AI needs power and power needs gas. $LNG up 6.58% today after record exports and a $10B buyback
u/corenellius ·
Reddit — r/StockMarket
· February 26, 2026 at 19:05
· ⬆ 25 pts
· 💬 18 comments
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AI Summary
Summary
The post discusses Cheniere Energy's ($LNG) strong 2025 performance, including record exports and beating financial guidance. The author highlights a new $10 billion share buyback program and a long-term supply deal with CPC Taiwan.
The author's core thesis is that the growing power demand from AI data centers will increase the need for natural gas, benefiting key infrastructure players like Cheniere. They also note that European gas storage is lower year-over-year, suggesting sustained demand.
Quality assessment: This is well-researched DD. The author provides specific, verifiable data points (EBITDA, DCF, buyback amount, production figures, new contract details) to support their bullish thesis on a specific company.
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Cheniere had a strong year. 670 cargoes exported, over 46 million tons, and they beat their own EBITDA and DCF guidance. Full year EBITDA came in at $6.94 billion and DCF hit $5.3 billion, about $100 million above what they guided to.
2026 is shaping up to be even bigger. They're guiding $6.75B to $7.25B in EBITDA with another 5 million tons of production coming online as the last few Corpus Christi Stage 3 trains finish up through the year.
The headline this morning was a $9 billion buyback increase, bringing the total authorization to over $10 billion through 2030. On a roughly $35 billion market cap that's a pretty aggressive bet on themselves. They also quietly signed a new deal with CPC Taiwan, 1.2 million tons per year through 2050, which is a repeat customer they've worked with since 2018.
The broader thesis is simple. AI data centers need power, power needs gas, and European storage is sitting about 25% behind last year heading into spring. Demand isn't going anywhere.
Anyone else think the energy infrastructure layer is being slept on compared to the chip plays?