Kinder Morgan Keeps Outlook Steady, Sees Natural Gas Demand Booming

Despite minor earnings miss, Kinder Morgan remains optimistic on LNG demand and says most project costs are shielded from tariffs

Summary
  • Kinder Morgan held its 2025 earnings forecast, downplayed tariff risks, and sees U.S. natural gas demand accelerating long term
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Kinder Morgan (KMI, Financial) shares rose Thursday after the company reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast despite narrowly missing Q1 earnings expectations. Management struck a confident tone on the long-term demand for natural gas and played down concerns around the potential financial drag from tariffs on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

The pipeline giant maintained its guidance for 2025 adjusted earnings at $1.27 per share, just below the $1.28 consensus. While Kinder Morgan acknowledged some uncertainty from commodity prices and tariffs, it said early planning helped limit the risks. CEO Kim Dang told analysts that the company preordered key materials, capped cost increases, and secured domestic steel for major projects—two-thirds of which now have firm cost protections in place.

Only about 10% of the finished steel pipe used in these projects is still exposed to tariffs, Dang said.

Kinder Morgan also noted that any dip in U.S. LNG exports to China is being offset by stronger demand from Europe and Asia. Despite China halting U.S. LNG imports since February, the company reported record natural gas production volumes in Q1, with U.S. demand growing by 6.8 billion cubic feet per day. It expects demand could climb by as much as 28B cf/day by decade's end.

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