As an independent enterprise, Chord Energy Corporation specializes in the exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources. Its core activities include the sourcing, ...
Chord Energy Corporation (formerly Oasis Petroleum Inc.) is a scaled unconventional U.S. oil producer with a premier acreage position in the Williston Basin, operating primarily in North Dakota and Montana. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of hydrocarbon resources, with core activities including sourcing, development, and recovery ...Chord Energy Corporation (formerly Oasis Petroleum Inc.) is a scaled unconventional U.S. oil producer with a premier acreage position in the Williston Basin, operating primarily in North Dakota and Montana. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of hydrocarbon resources, with core activities including sourcing, development, and recovery of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Established as Chord Energy on July 1, 2022, following a merger with Oasis Petroleum, and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company has built a strong track record of value creation through technical expertise and operational efficiency. As of 2024, Chord Energy employs approximately 762 people. The company maintains a robust financial position, with a market capitalization around $7.39 billion and a focus on returning capital to shareholders through base and variable dividends. Key financial metrics include a net profit margin of about 13.4%, a return on equity of 10.4%, and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, reflecting its emphasis on balance sheet strength and sustainable free cash flow. Led by CEO Daniel E. Brown and Chairman Susan M. Cunningham, Chord Energy strives to balance growth, profitability, and shareholder returns while maintaining high environmental and safety standards. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol CHRD and continues to play a significant role in the U.S. energy sector.
YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength.
QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes.
RevenueThe total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three).
$4.9B
-7.1%
+30.4%
Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day.
$44.5M
-94.8%
+383.6%
Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials.
+6.5%
-74.0%
+116.2%
Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on).
+4.1%
-80.6%
+38.7%
Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales.
+0.9%
-94.4%
+270.7%
Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock.
$692.7M
-24.6%
+355.8%
FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine.
+14.2%
-18.8%
+249.5%
Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe.
18.6%
+55.2%
-10.4%
Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking.
1.06x
+13.1%
+19.2%
Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground.
Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Chord Energy Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 6, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Bob Bakanauskas, Vice President of Finance. Please go ahead.
Bob Bakanauskas: Thanks, Julie, and good morning, everyone. This is Bob Bakanauskas, and today, we are reporting second quarter 2026 financial and operational results. We are delighted to have you on the call. I'm joined today by Danny Brown, our CEO; Michael Lou, our Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer; Darrin Henke, our COO; Richard Robuck, our CFO; as well as other members of the team. Please be advised that our remarks, including the answers to your questions, include statements that we believe to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those currently disclosed in our earnings releases and on our conference calls. Those risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our earnings releases as well as in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. During this conference call, we will make reference to non-GAAP measures, and reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings releases and on our website. We may also reference our current investor presentation, which you can find on our website. And with that, I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Danny Brown.
Daniel Brown: Thanks, Bob. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call. Last night, we released our second quarter results, along with an updated investor presentation. In those documents, you'll see Chord delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, which resulted in free cash flow above expectations. Execution remains solid across the organization. Oil production came in at the high end of guidance, while adjusted capital spending finished modestly below the midpoint of guidance. Additionally, we continued making progress on a number of strategic initiatives that we believe will further improve the quality of our business and enhance long-term free cash flow generation. Adjusted free cash flow for the second quarter was $414 million, exceeding expectations, and we returned 54% of this or $220 million to shareholders through a combination of our base dividend and share repurchases. With Chord's balance sheet growing to $612 million and normalized leverage declining below [ 1.5 ] turn at quarter end, targeted return of capital is expected to increase to at least 75% of adjusted free cash flow beginning in the third quarter. Stepping …