MPLX LP earnings: third quarter 2026

MPLX LP, a US partnership that owns oil and gas pipelines and processing plants and pays most of its cash to its unitholders, had a solid third quarter of 2026. Its own measure of operating earnings, adjusted EBITDA, rose about 5% to $1,859 million, and both of its businesses grew. Net income fell about 25% to $1,164 million, but only because a year earlier it booked a one-off $484 million gain on businesses it part-owns. Cash from running the business rose to $1.5 billion. The quarterly payout went up 12.5%, as promised, and is still covered 1.3 times by the cash available for it. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Earnings per unit of $1.15 came in about 4% above the $1.11 that analysts expected on average, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar. ¹²

The strong points

• Adjusted EBITDA, the company's own measure of profit from running the business before interest, tax and asset wear, rose about 5% to $1,859 million, with both businesses growing. ¹
• The payout to unitholders was raised 12.5% to $4.84 a unit a year, and the cash available to pay it still covered it 1.3 times, the same cushion as a year ago. ¹
• Cash from running the business rose to $1.5 billion even as net income fell. ¹

The weak points

• Interest and other financing costs rose about 23% to $300 million, eating into the gain in operating earnings. ¹
• The start of the Bay Runner pipeline slipped from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2026, without comment. ¹
• Over the first nine months, the cash available for unitholders was almost flat, and its cover of the payout dipped to 1.3 times from 1.4. ¹

What the company expects

• The company expects adjusted EBITDA to keep growing at a mid-single-digit rate as its pipelines carry more and new projects start, without naming a year or a range. ¹
• It keeps its plan to spend $2.9 billion on growth projects this year, the figure it set a quarter ago, with over 90% going to natural gas and gas-liquids infrastructure. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Earnings per unit came in above what analysts expected, the business grew about 5% once last year's one-off gain is set aside, and the payout rose as promised, though no firm forecast for the year was given to measure against.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. MPLX LP's results release, 3 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 3 November 2026. ↩