ONEOK, Inc.

What they do

ONEOK gathers, processes, transports, fractionates, stores, and exports natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products, and crude oil. Its four reportable segments—Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude—generate primarily fee-based earnings supported by long-term contracts with minimum volume commitments and take-or-pay agreements.

Revenue drivers

• Natural Gas Liquids Segment — Generates revenue from gathering, fractionation, transportation, storage, and marketing of NGLs; raw feed throughput volumes increased 15% year-over-year in Q1 2026, and segment adjusted EBITDA was $706 million in Q1 2026.
• Natural Gas Gathering and Processing Segment — Generates fee-based revenue and commodity-price-exposed revenue from percentage-of-proceeds (POP) contracts; processed natural gas volumes increased 5% in Q1 2026, driven by Permian and Mid-Continent growth.
• Natural Gas Pipelines Segment — Earns revenue from firm transportation, storage services, and optimization and marketing; benefited from higher natural gas firm transportation earnings and increased optimization activity in Q1 2026.
• Refined Products and Crude Segment — Transports and stores refined products and crude oil via pipelines and terminals; volumes shipped increased 12% in Q1 2026, though segment faced a $60 million joint-venture impairment charge in the same quarter.

Recent performance

For the first quarter of 2026, ONEOK reported net income of $776 million ($1.23 per diluted share) and adjusted EBITDA of $2.0 billion, representing 12% and 13% increases, respectively, over the prior-year quarter. Full-year 2025 net income was $3.39 billion on revenue of $33.63 billion, while annual operating cash flow reached $5.60 billion. The company’s second-quarter 2026 revenue was $12.05 billion, and earnings increased year-over-year due to higher NGL, refined products, and natural gas volumes.

Strategy

ONEOK is executing a growth strategy centered on acquisitions and organic capital projects in key basins. Recent acquisitions include EnLink (completed January 2025, $4.0 billion in stock), the Delaware Basin JV ($941 million, May 2025), and an additional BridgeTex interest ($270 million, July 2025). Major projects underway include the Bighorn processing plant (300 MMcf/d, $365 million, mid-2027), the Medford fractionator rebuild (210 MBbl/d, $485 million, phased completion late 2026/early 2027), the Texas City Logistics export terminal (400 MBbl/d, $700 million, early 2028), the MBTC Pipeline ($280 million, early 2028), the Eiger Express Pipeline (3.7 Bcf/d, $350 million equity stake, mid-2028), and the Greater Denver pipeline expansion (35 MBbl/d, $480 million, third quarter 2026). The company expects its consolidated earnings to be approximately 90% fee-based in 2026.

Risks

• Declining drilling and production — If drilling activity declines substantially near ONEOK's assets, volumes and revenues could decline, as gathering systems depend on well production that naturally depletes over time.
• Commodity price exposure — Despite a primarily fee-based model, the Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment's POP contracts and the optimization activities in other segments expose ONEOK to commodity price volatility.
• Intense competition for volumes — ONEOK competes for natural gas, NGL, refined products, and crude oil volumes with other midstream companies, major integrated oil companies, and independent E&P firms based on service quality, fees, and asset proximity.
• Geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty — Geopolitical conditions in the Middle East contribute to volatile commodity prices, and changes in U.S. tax or environmental regulations (e.g., the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) could impact cash taxes or operations.

Outlook

Management increased 2026 financial guidance to net income of $3.21–$3.79 billion (midpoint $3.5 billion), diluted EPS of approximately $5.53, and adjusted EBITDA of $8.0–$8.5 billion (midpoint $8.25 billion). The company expects continued volume growth across segments, driven by a constructive market environment and progress on major capital projects. Capital expenditure guidance remains $2.7–$3.2 billion for 2026.