Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) used its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to outline a 2026 development program that management said is designed to prioritize higher-return opportunities in the Utica while maintaining a capital allocation approach centered on discretionary acreage acquisitions and continued share repurchases.
2026 plan emphasizes Utica dry and wet gas returns
President and CEO John Reinhart said the company’s 2026 development efforts will be “centered” in the Utica’s dry gas and wet gas windows, which he described as Gulfport’s highest-return wells at current commodity prices. Gulfport expects more than 75% of its 2026 turn-in-line program to be weighted to those two areas, noting that Utica wet gas has been a key focus of inventory additions in recent years.
The company also plans to invest an incremental $10 million in the Marcellus North development area versus 2025, directed toward drilling two wells in Jefferson County, Ohio, in the second half of 2026 and carrying them as drilled but uncompleted wells into 2027. Management said the activity is intended to confirm phase window and production mix and support future development planning and midstream evaluation across inventory in Jefferson and Belmont counties.
As part of the maintenance, land, and seismic budget, Gulfport expects to spend about $5 million on proprietary 3D seismic in 2026 to support well planning in its targeted Monroe County discretionary buy area. The company expects about 60% of drilling and completion capital to be deployed in the first half of 2026, with activity trending lower in the third and fourth quarters.
Inventory build continues through acreage program
Reinhart said Gulfport will continue executing its discretionary acreage acquisition program, primarily in Belmont and Monroe counties, and now expects to land at the high end of its previously provided range at approximately $100 million in total investment. The company had deployed $62.9 million by year-end 2025 and plans to conclude the program in the first quarter of 2026.
Upon successful completion, management expects the program to add over two years of core drilling inventory at the current development pace. Reinhart said the acquisitions are being made at about $2 million per net location, which he said is below valuation metrics implied in larger transactions in the surrounding area.
Management also framed inventory expansion since 2022 as a combination of targeted discretionary acquisitions, “U-development” on its Utica position, and delineation and development efforts in the Marcellus. Reinhart said that by the end of the first quarter of 2026, the discretionary acquisitions and U-development initiatives are expected to have added over five and a half years of high-quality net locations, in addition to four years of delineated net Marcellus locations. In total, he said Gulfport will have expanded gross inventory by more than 40%.
Production outlook: flat year-over-year, stronger exit rate
For 2026, Gulfport forecast production of 1.03 to 1.055 Bcfe/d, which management characterized as relatively flat versus the full-year 2025 average of 1.04 Bcfe/d. The company said guidance reflects temporary impacts, including known downtime from simultaneous operations of an offset operator and planned third-party midstream maintenance in the first quarter of 2026.
Reinhart also said Winter Storm Fern created weather-related downtime that modestly impacted volumes and is incorporated into full-year guidance. Management emphasized these impacts are short-lived and said production should strengthen as new wells come online and downtime abates. Gulfport forecast fourth-quarter 2026 production would be approximately 5% higher than fourth-quarter 2025.
During Q&A, the company said planned maintenance and simultaneous-operations downtime is expected to occur in the first quarter, including midstream and compression work that can last “5 to 6, 7 days at a time.” Management also quantified combined impacts from planned maintenance, SIMOPS downtime, and winter storm disruption at roughly 10 MMcf/d, while reiterating that those effects are incorporated into the 2026 budget and expected to fade as the year progresses.
Financial results highlight cash flow and repurchases
Executive Vice President and CFO Michael Hodges said fourth-quarter net cash provided by operating activities before changes in working capital was approximately $222 million. Gulfport reported Adjusted EBITDA of $235 million and generated $120 million of Adjusted Free Cash Flow in the quarter, while maintaining year-end leverage of 0.9x. Total cash operating costs in the fourth quarter were $1.25 per Mcfe, which Hodges said was in line with full-year guidance.
For full-year 2025, Reinhart said capital expenditures excluding discretionary acreage acquisitions totaled approximately $463 million, including $354 million of base operated drilling and completion capital and $35 million of maintenance and land spending.
On capital returns, Reinhart said that after adjusting for free cash flow used for discretionary acreage acquisitions, Gulfport returned more than 100% of Adjusted Free Cash Flow to shareholders through share repurchases in 2025 while keeping leverage below 1x.
Hodges said Gulfport repurchased 665,000 shares for about $135 million in the fourth quarter, including a direct repurchase of roughly 46,000 shares from its largest shareholder. As of Dec. 31, 2025, and since inception of the program, Gulfport has repurchased about 7.4 million shares (including a preferred redemption in September 2025) at an average share price of $125.19, which he said was nearly 35% below the company’s “current share price.”
Looking ahead, management reiterated plans to remain active in repurchases. Hodges said Gulfport plans to deploy more than $140 million toward share repurchases in the first quarter of 2026, funded with Adjusted Free Cash Flow and revolver capacity, while maintaining leverage at or below about 1x.
Pricing, differentials, and cost outlook
Hodges said Gulfport’s all-in realized price in the fourth quarter was $3.65 per Mcfe, including cash-settled derivatives and a $0.10 premium to the NYMEX Henry Hub index. He said the company expects a “slight increase” in 2026 per-unit LOE and midstream expenses due to continued development of liquids-rich assets, and forecasted 2026 per-unit operating costs of $1.23 to $1.34 per Mcfe.
On natural gas differentials, Hodges said Gulfport tightened its full-year 2026 differential forecast by 25% compared to 2025 and currently expects to realize $0.15 to $0.30 per Mcf below NYMEX Henry Hub for 2026. In response to questions, he said the company has remained active with basis hedging and attributed the improved outlook to factors including improving Northeast index pricing in the out years, weather-driven volatility, and marketing efforts that include smaller commercial deals to capture incremental uplift.
On liquidity, Hodges said Gulfport ended 2025 with total liquidity of $806 million, including $1.8 million of cash and $804.3 million of borrowing base availability.
Operationally, management discussed longer average lateral lengths planned for 2026 and drilling efficiency gains. The company said it is targeting lateral lengths generally in the 15,000 to 18,000-foot range where possible and noted top-hole drilling efficiency improvements helped shave “a couple days per well.” On completions, management said 2025 averaged around 18 hours pumping per day, down from 21 hours in the prior year, citing factors including water sourcing challenges during an Ohio drought and increased use of spot crews.
About Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR)
Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the development of onshore natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil properties in the United States. Gulfport utilizes horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques to maximize production and enhance recovery from its resource plays.
The company’s primary operations are concentrated in two major U.S. resource basins.
