Key Highlights

● Oil production reached a record 126,106 barrels a day, above the guided range.

● Net income attributable to Matador was $390.7 million, or $3.15 per diluted share.

● Oil and natural gas revenues rose to $1,087.6 million from $815.8 million a year earlier.

● Full-year 2026 production guidance rose to 218,500-223,500 barrels of oil equivalent daily.

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR), a Dallas-based independent oil and gas producer focused on the Delaware Basin, reported second-quarter 2026 results on 5 August 2026. Its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MTDR. According to the company's earnings release, oil production reached a record 126,106 barrels a day, above the guided range of 123,000 to 125,000, while total output was 215,631 barrels of oil equivalent a day, about 3 per cent higher than a year earlier. Management said roughly 9,900 barrels of oil equivalent a day were shut in during the quarter because of weak Waha gas pricing and third-party plant maintenance.

Revenue, profit and cash flow

Oil and natural gas revenues were $1,087.6 million, compared with $818.7 million in the first quarter and $815.8 million a year earlier. Realised oil prices averaged $98.16 a barrel before derivatives and $83.19 after them, while realised gas prices were negative before derivatives. Net income attributable to Matador was $390.7 million, or $3.15 per diluted share, against a loss in the first quarter; adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, was $324.6 million, or $2.61 per diluted share. Net cash from operating activities was $937.1 million, and adjusted free cash flow, also non-GAAP, was $303.2 million. Matador estimated full-year 2026 adjusted free cash flow at about $900 million, based on late-July strip pricing, a management projection.

Guidance, growth projects and the balance sheet

The company raised its full-year 2026 production outlook to between 218,500 and 223,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day, and lifted expected capital spending, with total drilling, completion, equipping and midstream investment now guided at $1.625 billion to $1.725 billion. Third-quarter production is estimated at 222,000 to 226,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Two acquisitions, Paloma Permian and Ridge Runner, are expected to close in the fourth quarter, and the Cardinal Midstream purchase closed on 31 July. At 30 June, borrowings under the reserve-based credit facility stood at $939.0 million, with a further $911.0 million drawn at the San Mateo midstream joint venture and $2,366.4 million of senior unsecured notes. Management is targeting leverage of 1.0 times, expected at or near that level by the end of 2027, and said it does not anticipate needing equity capital markets access.

Debt Reduction Is the Stated Priority

Matador Resources delivered record oil output even after shutting in roughly 9,900 barrels of oil equivalent a day because of weak Waha gas pricing, and the resulting cash flow comfortably covered the dividend more than six times over in the quarter. With two acquisitions set to close in the fourth quarter and capital spending guidance raised to as much as $1.725 billion, management says it is targeting 1.0 times leverage by the end of 2027 and intends to prioritise free cash flow for debt reduction rather than new equity issuance.