Midstream firms repurchased $818M in 1Q26; Cheniere $537M

Six constituents of the Alerian Midstream Energy Index repurchased $818 million of equity in 1Q26. Cheniere Energy made $537 million of those repurchases.

Quarterly repurchases declined from $1.31 billion across eight AMNA names in 4Q25. Cheniere had repurchased more than $1 billion in both 3Q25 and 4Q25, periods when its stock had been weaker; in 1Q26 Cheniere’s shares rose roughly 46% on a price-return basis.

In February, Cheniere’s board approved an additional $9 billion repurchase authorization, taking the company’s total buyback authority to more than $10 billion through 2030.

Other AMNA constituents that executed buybacks in 1Q26 included Enterprise Products Partners, which repurchased $116 million of common units; MPLX, $50 million; Targa Resources, $55 million; and Antero Midstream, $18 million.

Hess Midstream, which previously repurchased units only from its sponsor, began buying units from the public under accelerated share repurchase programs in May 2025. After repurchasing about $80 million from the public last year, Hess Midstream announced a $60 million program in March that included roughly $42 million from public holders and $18 million from sponsor Chevron. Pembina renewed a Normal Course Issuer Bid; it made no repurchases under its prior program that was set to expire in May.

Enterprise Products expects about $1 billion in discretionary free cash flow for the full year and plans to allocate 50% to 60% of that free cash flow to buybacks, with the remainder used for debt reduction.

As of mid-May, buyback authorizations covered nearly three-quarters of AMNA by weighting, representing 17 constituents. A majority of the related Alerian indexes by weighting also carried repurchase programs.

Quarterly repurchase activity in 1Q26 was lower than the late-2025 peak levels and occurred while many midstream equities posted gains. Companies are directing capital among dividends, share repurchases and growth projects according to their individual capital-allocation plans.