Williams Tops Earnings as Gas Demand Drives Transco Expansion

Williams exceeds quarterly expectations as rising natural gas demand and Transco expansion projects drive revenue growth and position the company for continued gains.

(Reuters) — U.S. pipeline operator Williams Companies surpassed Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit on May 4, helped by higher service revenue as the company expanded capacity amid increasing demand for natural gas.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based firm has spent the last year positioning itself as a leading energy provider to companies building out artificial intelligence infrastructure, supplementing its traditional pipeline business with new power-generation capabilities.

During the quarter, the company upsized the Power Express project on the Transco pipeline, increasing its capacity to 750 million cubic feet per day, a major expansion of the network to address energy demands from the growing data center market in Virginia.

Williams' service revenue rose to $2.21 billion during the first quarter from $2 billion a year earlier, also benefiting from Transco's higher net rates.

"Natural gas demand is rising, our contracted project portfolio is growing and we're staying focused on the sharp execution of projects which will drive higher earnings...," said CEO Chad Zamarin.

The pipeline operator said it is on track to deliver 2026 adjusted core earnings at the higher end of its $8.05 billion to $8.35 billion forecast, as natural gas demand is expected to keep increasing amid growing demand for data centers and to meet the supply needs of new LNG export plants.

Williams posted an adjusted profit of $0.73 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts' expectations of $0.62 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Shares of the company were up 1.4% in extended trading. As of Monday's close, the stock had risen 25.4% this year.