TC Energy raises 2026 profit outlook and announces $3 billion in new projects

TC Energy announced on Thursday that it has raised its 2026 adjusted core earnings forecast and unveiled approximately $3 billion (US$2.15 billion) of new growth projects. The company stated these moves are a bet on rising North American natural gas demand.

New Pipeline Projects

The newly approved projects include several expansions aimed at meeting specific regional demands:

• Crossroads Expansion: A US$1.8 billion project.
• American Midwest project: A US$400 million project.

According to the company, these two projects will add a combined 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of capacity to serve U.S. Midwest power demand. Additionally, TC Energy has sanctioned the ANR Optimization project, which is a roughly US$100 million expansion designed to support coal-to-gas switching in the United States.

TC Energy also greenlit an expansion of Coastal GasLink, identified as the $4.9 billion Phase 2 project. This decision follows a final investment decision by LNG Canada and its partners. This expansion is expected to lift system capacity to about 4.5 bcf/d, with service expected in the early 2030s.

Financial Performance and Forecasts

The Calgary-based company reported third-quarter earnings of 94 Canadian cents per share on an adjusted basis, which exceeded the analysts’ average estimate of 86 Canadian cents, according to LSEG data.

Regarding specific business segments in the third quarter:

• U.S. natural gas pipelines: Adjusted core profit rose over 17 per cent to $1.25 billion.
• Canadian natural gas pipelines: Earnings increased 4.4 per cent to $953 million.

TC Energy has updated its future profit outlooks. The company now expects 2026 adjusted core profit to be between $11.8 billion and $12.0 billion, an increase from its previous forecast of $11.6 billion to $11.8 billion. For 2027, TC Energy forecast adjusted core profit of $12.3 billion to $12.5 billion, a midpoint that is slightly above the analysts’ average estimate of $12.35 billion.

Long-term Outlook

TC Energy projected annual adjusted core profit growth of five to seven per cent through 2031. The company noted this growth is supported by about $6 billion of projects awaiting approval and more than $40 billion in development opportunities. For next year, net capital expenditure is expected to be approximately $6.0 to $6.5 billion.

Why it matters

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.

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Sources

• bnnbloomberg.ca: TC Energy raises 2026 profit outlook
• ctvnews.ca: TC Energy raises 2026 profit outlook

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.