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Can Rising U.S. Energy Exports Boost Enterprise Products' Growth?
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Key Takeaways
EPD's equivalent pipeline volumes rose 8% to a record 14.7 MMBPD as demand for U.S. energy exports grew.
Enterprise Products has $6.5B of organic projects under construction to support Permian and export growth.
About 90% of EPD's system-wide LPG export capacity is contracted, supporting volume-driven growth.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD - Free Report) provides transportation, processing, fractionation, storage and marine terminal services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (“NGLs”), crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products. The partnership primarily generates revenues through long-term contracts under which customers use its midstream infrastructure to transport, process and store hydrocarbons and related products. Strong international demand for U.S. energy benefited EPD in the second quarter of 2026, enabling equivalent pipeline volumes to increase 8% to a record 14.7 million barrels per day (MMBPD) and marine terminal volumes to rise 33% to 2.8 MMBPD.
The leading North American midstream operator’s growth prospects are supported by $6.5 billion of organic projects under construction, including assets designed to accommodate Permian production growth and international demand for U.S. NGLs. The Enterprise Hydrocarbons Terminal expansion is expected to add 300 thousand barrels per day (MBPD) of liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) loading capacity by the fourth quarter of 2026, strengthening Enterprise Products’ ability to handle additional export volumes. Management noted increased interest from countries historically dependent on Middle Eastern supplies that are seeking to shift part of their long-term energy sourcing toward the United States.
Ethane exports represent another potential growth catalyst for Enterprise Products, supported by expanding vessel availability and higher customer liftings under existing contracts. The partnership has roughly 90% of its system-wide LPG export capacity contracted, limiting its exposure to potential weakness in terminal rates as new industry capacity enters the market. Overall, expanding U.S. energy exports are expected to support higher throughput across EPD’s integrated infrastructure network and strengthen its volume-driven growth prospects over the coming years.
Two Other Midstream Players Leveraging Export Growth
Apart from Enterprise Products Partners, rising U.S. energy exports are creating growth opportunities for other large midstream operators with extensive pipeline and export infrastructure, including Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) and Energy Transfer LP (ET - Free Report) .
Kinder Morgan is positioned to benefit from increasing U.S. LNG exports through its extensive natural gas pipeline network. In the second quarter of 2026, KMI’s natural gas transportation volumes increased 7%, partly reflecting higher LNG deliveries on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and increased exports to Mexico. Kinder Morgan noted that rising LNG exports, power demand and industrial growth are increasing the value of its highly utilized infrastructure and creating additional investment opportunities. KMI expects its growth projects to generate additional cash flow as demand for natural gas infrastructure expands.
Energy Transfer is benefiting from stronger overseas demand for U.S. hydrocarbons, particularly NGLs. In the second quarter of 2026, ET achieved record NGL exports, which increased 25%, while elevated shipment levels bolstered terminal-services margins at both the Nederland and Marcus Hook facilities. Energy Transfer is preparing for additional export growth through its fully subscribed Nederland expansion, which is expected to add 240 MBPD of ethane export capacity and 55 MBPD of LPG capacity. ET is expanding its Mont Belvieu-to-Nederland pipeline and adding two NGL ship docks, strengthening Energy Transfer’s ability to capitalize on rising U.S. energy exports.
EPD’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Enterprise Products shares have risen 23.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s 24.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, EPD trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 11.12X. This is below the broader industry average of 11.37X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPD's fourth-quarter 2026 earnings has been unchanged over the past seven days. Meanwhile, estimates for third-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings have seen upward revisions.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Can Rising U.S. Energy Exports Boost Enterprise Products' Growth?
Key Takeaways
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD - Free Report) provides transportation, processing, fractionation, storage and marine terminal services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (“NGLs”), crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products. The partnership primarily generates revenues through long-term contracts under which customers use its midstream infrastructure to transport, process and store hydrocarbons and related products. Strong international demand for U.S. energy benefited EPD in the second quarter of 2026, enabling equivalent pipeline volumes to increase 8% to a record 14.7 million barrels per day (MMBPD) and marine terminal volumes to rise 33% to 2.8 MMBPD.
The leading North American midstream operator’s growth prospects are supported by $6.5 billion of organic projects under construction, including assets designed to accommodate Permian production growth and international demand for U.S. NGLs. The Enterprise Hydrocarbons Terminal expansion is expected to add 300 thousand barrels per day (MBPD) of liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) loading capacity by the fourth quarter of 2026, strengthening Enterprise Products’ ability to handle additional export volumes. Management noted increased interest from countries historically dependent on Middle Eastern supplies that are seeking to shift part of their long-term energy sourcing toward the United States.
Ethane exports represent another potential growth catalyst for Enterprise Products, supported by expanding vessel availability and higher customer liftings under existing contracts. The partnership has roughly 90% of its system-wide LPG export capacity contracted, limiting its exposure to potential weakness in terminal rates as new industry capacity enters the market. Overall, expanding U.S. energy exports are expected to support higher throughput across EPD’s integrated infrastructure network and strengthen its volume-driven growth prospects over the coming years.
Two Other Midstream Players Leveraging Export Growth
Apart from Enterprise Products Partners, rising U.S. energy exports are creating growth opportunities for other large midstream operators with extensive pipeline and export infrastructure, including Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) and Energy Transfer LP (ET - Free Report) .
Kinder Morgan is positioned to benefit from increasing U.S. LNG exports through its extensive natural gas pipeline network. In the second quarter of 2026, KMI’s natural gas transportation volumes increased 7%, partly reflecting higher LNG deliveries on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and increased exports to Mexico. Kinder Morgan noted that rising LNG exports, power demand and industrial growth are increasing the value of its highly utilized infrastructure and creating additional investment opportunities. KMI expects its growth projects to generate additional cash flow as demand for natural gas infrastructure expands.
Energy Transfer is benefiting from stronger overseas demand for U.S. hydrocarbons, particularly NGLs. In the second quarter of 2026, ET achieved record NGL exports, which increased 25%, while elevated shipment levels bolstered terminal-services margins at both the Nederland and Marcus Hook facilities. Energy Transfer is preparing for additional export growth through its fully subscribed Nederland expansion, which is expected to add 240 MBPD of ethane export capacity and 55 MBPD of LPG capacity. ET is expanding its Mont Belvieu-to-Nederland pipeline and adding two NGL ship docks, strengthening Energy Transfer’s ability to capitalize on rising U.S. energy exports.
EPD’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Enterprise Products shares have risen 23.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s 24.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, EPD trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 11.12X. This is below the broader industry average of 11.37X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPD's fourth-quarter 2026 earnings has been unchanged over the past seven days. Meanwhile, estimates for third-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings have seen upward revisions.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
EPD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.