Kinder Morgan rises after quarterly beat and expanded project backlog

What happened

Kinder Morgan (KMI) rose 1.2% on October 21, 2026, after the company reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates because of stronger margins and an expanded project backlog. The stock closed at $33.97 following a session in which trading volume was 1.6 times its 20-day average and the S&P 500 rose 0.6%.

How big was the move

The stock's 1.2% rise on the day compared with the Energy sector median, which rose 0.2%, leaving the stock 1.0 percentage points better than the sector median. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 1.9%, while the S&P 500 over five sessions rose 0.5%. The size of the move amounted to 0.8 times a typical daily move for the stock, and because earnings were released at this session, the results were the direct cause of the move. The stock tends to move less than the market, reflected in a beta of 0.28.

The technical picture

The stock traded 5.7% above its 20-day moving average, 6.8% above its 50-day moving average and 6.7% above its 200-day moving average, and it had been above the 200-day average for 12 consecutive trading days. The 50-day average is below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend, while the Relative Strength Index (14 days) stood at 64, in a neutral range between 30 and 70. The stock was 2.4% below the 52-week high. Shorter-term momentum has been positive: the stock rose 8.6% over one month and 3.7% over three months, and it rose 23.4% over one year, which is 8.3 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, Kinder Morgan reported revenue of $18.34 billion, which grew 11.8% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $1.62, which rose 32.8% from a year earlier. Gross margin reached 46.3% compared with 35.2% a year earlier, and operating margin was 29.0% versus 28.0% a year earlier. Return on invested capital was 5.7%, and the balance sheet showed net debt of 4.4 times EBITDA. Share count over one year increased by 0.1%.

Valuation metrics showed a price to trailing earnings of 21.0 times trailing earnings and price to forward earnings of 22.1 times expected earnings. The price to trailing earnings was lower than 57% of its own readings over the past five years, whose five-year median is 21.1 times earnings. PromtFinance scores ranked the company 37 for Value (Weak), 47 for Growth (Neutral), 48 for Quality (Neutral), 65 for Momentum (Positive), 51 for Revisions (Neutral) and 80 for Stability (Strong).

Earnings and analyst expectations

On October 21, 2026, the company reported earnings per share of $0.35 against $0.32 expected, 9.2% above estimates. This marked its fourth consecutive quarter beating estimates, with an average surprise over the last four reports of 13.2% above estimates. Recent reports typically prompted a modest market response: the typical two-day reaction after recent reports was that the stock rose 0.3%.

The company said it expanded its project backlog to $14.4 billion, driven by large natural-gas infrastructure projects supporting power generation, LNG exports and increasing data-center demand, according to Zacks Investment Research and MarketBeat.

Analysts covering the stock numbered 34, with a consensus rating of Hold and 47% of analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy. The consensus price target was $37.20, which was 9.5% above the closing price on October 21, 2026.

What to watch

• October 28, 2026: next report date.
• Project backlog of $14.4 billion and updates on large natural-gas infrastructure projects.
• Net debt of 4.4 times EBITDA and any guidance or commentary on leverage reduction.
• Any change in analyst estimates following four consecutive beats and an average surprise of 13.2% above estimates.
• Trading volume relative to its 20-day average and the stock's proximity to its 52-week high (2.4% below).