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Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 6 May 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 3 new, 2 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Net income and EPS roughly flat: Net income was $100.8 million, with $99.8 million attributable to Class A stock, down from $106.6 million. Diluted EPS was $0.54, unchanged. Adjusted EBITDAX rose 2% to $252.9 million. Source
  • Production grew 6% year on year: Total production averaged 102.6 Mboe/d, up 6% from 96.5 Mboe/d. Oil averaged 40.7 Mbbls/d, up 4% from 39.1 Mbbls/d. Source
  • Cash flow and free cash flow higher: Operating cash flow was $197.6 million and free cash flow $145.6 million, up from $110.5 million a year earlier. Operating income was 36% of revenue. Source
  • Giddings drove volume growth: Giddings produced 83.9 Mboe/d, with oil up 8%, and made up 82% of company volume. Management attributed the growth to continued strong well performance. Source
  • Karnes acreage forms a large block: The acquired Karnes acreage creates a contiguous block of about 10,000 gross acres across Karnes and Gonzales counties, with working interest of 93%. Source
  • Operating margin narrowed: Adjusted cash operating margin was $27.27 per boe, or 70%, against $28.57 and 71%. Operating income margin was $13.84 per boe, or 36%, against $15.63 and 39%. Source
  • Returned 57% of free cash flow: Shareholders received $83.3 million through buybacks and dividends, 57% of free cash flow. The company repurchased 2.0 million shares for $51.9 million. Source
  • Bolt-on purchases totaled $155 million: Private-operator bolt-ons in Karnes and Giddings cost about $155 million, covering roughly 6,200 net acres and about 500 boe/d of production, about 45% oil. Most production closed late in the quarter. Source

“Magnolia’s first quarter financial and operating metrics delivered a strong start to 2026,”

Chairman, President and CEO Chris Stavros

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Total capital spending Sourcefull year 2026$440 to $480 millionKept
D&C capital Sourcesecond quarter 2026roughly $120 to $125 millionNew
Total production growth Sourcefull year 2026approximately 5 percentKept
Total production Sourcesecond quarter 2026approximately 105 Mboe/dNew
Fully diluted share count Sourcesecond quarter 2026approximately 185 million sharesNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Second-quarter estimates for drilling and completions capital, production and diluted share count were provided, replacing the first-quarter estimates in the prior release. Source
  • Guidance kept: Full-year drilling and completions capital range and full-year production growth were reiterated rather than revised. Source
  • New: Several private-operator bolt-on acquisitions closed in Karnes and Giddings during the quarter. The prior release did not report acquisitions of this kind for the first quarter. Source
  • New: EnerVest, the private equity shareholder, sold its remaining interest in both Class A and Class B common stock during the quarter. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Net income and EPS roughly flat: Net income was $100.8 million, with $99.8 million attributable to Class A stock, down from $106.6 million. Diluted EPS was $0.54, unchanged. Adjusted EBITDAX rose 2% to $252.9 million. Source
  • Production grew 6% year on year: Total production averaged 102.6 Mboe/d, up 6% from 96.5 Mboe/d. Oil averaged 40.7 Mbbls/d, up 4% from 39.1 Mbbls/d. Source
  • Cash flow and free cash flow higher: Operating cash flow was $197.6 million and free cash flow $145.6 million, up from $110.5 million a year earlier. Operating income was 36% of revenue. Source
  • Operations recovered from January freeze: January freezing weather affected operations. The prior release estimated first-quarter downtime at about 1.5 Mboe/d and said it had been fully restored. Source

Segments and regions

  • Giddings drove volume growth: Giddings produced 83.9 Mboe/d, with oil up 8%, and made up 82% of company volume. Management attributed the growth to continued strong well performance. Source
  • Karnes acreage forms a large block: The acquired Karnes acreage creates a contiguous block of about 10,000 gross acres across Karnes and Gonzales counties, with working interest of 93%. Source
  • Giddings working interest increased: Working interest was increased across about 45,000 gross Giddings acres, and some contiguous acreage was added. Source

“Our operations rebounded nicely after being affected by the freezing weather in January showing total year-over-year production growth of 6 percent and oil production growth of 4 percent during the quarter.”

Chairman, President and CEO Chris Stavros

Products, prices and realizations

  • Oil sold near WTI: Oil averaged $70.29 per barrel against NYMEX WTI of $72.17, a 97% realization. A year earlier oil averaged $69.81 with 98% realization against WTI of $71.42. Source
  • Gas and NGL prices lower: Natural gas averaged $2.98 per Mcf, about 60% of Henry Hub, versus 85% a year earlier. NGLs averaged $18.48 per barrel against $22.03. Henry Hub averaged $4.97 per MMBtu. Source
  • Revenue rose on higher volumes: Oil revenue was $257.3 million, natural gas $51.8 million and NGLs $49.4 million, bringing total revenue to $358.5 million from $350.3 million. Source

Costs and margins

  • Unit operating costs mostly lower: Lease operating expense fell to $5.17 per boe from $5.42, and taxes other than income to $1.78 from $2.31. Gathering, transportation and processing rose to $1.97 from $1.72. Source
  • G&A and stock compensation rose: General and administrative expense rose to $31.4 million from $24.6 million. Stock-based compensation in operating cash flow was $12.2 million, against $6.5 million. Source
  • Operating margin narrowed: Adjusted cash operating margin was $27.27 per boe, or 70%, against $28.57 and 71%. Operating income margin was $13.84 per boe, or 36%, against $15.63 and 39%. Source
  • Income tax expense lower: Total income tax expense was $20.9 million, down from $25.1 million. Current tax fell to $4.0 million from $12.8 million, while deferred tax rose to $16.9 million from $12.3 million. Source

“Our capital allocation priorities, which include a low reinvestment rate, remain unchanged.”

Chairman, President and CEO Chris Stavros

Activity and development program

  • Two rigs and one crew continue: The two-rig, one-crew program has run for five years and drove total production growth above 50%. Management plans to keep this activity level through the rest of the year. Source
  • Pad drilling concentrated in Giddings: About 75 to 80% of 2026 activity is multi-well pads in Giddings, across the core 240,000 net acre area. The remainder is in Karnes, including recently acquired acreage. Source
  • Appraisal spending kept modest: A modest amount of capital goes to appraisal across south Texas, to expand the resource set and de-risk acreage, particularly in Giddings. Source
  • First-quarter drilling capital: First-quarter drilling and completions spending was $128.7 million, about 51% of adjusted EBITDAX. The prior release had estimated roughly $125 million. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

  • Returned 57% of free cash flow: Shareholders received $83.3 million through buybacks and dividends, 57% of free cash flow. The company repurchased 2.0 million shares for $51.9 million. Source
  • Buyback authorization drawn down: 11.6 million Class A shares remain under the repurchase authorization, which the prior release put at 12.9 million. The shares are allocated to open-market purchases. Source
  • Cash fell sharply in the quarter: Cash ended at $124.4 million, down from $266.8 million at year-end 2025. The $450 million revolving credit facility was undrawn, and long-term debt, net, was $393.4 million. Source
  • Diluted share count down 4%: Diluted weighted average total shares were 185.9 million, down 4% from 194.2 million a year earlier. Source

Acquisitions and strategy

  • Bolt-on purchases totaled $155 million: Private-operator bolt-ons in Karnes and Giddings cost about $155 million, covering roughly 6,200 net acres and about 500 boe/d of production, about 45% oil. Most production closed late in the quarter. Source
  • Buying more of existing assets: Management said the aim is to expand the long-term resource set and extend development duration, not only to replace produced reserves. The company continues to pursue further acquisitions. Source
  • Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford expertise: Management said its technical experience in the Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford gives it a clear competitive advantage in identifying further acquisitions. Source

Coming up, as management said on 6 May 2026

  • Form 10-Q filing: The Form 10-Q for the quarter is expected to be filed with the SEC on May 7, 2026. Source
  • Class A dividend payable June 1: The $0.165 per share Class A dividend is payable June 1, 2026, to holders of record as of May 12, 2026. Source

Risks management discussed

  • External: Management cited periods of product price volatility as a factor for its operating approach, which bears on realized prices. Source
  • Financial: All oil and natural gas production is unhedged, so realized prices track market prices. Management expects this to translate into higher earnings and free cash flow in the current quarter. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management says the original activity plan is being kept, within the same drilling and completions capital range set earlier this year. Source
  • Not stated: The quarterly dividend is described as previously announced by the board. Source
  • Not stated: Management says operations recovered after the January freezing weather, which the prior release had said was fully restored. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.