’s downstream connectivity with new and highly valued delivery points into the Transwestern Central Pool, the Huber Benson pipeline, and a planned future connection with Desert Southwest Pipeline. These connections significantly increase the end-market optionality available to our shippers and improve access to several important demand centers. Given the strong commercial momentum we have seen, the remaining free-flow capacity on the pipeline is now effectively full, which has accelerated our efforts to pursue a mainline compression expansion. As Heath mentioned earlier, we recently launched a binding open season to solicit additional shipper commitments to support that project, which could expand Double E’s capacity by approximately 50% from 1.6 Bcf per day to roughly 2.4 Bcf per day. Based on our currently contracted volumes, we expect the Permian segment adjusted EBITDA to reach approximately $60,000,000 by 2029. Importantly, if we are successful in fully commercializing the planned expansion capacity, that EBITDA contribution could increase to approximately $90,000,000 or more by 2030. Stepping back for a moment, we continue to see strong underlying fundamentals across the Delaware Basin. Producers are continuing to improve drilling efficiencies and extend lateral lengths, while processing capacity across West Texas and New Mexico continues to expand. As a result, demand for reliable residue gas takeaway remains strong, and we believe Double E is very well positioned as a critical transportation corridor connecting the Delaware Basin to multiple downstream markets. With that commercial update, I will turn it back to Bill to walk through the recent Double E refinancing on slide six.

Thanks, Chris. Yesterday, Summit Permian Transmission entered into a new $440,000,000 senior secured term loan facility maturing in March 2031, including $340,000,000 funded at closing, a $50,000,000 committed delayed draw facility to support expansion projects, and a $50,000,000 accordion feature for future growth opportunities. Proceeds from the facility were used to repay the existing Permian Transmission credit facility and the subsidiary preferred equity at Summit Permian Transmission HoldCo, simplifying the capital structure and extending the maturity profile of the asset. The transaction also enabled an $85,000,000 distribution back to Summit Midstream Corp., and as Heath mentioned earlier, Summit Midstream Corp. intends to use those proceeds to repay approximately $45,000,000 of accrued preferred dividends and reduce borrowings on the ABL by approximately $40,000,000. Beyond improving our leverage profile and strengthening the balance sheet, the new facility also provides the capital needed to fund the expected growth projects on Double E, including the recently announced plant connections and the potential mainline compression expansion project Chris mentioned. Overall, this transaction simplifies the capital structure, funds high-growth projects, and positions Summit Midstream Corp. with greater financial flexibility moving forward. With the planned repayment of the Series A preferred stock accrued and unpaid dividends, Summit Midstream Corp. will have satisfied all conditions to allow for a return of capital program to its common shareholders. And with that, I will turn the call back to Chris to discuss our recent commercial success in the Williston Basin on slide seven.

Thanks, Bill. In the fourth quarter, we executed a new 10-year crude oil gathering agreement with a producer in Divide County, North Dakota. The agreement includes a large area of dedications, spanning more than 200,000 acres along our existing Polar and Divide systems, and represents a meaningful expansion of dedicated acreage supporting our infrastructure in the region. This new customer is currently running one rig on their development program. The first pad associated with this agreement, consisting of four three-mile laterals, is expected to be turned in line in early 2026. More broadly, we continue to be encouraged by the innovation we are seeing from Williston Basin operators, particularly as they extend lateral lengths and improve drilling and completion efficiency. These improvements are helping drive development activity in areas such as northern Williams County and southern Divide County, where Summit Midstream Corp.’s systems are well positioned. This agreement expands both our dedicated acreage position and long-term development inventory, and we believe it positions us well to capture additional development across our footprint. Importantly, we are actively pursuing several additional commercial opportunities in the region and remain very encouraged by the level of engagement we are seeing from the operators. With that overview of the Williston activity, I will turn the call back to Heath for some closing remarks.

Thanks, Chris. Let us turn to page eight. Here we have attempted to give investors a better sense of Summit Midstream Corp.’s long-term growth trajectory and some key assumptions that support it. Starting with activity across our G&P segments, we are currently projecting total system well connects in 2026 to come in below the historical averages we have experienced in recent years. We believe this is primarily due to timing impacts brought on by some significant upstream consolidation that involved key customers in our Rockies segment and a recap that is underway in the Midcon segment. We also believe that the oil price dip below the $60 mark towards the end of last year and into 2026 caused a temporary pause in second-half activity, which is still reflected in our current guidance for the year. However, as we look forward with input from our customers, we expect activity levels to climb back up to at least the historical average levels we have experienced over the past three years, if not greater, in a low-$60 oil and low-to-mid-$3 gas price environment. Given growing demand for natural gas and a tighter outlook on oil supply, we think this is a conservative but reasonable baseline assumption that has a lot of further upside potential, particularly in the 2028 to 2030 timeframe. We should also point out that the outlook includes roughly $18,000,000 of MVC-related shortfall payments in the Piceance segment that roll off from 2025 to the second half of 2026 and, conservatively, also assumes no new well connects through 2030. Moving over to the top right section of the slide, as we have discussed, we expect Permian segment adjusted EBITDA to reach approximately $60,000,000 by 2029 based on the new contracts we have already secured on Double E. If Chris and team are able to fully commercialize the capacity associated with the Double E mainline compression expansion, the Permian segment adjusted EBITDA contribution could grow to over $90,000,000 by 2030. Combining the Double E growth outlook along with the Rockies and Midcon expected segment growth, we believe Summit Midstream Corp.’s existing portfolio is very well positioned to add more than $100,000,000 of organic EBITDA growth by 2030. Touching on the capital slide on the lower left-hand section of page eight, we are forecasting total capital expenditures to trend above our normal $50,000,000 to $70,000,000 range as we execute on these high-returning capital investments in the Permian and Rockies segments in 2026 through 2028, but we expect capital spending to normalize and transition back to primarily maintenance and well connect capital in the out years. Taken together, these drivers provide visibility towards very meaningful earnings growth and significant value creation for our shareholders. As I have stated earlier, we are really excited about the growth outlook for the business, but I want to stress that we are also not taking our eyes off the ball. Further strengthening the balance sheet, maintaining our financial discipline, continuing our focus on achieving our long-term three-and-a-half-times leverage target at SNC, and enhancing shareholder returns with a return of capital program are all key components that we believe will maximize shareholder value as we execute the business plan. With that, Operator, we are ready to open the call for questions.

Thank you. Please press 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. Our first question comes from the line of Mark Reichman with Noble Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Thank you. With new take-or-pay agreements announced, what level of additional commercial commitments is needed to move forward with the mainline compression expansion to 2.4 Bcf per day and when would a final investment decision occur?

Thanks, Mark. I am going to let Chris Tennant, our new Chief Commercial Officer, take this one.

Hey, Mark. Thank you for the question. This is a very attractive project for Double E Pipeline with an estimated sub-three-times build multiple. We are very hopeful to close half this open capacity early in the open season. Capex and rate depending, if we follow that cadence, we could see an FID decision as early as this summer.

And then would you discuss the capital needs between, say, 2026 and 2029 to achieve the $100,000,000 of EBITDA growth by 2030?

Yeah. Mark, it is Heath. So, look, if you kind of set Double E aside, right? If you look at our historical capital, we have come out in the range between $50,000,000 and $70,000,000 between growth and maintenance. We think that is likely to be what we would spend on the G&P segment businesses throughout the five-year forecast period. So really the step-up is going to be oriented around Double E and, as Bill pointed out in the call earlier, that capital is largely going to be financed through the new term loan that we put in place at Double E. So just think of it as $50,000,000 to $70,000,000 for our general G&P segments per year, and for the next few years, we will probably see a similar amount of capital for Double E, roughly in that $35,000,000 a year, Mark, for the next two to three years.

Yeah, Mark. And you can read into the fact we sized the delayed draw and the accordion at about $100,000,000 of incremental potential borrowings under that new term loan. So that should give you a general sense if we are $30,000,000 to $35,000,000 a year for the next, call it, two to three years, utilizing that $100,000,000.

I see. That is very helpful. And then with respect to the 2026 guidance of 116 to 126 well connections, which basins and/or factors are most likely to drive upside or downside to that outlook? And how sensitive is it to changes in commodity prices?

Yeah. Great question, Mark. I will start with a couple stats, and then I will give you some color on upside/downside volatility. So today, we have got 90 DUCs. So that represents the lion’s share of that range of well connects already that are drilled but not completed. We also have seven rigs running, six in the Rockies, one in the Midcon. So those rigs right now, think about them as basically starting to drill for activity that I would characterize more as late second quarter, third quarter-type well connects. So between the DUCs and the rigs, we have got a lot of confidence in that range. In the Midcon, as an example, we are only expecting nine wells in the Arkoma as we sit here today. We only need three more to round out that nine. We have already had six that came online in the first quarter. And then the Barnett, as an example, all 17 wells are DUCs. Those are slated to come online in the June/July timeframe and really just require a completion crew to get out there to finish them up. We spend a lot of time looking at that data when we establish our guidance range so that we have confidence in what we are putting out there. Now as it relates to your upside/downside to the outlook, I would tell you that this plan is based on a $65 strip WTI and about $3.40 on Henry Hub. Strip today is $85 on crude and $3.70 on Henry Hub. In markets like this, historically, we have seen that this price indicator really incentivizes our customers to either accelerate development or try to bring on new well connects. So from an activity perspective, we are in a period where there is more upside than down from a commodity price perspective. And then lastly, as it relates to commodity price, as you know, in the DJ we have percentage-of-proceeds contracts. If you just run through current strip, so that $85 and $3.70, that is, call it, another anywhere from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 of increased product margin that is not reflected in our guidance range today. Obviously, there is a lot of uncertainty around what is going on in the Middle East. We thought it was prudent to keep our conservative assumption around strip. I think that represents some pretty material upside for us this year based on what we are seeing right now.

Yeah. Mark, just to add a little bit to that too. I think when you think of the range, if you accept the producer-driven forecast, which, in 2025, we saw some slippage to the right on that, which is why we came in lower. But when you think about 2026, I think just given the commodity price signals, most of the customers we talk to are trying to accelerate that activity, so more likely that they will hit their timing. If they hit their timing, that is generally going to push us to the higher end of the range. Then, the other component, it is not like you can snap your fingers overnight and get new rigs and new completion crews under contract. But we do know that several folks that were planning wells already for the 2027 timeframe are looking to see if they can bring those wells into the fourth quarter. That will not add as big of an impact for the year because you will be talking probably just a few, two to three months maybe, of contribution, but it will be a good sign as you get some momentum going into 2027 at a minimum.

And then just lastly, following the Double E refinancing and preferred dividend repayment, how are you thinking about the path and timeline to reach the 3.5 times leverage target? When could the company realistically consider reinstating common shareholder dividends, and would asset sales or joint ventures be part of the deleveraging strategy?

Well, look. Mark, what I would say is, if you just look at, for example, the high end of the range, right? If we hit the $265,000,000 mark, we think our leverage will be roughly 3.6 times. So I do not think it is out of the question for us to consider a dividend policy over the next twelve months. It is highly going to depend on this year and where we end up from an overall leverage perspective. But as you pointed out, the arrears are paid off. That is a major step to get out of the way, and I think as soon as we feel comfortable that we are getting to our target and are able to sustain that leverage target, that is when you are going to see us want to turn on a dividend. Your question around asset sales or JVs being part of the deleveraging strategy, I would say I do not think that those things are going to drive our deleveraging strategy. I think we are going to see that leverage come down as we execute our base plan. But we are very opportunistic. We have done quite a bit of M&A both on the sell side and the buy side and optimized the portfolio. So I think when we think about JVs and growth, I think those are more likely going to be the triggers to move forward from the M&A front.

Well, this has been very helpful. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mark. Thank you.

Our next question comes from the line of Greg Brody with Bank of America. Your line is now open.

Hey, guys.

Hey.

Just thinking, congrats on the Permian contracts. I was looking—it is an opportunity that is exciting there. Just thinking about longer term, I know in the past you have talked about folding the Permian asset into the company. Obviously, this opportunity allows you to delay that. And I am just curious if you think about, in terms of allocating capital, do you think about contributing capital into the JV to potentially reduce leverage and maybe collapse the unrestricted sub and restricted group, or are you thinking about that?

Yeah. Greg, great question. And, look, we have talked a lot about that over the years. A couple things. One, our high-yield bonds mature in 2029. So I think it is reasonable to expect that sometime in 2028, a year or so in advance of that maturity, we would look to refinance that bond. One thing that we were successful in getting under this new term loan is really a supportive call protection structure. So it is non-call one, then it steps down to 102 in year two, 101 in year three, and par thereafter. So if we are executing a refi and you get some of this EBITDA growth on these commercial contracts, we can really clean up that term loan and refinance it alongside our bonds in 2028 without a bunch of leakage. So that was an important deal point for us when we were negotiating this transaction. And then, Greg, as you know, when you are in a high growth mode with a decent amount of capital spend, that really takes 12 to 24 months for that EBITDA to show up. This type of financing is actually a pretty attractive solution just to maintain a delevering profile at Summit Corporate while we are executing on this growth.

Yeah. That makes sense. Maybe just, since you touched it, the question on M&A. It was asked, but maybe just a little bit more color around the opportunity set today and the activity level we could see over the next year.

Yeah. So, Greg, I would say this. We focused on today’s call about the $100,000,000 of organic growth really to set the baseline for what is in the plan today, where we think this company will go with the existing portfolio, and we are not dependent on M&A to achieve that. I think, but one of the key things that we think is important for Summit Midstream Corp. and our investors is that the business needs to continue to scale up. I think if we can scale up and keep the balance sheet in good shape, we think that is going to dramatically improve the investability of the company. There will be more institutional-type investors that would come into the stock. It just creates more room, if you will, for investors to come in and invest in Summit Midstream Corp. So I think we do think—and we are actively working on—opportunities around our portfolio that we can either bolt on synergistic assets and continue to do what we have done in the past, which is look for assets that are high free-cash-flow generating that we can buy at a really attractive valuation and fold into the portfolio.

Yeah. And, Greg, I would tell you that, as you know, we spent a lot of time getting this balance sheet to where it is today. As we evaluate M&A, we have been very disciplined, looking for things that are at a minimum leverage-neutral and value-accretive, and also have focused on high free-cash-flowing businesses, as Heath mentioned. I do not think you are going to see us really veer off that methodology as we evaluate potential acquisitions.

Thank you for the time, guys.

Thanks, Greg. Thank you.

That concludes the question-and-answer session. Thank you all for your participation on today’s call. This does conclude the conference. You may now disconnect.