Key Highlights

  • APA (NASDAQ:APA) reported third-quarter Net Income attributable to common stock of USD 698 million, or USD 2.00 per diluted share, while adjusted Earnings reached USD 676 million, or USD 1.94.
  • Free Cash Flow hit USD 699 million from USD 1.38 billion of operating cash flow, and adjusted EBITDAX totaled USD 1.86 billion, lifting year-to-date free cash flow to USD 1.91 billion.
  • The company returned USD 537 million to shareholders, including USD 450 million of buybacks, repaid USD 451 million of maturities, and ended with net Debt of USD 3.2 billion.
  • The 2026 free cash flow outlook rose by USD 600 million to about USD 2.9 billion, and the net debt target fell to USD 2 billion from USD 3 billion.

Production Beats Guidance and Lifts Earnings

APA (NASDAQ:APA) announced third-quarter 2026 results on November 4, 2026. The oil and gas producer operates in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and has exploration offshore Suriname. Total output came in around 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while adjusted production, which excludes Egypt noncontrolling interest and tax barrels, hit 381,000 and beat guidance. U.S. oil averaged 128,000 barrels per day, 4,000 above guidance, thanks to high uptime, earlier turn-in-lines and strong Permian well performance. In Egypt, gross output reached 206,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and gas realizations climbed to USD 4.34 per thousand cubic feet from USD 4.23.

Debt Reduction and Share Buybacks Set the Pace

Total debt has dropped USD 2.8 billion since the end of 2024, trimming annualized interest expense by more than USD 180 million. APA repaid USD 1.2 billion of maturities this year. Through October it bought another 4.5 million shares at an average USD 47.32, bringing 2026 repurchases to 17.8 million shares. The company expects to return at least 60% of 2026 free cash flow to shareholders and to reach its previous USD 3 billion net debt target by year-end at current strip prices. Upstream Capital Investment was USD 466 million, roughly USD 30 million below guidance because GranMorgu spending moved into the fourth quarter.

Raised U.S. Oil Outlook and a USD 2.5 Billion 2027 Budget

APA lifted its full-year U.S. oil production outlook to 124,000 barrels per day from an initial 120,000 to 122,000, and it plans about USD 525 million of upstream capital in the fourth quarter. The preliminary 2027 upstream budget is USD 2.5 billion, USD 400 million higher, with roughly 60% of the increase tied to exploration and GranMorgu development and the rest to additional Permian activity and expected service cost inflation. First oil at GranMorgu is targeted for mid-2028. Free cash flow depends on Commodity prices, and the outlook assumes current strip levels. A call was scheduled for November 5, 2026.

Where Things Stand

Plausibly yes, but not guaranteed. APA (NASDAQ:APA) has already generated USD 1.91 billion in nine months and lifted its outlook on stronger operations and higher commodity prices, so the USD 2.9 billion path looks credible. That estimate assumes strip prices hold. Debt is falling and buybacks continue, though the 2027 budget is rising and GranMorgu production is still about two years away. Next markers are fourth-quarter repurchases, the Savant Acquisition referenced in the release and the direction of oil prices.