Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) 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 projectstwo-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.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.