Enbridge Inc. ENB, a leading Canada-based energy infrastructure company, has recently outlined its long-term growth plans through the end of this decade focusing on multiple energy markets. Energy demand is expected to rise in the upcoming decade, and the Canadian pipeline operator is set to capitalize on this rising trend in multiple energy markets, including oil & gas and renewables. The company has also confirmed its financial outlook for 2025 and 2026, which includes EBITDA and earnings projections.
Enbridge’s diversified energy infrastructure caters to a balanced energy mix that includes liquids, natural gas and renewables. Its Liquids Super Systems can deliver almost 6 million barrels per day of oil from the three prolific basins in North America. This signifies that Enbridge’s liquid pipelines can deliver significantly large oil egress out of these basins. Moreover, the Ingleside energy facility’s exports amounted to more than 1.2 million barrels per day in the second half of 2024.
Enbridge also operates a robust gas transportation and distribution system that serves a diverse range of industrial and residential energy needs. Its Gas Transmission system connects to every LNG export facility on the Gulf Coast, thereby connecting the supply to global markets.
Furthermore, Enbridge's gas infrastructure is located within 50 miles of high-demand facilities, including data centers and power generation plants, which require substantial amounts of energy. ENB estimates that these facilities demand over 40 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
With its proximity and extensive infrastructure, Enbridge is well-positioned to capitalize on this growing demand. Additionally, Enbridge’s Gas Distribution segment, with a current customer base of over 7 million, continues to grow, propelled by the increasing energy demand from industrial, residential and power generation opportunities.
Enbridge has also expanded into the renewable energy space, producing over 5 GW of lower-carbon electricity. Low-carbon energy continues to hold potential due to its high demand from the government as well as blue-chip companies looking to reduce emissions to adhere to their climate targets. Enbridge mentioned that in the long term, each of its core business segments is poised for massive growth. By 2030, ENB believes that the combined new growth opportunities for all the business segments may add up to approximately $50 billion.
In 2024, ENB approved a pipeline of projects worth $8 billion. Following the approvals, its secured backlog was $29 billion. Out of this, the company expects projects worth almost $23 billion to be completed and operational through 2027. The rest of the projects are scheduled to enter service through 2029. The solid investment backlog supports ENB’s infrastructure expansion, ensuring earnings potential.
Furthermore, Enbridge has announced significant investments totaling $2.5 billion. It will invest $2 billion in the Mainline pipeline system through 2028. This major investment in Liquids is aimed at supporting the increasing egress out of Alberta.
Enbridge mentioned that the pipeline’s existing operating capacity would be expanded to support the growing output t providing customers with a more cost-effective means of delivering their products out of Alberta to market. In Gas Transmission, the company announced an expansion of the T-North Pipeline, worth $0.4 billion. The 179 million cubic feet per day expansion project, titled Birch Grove, would upgrade the pipeline’s existing capacity to 3.7 billion cubic feet per day. This expansion is aimed at supporting its customers in Northern British Columbia by providing additional outflow from the region.
Furthermore, the expansion of LNG infrastructure should strengthen LNG exports off the west coast of Canada. In the Gas Distribution segment, ENB has authorized the second phase of the T15 project in North Carolina. This investment should double the supply of natural gas to Duke's Roxboro plant.
Moving ahead, Enbridge stated that it will prioritize a disciplined approach to capital allocation and maintain its financial flexibility. The company remains committed to its debt-to-EBITDA target range of 4.5x to 5.0x. Given its sustainable, growing business, ENB mentioned that it can fund $9-$10 billion of annual growth capital through equity and its own cash reserves.
The company has reiterated its 2026 financial outlook. It expects an annual 7-9% growth rate for adjusted EBITDA, a 4-6% improvement on earnings per share (EPS) and approximately 3% growth for distributable cash flow (DCF) per share.
For 2025, ENB has reaffirmed its adjusted EBITDA projection in the range of $19.4-$20.0 billion. DCF per share is expected to be in the band of $5.50-$5.90. Enbridge also plans to increase its dividend in the next five years, anticipating a return of nearly $40-$45 billion to shareholders.
ENB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the energysector are Archrock Inc. AROC, Matador Resources Corporation MTDR and NextDecade Corporation NEXT. Archrock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Matador Resources and NextDecade carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Archrock is an energy infrastructure company based in the United States with a focus on midstream natural gas compression. It provides natural gas contract compression services and generates stable fee-based revenues.
Matador Resources is a leading U.S.-based exploration and production firm. The company has consistently exceeded production expectations, demonstrating operational efficiency and robust growth. MTDR’s production efficiency, combined with the favorable oil price environment, is expected to positively impact its bottom line.
NextDecade is an emerging player in the LNG space with its Rio Grande LNG project in Texas. The demand for LNG as a clean burning fuel continues to grow, and the commodity is expected to play a crucial role in the energy transition process. The company’s focus on expanding its liquefaction capacity is expected to enhance its position in the rapidly growing global LNG market, enabling it to meet the rising demand for natural gas.
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