TC Energy raised its 2026 adjusted core earnings forecast on Thursday and unveiled about $3 billion (US$2.15 billion) of new growth projects, betting on rising North American natural gas demand.
Pipeline operators across North America have benefited from growing gas consumption from power generators, industrial users and data centers, which has lifted volumes on their largely fee-based systems.
TC Energy, which also topped quarterly earnings estimates, now expects 2026 adjusted core profit of $11.8 billion to $12.0 billion, up from its previous forecast of $11.6 billion to $11.8 billion.
The newly approved projects include the US$1.8 billion Crossroads Expansion and the US$400 million American Midwest project, adding a combined 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of capacity to serve U.S. Midwest power demand.
The company also greenlit an expansion of Coastal GasLink, the $4.9 billion Phase 2 project, following a final investment decision by LNG Canada and its partners, lifting system capacity to about 4.5 bcf/d, with service expected in the early 2030s.
In addition, TC Energy sanctioned the ANR Optimization project, a roughly US$100 million expansion designed to support coal-to-gas switching in the United States.
Strong pipeline earnings
The Calgary-based company earned 94 Canadian cents per share on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of 86 Canadian cents, according to LSEG data.
Adjusted core profit from U.S. natural gas pipelines, its largest business, rose over 17 per cent to $1.25 billion in the quarter, while earnings from Canadian natural gas pipelines increased 4.4 per cent to $953 million.
For 2027, TC Energy forecast adjusted core profit of $12.3 billion to $12.5 billion, with the midpoint slightly above analysts’ average estimate of $12.35 billion.
Net capital expenditure for next year is expected to be around $6.0 to $6.5 billion.
TC Energy projected annual adjusted core profit growth of five to seven per cent through 2031, supported by about $6 billion of projects awaiting approval and more than $40 billion in development opportunities.
(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
