Aug 3, 2026 earnings call — Momentum acquisition and Power Innovation growth
Williams raised full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to $8.3 billion to $8.5 billion after acquiring Momentum and closing a $5.34 billion Power Innovation JV.
Revenue $3.1B (est $2.8B) · EPS $0.50 (est $0.50)
Key quotes
"Last week, we achieved in-service for Phase 1 of Socrates, delivering a utility scale 200 megawatts of power to our customer in under 18 months since commercialization."
"The Momentum footprint extends our reach into the rapidly growing Shelby Trough in Western Haynesville, where we see incredibly deep upstream inventory, a strong foundation of high-quality dedicated customers and a large opportunity for new customer growth."
"3.75x leverage opens up in excess of another $2 billion of incremental capacity versus our internal 4x leverage ceiling."
Analyst Q&A 10
EBITDA growth outlook
Q (Praneeth Satish · Wells Fargo): Analyst asked whether the 11% EBITDA CAGR target already reflects conservatism given Momentum and Delta Access contributions, and asked about expected synergies from Momentum and how the 8.5x acquisition multiple is calculated.
A: Management said the 11% target is centered on the existing contracted book and excludes commercialization of additional power or pipes projects, and they are being conservative across other areas including the Northeast. They would not yet quantify synergies from Momentum but said operational synergies and growth are expected, and the 8.5x multiple is based on consolidated EBITDA (net effect gives ~9x on next year's expected performance).
"And specifically, we're really talking about a number here that continues to be centered on our existing contracted book of business." — John Porter (CFO)
Backlog and hyperscaler customers
Q (Jeremy Tonet · JPMorgan Securities): Analyst asked about behind-the-meter backlog, whether deals with one hyperscaler prevent deals with others, and if Transco laterals remain potential large projects.
A: Management said commercial interest is strengthening, Socrates came online on time and backlog is supported by multiple customers beyond the first customer, and they are commercializing additional projects before year-end while pacing them. They said discussions with one major hyperscaler do not preclude negotiations with others, and the Transco backlog still contains potential large projects but pacing depends on utility customers firming demand and timing.
"We expect to commercialize additional projects between now and the end of the year." — Chad Zamarin (CEO)
Power project evolution and Socrates start
Q (Spiro Dounis · Citi): Analyst asked how the next wave of power projects will differ (geography, contract length, customers) and about capital recycling timing; also asked how Socrates start-up went and lessons for other projects.
A: Management said future projects will still target speed and scale, may phase and hybridize over time, and geography will focus on places easier to build; the JV with Blackstone helps recycle capital and they expect contract terms to extend as projects become integral infrastructure. For Socrates, commissioning and load testing went smoothly, first power was being delivered this week, and ramp to full capacity is expected over the month while lessons learned will be applied to future projects.
"As of this week, we're delivering first power to the facility and expect to see that ramp up over the course of the month." — Larry Larsen (COO)
Line 200 and Louisiana supply
Q (Ameet Thakkar · BMO): Analyst asked how much Line 200 capacity can be sourced from Transco, LEG, and Momentum, and a housekeeping question on the JV capital bridge numbers.
A: Management explained Gillis is the Line 200 supply area, where NG3, LEG and Transco all deliver and the Haynesville will be the primary supply for Line 200 and Woodside; Delta Access expands capacity east across Louisiana to serve power and LNG demand. On the JV capital reconciliation, management said capitalized interest is the biggest component of the delta and is noncash from the partnership standpoint.
"I think capitalized interest is the biggest component of that." — John Porter (CFO)
Funding Power Innovation projects
Q (John Mackay · Goldman Sachs): Analyst asked John to walk through the available $2 billion to fund near-term BTM projects and options for incremental funding, such as expanding the JV or different structures; also asked about origin and returns for Delta Access.
A: Management said they have in excess of $2 billion available now for near-term Power Innovation projects based on a 3.75x normalized leverage assumption and that 3.5x to 4x is their working leverage range with 4x not a hard ceiling. They said the JV platform is efficient and repeatable, future deals may be unique partnerships, and Delta Access was commercialized by Momentum but fits well within the combined platform and creates a better solution than either could have done alone.
"I think in general, though, it's probable in my mind that each one of these deals could perhaps be a unique separate partnership just because I think each partnership sort of has to price the opportunity in a somewhat unique manner." — John Porter (CFO)
Momentum multiple and Transco growth
Q (Jason Gabelman · TD Cowen): Analyst asked for an EBITDA multiple on the Momentum deal including LEG connector and Delta expansion, and whether large-scale Transco opportunities remain organic or require M&A.
A: Management said the discussed multiple is a current run-rate multiple and does not include future growth such as Shelby Connector or Delta Access, and that future high-return projects will compress the multiple over time. They said there are organic opportunities on Transco and many backlog projects are Transco-related; timing depends on customers' build plans and regulatory certainty with larger projects often in the 2030-plus time frame.
"So to be clear, the multiple we've been speaking to does not include -- that's a current run rate multiple." — Chad Zamarin (CEO)
Share lockup and financing cadence
Q (Julien Dumoulin-Smith · Jefferies): Analyst asked about the lockup on shares issued in the transaction and about timing to deploy recent equity proceeds into Power Innovation projects and the potential to accelerate or upsize timelines.
A: Management said shares will be released over a 180-day period and then trading will be limited to a small percentage of average daily volume, so they don't see negative pressure from the transaction. They said they have capacity between now and year-end to commercialize projects, have financing options to scale further if needed, and will optimize project timing to equipment delivery and customer schedules while applying learnings to improve efficiency.
"Instead of a traditional lockup, we'll be releasing the shares over a 180-day period." — Robert Wingo
Capacity to run many BTM projects
Q (Gabe Daoud · Truist): Analyst asked whether anything (equipment shortages, talent) could limit accelerating to run more than 5 behind-the-meter projects at once, and asked for an update on Appalachia G&P activity.
A: Management said key pacing factors include equipment delivery timing and the balance of plant, not just turbines, and they are scaling talent and capability to deliver more projects while keeping quality, budget and schedule. On Appalachia G&P, they see some players picking up leases and activity that could be upside, but they remain somewhat conservative in Northeast growth assumptions for now.
"So it's not really necessarily a pace, but it's some of the timing of when that equipment comes in, it's really going to be setting some of the pace as we think about commercialization of these projects." — Larry Larsen (COO)
Momentum growth and business mix
Q (Robert Catellier · CIBC): Analyst asked what EBITDA CAGR to expect from Momentum specifically and what basin production growth supports that, and asked where the power business will sit as a percent of total by decade end.
A: Management would not give a precise CAGR for Momentum but said they will bring opportunities that at least meet or exceed their target long-term growth rate and that Momentum will be additive to growth through the end of the decade. They said the next 5–10 years will be the decade of pipe and power, with pipeline and power growing faster while gathering and processing shrinks in relative share though not in absolute terms.
"Think about the next 5, frankly, 10 years being the decade of pipe and power." — Chad Zamarin (CEO)
Drivers of 2026 guidance range
Q (Manav Gupta · UBS): Analyst asked what could drive results to the top end of 2026 guidance and asked for updates on Southeast Supply Enhancement and Northeast Supply Enhancement project timing.
A: Management said they remain conservative given hurricane season, weak summer gas prices, and rig activity, and that factors like hurricane impacts, winter prices, and rig activity could influence hitting the top of the range; project in-service payments are amortized and do not cause a large single-year blip. On transmission projects, Southeast Supply Enhancement is under construction with pipeline early in-service possible early '27 and full in-service targeted for third quarter '27, and NESE construction initial work is starting now with offshore build mostly in 2027 and the project trending on time and budget.
"Southeast Supply Enhancement that is under construction." — Larry Larsen (COO)