Kinder Morgan misses quarterly profit estimates, remains bullish on natgas demand

By Valari Srivastava

(Reuters) – U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan on Wednesday said its quarterly profit fell short of Wall Street expectations but was due to growth in natural gas demand led by AI and data centers.

The pipeline operator also said the Trident Intrastate Pipeline Project will provide 216 miles of pipeline with a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) from Katy, Texas to a liquefied natural gas and industrial corridor. Port Arthur.

Shares of the company rose 1.5% after the bell.

The project, which was announced just days after US President Donald Trump suspended a ban on new LNG export permits, is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2027.

“Amid energy and industrial growth in LNG exports to Mexico, our internal volume in the overall natural gas business is about 28 bcfd between now and 2030,” CEO Kim Dang said on a conference call with analysts.

Edward Jones analyst Nick Hummel said Kinder Morgan has a very large pipeline footprint that will allow it to take advantage of growing demand for natural gas.

The company also said in the call that it expects to participate in the growth opportunities recently announced by US President Donald Trump, which will provide up to $500 billion in private sector investment in support of AI infrastructure.

“There are a lot of people looking for this opportunity,” added one executive.

But fourth-quarter revenue fell to $3.99 billion, down about 5 percent from $4.04 billion last year as it struggled with lower crude and condensate volumes moving through the pipeline.

Kinder Morgan’s adjusted earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 came in at 32 cents, short of analysts’ estimates of 33 cents a share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Valari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)