Diamondback Q3 EPS Jumps 62.1% to $5.69; Dividend Raised 7.3%, Production Outlook Lifted
Diamondback Energy turned a richer oil price into a much bigger third quarter. The Permian Basin producer said Monday that net income attributable to the company rose to $1.60 billion, or $5.69 a diluted share, from $1.02 billion, or $3.51 a share, a year earlier, a 62.1% jump in per-share earnings, according to its 8-K.
Total revenues climbed 38.4% to $5.43 billion from $3.92 billion. Adjusted net income was $1.65 billion, or $5.86 a share. The average realized oil price was $87.30 a barrel, up from $64.60 a year ago, while oil production averaged 525,000 barrels a day, or 1.03 million barrels of oil equivalent a day.
More cash, and a bigger dividend
Operating cash flow was $2.6 billion and free cash flow was $2.15 billion, the company said. Cash capital spending rose to $1.03 billion from $774 million.
The board raised the base quarterly dividend 7.3% to $1.18 a share, or $4.72 a year, from $1.10. The dividend is payable Nov. 19 to holders of record on Nov. 12.
Diamondback repurchased 1,348,209 shares during the quarter for an estimated $251 million, the company said, at an average price of $185.94. It has bought back another 389,841 shares since the quarter ended. The company also repurchased $106 million in principal of its 2054 and 2064 notes at 94.9% of par and redeemed $698 million of 2026 notes on Oct. 1. Consolidated net debt stood at $12.8 billion.
"Our goal is and has always been to be the best at converting rock into cash flow," Chief Executive Officer Kaes Van't Hof wrote in a letter to shareholders.
Guidance moves higher
Diamondback lifted its full-year production outlook. It now estimates 2026 oil output of 524,000 barrels a day, up from prior guidance of at least 522,000, and total output of 1.015 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, up from at least 1 million.
The full-year cash capital budget moved to $3.95 billion to $4.00 billion. For the fourth quarter, the company expects oil production of 518,000 to 528,000 barrels a day, or 1.025 million to 1.045 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, with capital spending of $1.00 billion to $1.05 billion.
Van't Hof's letter said the company has bought back $1.1 billion in notional value of its bonds so far this year and completed 34 small acquisitions totaling $406 million. Diamondback also acquired a 7.5% equity stake in the Solitude Pipeline, a Permian-to-Katy natural gas line that a WhiteWater-led group expects to enter service in the second half of 2029.
Management will discuss the results on a conference call Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 8 a.m. Central time.
By the numbers
- Total revenues: $5.43 billion, up 38.4%
- Diluted EPS: $5.69 vs. $3.51
- Adjusted EPS: $5.86
- Free cash flow: $2.15 billion
- Oil production: 525,000 barrels a day
- Quarterly base dividend: $1.18, up 7.3%
Sources
- Diamondback Energy Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release and shareholder letter, filed Nov. 2, 2026 (accession 0001539838-26-000180)
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