Viper Energy, Inc., a Subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc., Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial and Operating Results
MIDLAND, Texas, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) (“Viper,” “we,” “our” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) (“Diamondback”), today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
MAY 2026 ACQUISITION
On May 1, 2026, the Company and Viper Energy Partners LP, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of Riverbend Oil & Gas IX, L.L.C., an entity owning certain mineral and royalty interests, from Riverbend Oil & Gas IX (AIV), L.L.C. and ROG IX, L.L.C. (collectively, “Riverbend”) (the “Riverbend Acquisition”) in exchange for $337 million in cash and approximately 3.7 million shares of Viper’s Class A common stock, subject to customary closing adjustments. The cash portion of the transaction is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s credit facility. This transaction is expected to close in early Q3 2026, subject to customary closing adjustments. Acquisition highlights are as follows:
“Viper delivered a strong start to 2026 as we continued to differentially execute on all aspects of our business. Production during the quarter exceeded expectations, and that momentum is carrying into an increased growth outlook for the remainder of 2026,” said Kaes Van’t Hof, Chief Executive Officer of Viper.
Mr. Van’t Hof continued, “Viper further delivered on our comprehensive capital allocation strategy, which we are uniquely positioned to execute given our capital-light business model and high free cash flow margins. During the quarter, we paid down nearly $600 million in debt, repurchased almost $100 million in shares and are now set to pay a dividend providing an approximate 5.5% annualized yield. We also today announced the Riverbend Acquisition, which is a continuation of our strategy to consolidate the highly fragmented minerals and royalty sector in an accretive, yet disciplined, manner.”
FINANCIAL UPDATE
Viper’s first quarter 2026 average unhedged realized prices were $73.16 per barrel of oil, $0.88 per Mcf of natural gas and $17.94 per barrel of natural gas liquids, resulting in a total equivalent realized price of $42.16/boe.
Viper’s first quarter 2026 average hedged realized prices were $72.31 per barrel of oil, $2.27 per Mcf of natural gas and $17.94 per barrel of natural gas liquids, resulting in a total equivalent realized price of $43.86/boe.
During the first quarter of 2026, the Company recorded total operating income of $511 million and a consolidated net income (including non-controlling interest) of $215 million.
As of March 31, 2026, the Company had a cash balance of $28 million and total debt outstanding (excluding debt issuance costs, discounts and premiums) of $1.62 billion, resulting in net debt (as defined and reconciled below) of $1.59 billion. Viper’s outstanding long-term debt as of March 31, 2026 consisted of $500 million in aggregate principal amount of its 4.900% Senior Notes due 2030, $1.1 billion in aggregate principal amount of its 5.700% Senior Notes due 2035 and $20 million of borrowings on its revolving credit facility, leaving approximately $1.48 billion available for future borrowings and approximately $1.51 billion of total liquidity.
On February 9, 2026, the Company closed the Non-Permian Divestiture for net proceeds of approximately $610 million (including transaction costs and customary post-closing adjustments), which were utilized to (i) fully repay $500 million of borrowings on its term loan, (ii) fully repay $90 million of then-outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility and (iii) for general corporate purposes.
FIRST QUARTER 2026 CASH DIVIDEND & CAPITAL RETURN PROGRAM
Viper announced today that the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) declared a base cash dividend of $0.38 per Class A common share for the first quarter of 2026, payable on May 21, 2026 to Class A common stockholders of record at the close of business on May 14, 2026.
The Board also declared a variable cash dividend of $0.30 per Class A common share for the first quarter of 2026, payable on May 21, 2026 to Class A common stockholders of record at the close of business on May 14, 2026.
During the first quarter of 2026, Viper repurchased 2.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock (including both Class A shares and Class B shares paired with OpCo units) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $96 million, excluding excise tax (average price of $43.59 per share).
In total, since the initiation of Viper’s common stock repurchase program on November 9, 2020 through May 1, 2026, the Company has repurchased approximately 20.8 million shares of common stock (including both Class A shares and Class B shares paired with OpCo units) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $610 million, excluding excise tax (average price of $29.36 per share) and has approximately $1.14 billion remaining on its share buyback authorization. Future base and variable cash dividends and stock repurchases are at the discretion of the Board and are subject to a number of factors discussed in Viper’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
OPERATIONS UPDATE
During the first quarter of 2026, Viper estimates that 655 gross (15.3 net 100% royalty interest) horizontal wells with an average royalty interest of 2.3% were turned to production on its acreage position with an average lateral length of 11,583 feet. Of these 655 gross wells, Diamondback is the operator of 114 gross wells, with an average royalty interest of 7.5%, and the remaining 541 gross wells, with an average royalty interest of 1.2%, are operated by third parties.
As of March 31, 2026, Viper’s footprint of mineral and royalty interests was approximately 86,639 net royalty acres.
Our gross well information as of March 31, 2026 is as follows, unless otherwise specified:
(1) Average lateral length of 11,583 feet.
The 1,370 gross wells currently in the process of active development are those wells that have been spud and are expected to be turned to production within approximately the next six to eight months. Further in regard to the active development on Viper’s asset base, there are currently 88 gross rigs operating on Viper’s acreage, 13 of which are operated by Diamondback. The 1,351 line-of-sight wells are those that are not currently in the process of active development, but for which Viper has reason to believe that they will be turned to production within approximately the next 15 to 18 months. The expected timing of these line-of-sight wells is based primarily on permitting by third-party operators or Diamondback’s current expected completion schedule. Existing permits or active development of Viper’s royalty acreage does not ensure that those wells will be turned to production.
GUIDANCE UPDATE
Below is Viper’s guidance for the full year 2026, as well as average production guidance for Q2 2026. This guidance does not give effect to the pending Riverbend Acquisition announced today.
CONFERENCE CALL
Viper will host a conference call and webcast for investors and analysts to discuss its results for the first quarter of 2026 on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. CT. Access to the live audio-only webcast, and replay which will be available following the call, may be found here. The live webcast of the earnings conference call will also be available via Viper’s website at www.viperenergy.com under the “Investor Relations” section of the site.
About Viper Energy, Inc.
Viper is a corporation formed by Diamondback to own, acquire and exploit oil and natural gas properties in North America, with a focus on owning and acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil-weighted basins, primarily the Permian Basin in West Texas. For more information, please visit www.viperenergy.com.
Investors and others should note that Viper announces material financial and operational information to our investors using our investor relations website (https://www.viperenergy.com/investors/overview), press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The information we post through our investor relations website may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor our investor relations website in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts.
About Diamondback Energy, Inc.
Diamondback is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas. For more information, please visit www.diamondbackenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause the results to differ materially from such statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding Viper’s: future performance; business strategy; future operations; estimates and projections of operating income, losses, costs and expenses, returns, cash flow, and financial position; production levels on properties in which Viper has mineral and royalty interests, developmental activity by other operators; reserve estimates and Viper’s ability to replace or increase reserves; the anticipated benefits from the Sitio Acquisition or other strategic transactions (including the Riverbend Acquisition, 2025 Drop Down, the Non-Permian Divestiture or any other acquisitions or divestitures); and plans and objectives (including Diamondback’s plans for developing Viper’s acreage and Viper’s cash dividend policy and common stock repurchase program) are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “future,” “guidance,” “intend,” “may,” “model,” “outlook,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions (including the negative of such terms) as they relate to Viper are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Although Viper believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, they involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, in many cases, beyond its control. Accordingly, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of Viper’s future performance and the actual outcomes could differ materially from what Viper expressed in its forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause the outcomes to differ materially include (but are not limited to) the following: changes in supply and demand levels for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids and the resulting impact on the price for those commodities; the impact of public health crises, including epidemic or pandemic diseases and any related company or government policies or actions; actions taken by the members of OPEC and its non-OPEC allies (OPEC+) affecting the production and pricing of oil, as well as other domestic and global political, economic, or diplomatic developments; changes in general economic, business or industry conditions, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates, or instability in the financial sector; regional supply and demand factors, including delays, curtailment delays or interruptions of production on our mineral and royalty acreage, or governmental orders, rules or regulations that impose production limits on such acreage; federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing, including the effect of existing and future laws and governmental regulations; physical and transition risks relating to climate change and changing political and social perspectives on climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors; risks from our cash dividend policy and uncertainties over our future dividends; restrictions on the use of water, including limits on the use of produced water by our operators and a moratorium on new produced water well permits imposed by the Texas Railroad Commission in an effort to control induced seismicity in the Permian Basin; significant declines in prices for oil, natural gas, or natural gas liquids, which could require recognition of significant impairment charges; changes in U.S. energy, environmental, monetary and trade policies, including with respect to tariffs or other trade barriers and any resulting trade tensions; conditions in the capital, financial and credit markets, including the availability and pricing of capital for drilling and development by our limited number of operators and our ability to replace operators in time of bankruptcy or default; changes in availability or cost of rigs, equipment, raw materials, supplies and oilfield services impacting our operators; the inherent uncertainties over our estimated reserves, the development of our proved undeveloped reserves or the yield from project areas on our properties; the geographical concentration of our producing properties and reserves in the Permian Basin and in a small number of producing horizons; changes in safety, health, environmental, tax and other regulations or requirements impacting us or our operators (including those addressing air emissions, water management, or the impact of global climate change); security threats, including cybersecurity threats and disruptions to our business from breaches of Diamondback’s information technology systems, or from breaches of information technology systems of our operators or third parties with whom we transact business; lack of, or disruption in, access to adequate and reliable electrical power, internet and telecommunication infrastructure, information and computer systems, transportation, processing, storage and other facilities impacting our operators; severe weather conditions and natural disasters; geopolitics, regional conflicts, acts of war or terrorist acts and the governmental or military response thereto; changes in the financial strength of counterparties to the revolving credit facility and hedging contracts of our operating subsidiary; our substantial indebtedness and changes in our credit rating; failure to develop or acquire additional reserves and identify, complete or integrate acquisitions; our operational dependence on, and control by, Diamondback and potential conflicts of interest thereof; and other risks and factors discussed in Viper’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and subsequent periodic filings with the SEC, including its Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and other filings Viper makes with the SEC, which can be obtained free of charge on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.
In light of these factors, the events anticipated by Viper’s forward-looking statements may not occur at the time anticipated or at all. Moreover, new risks emerge from time to time. Viper cannot predict all risks, nor can it assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any forward-looking statements it may make. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made in this news release. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release or, if earlier, as of the date they were made. Viper does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements unless required by applicable law.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental non-GAAP (as defined below) financial measure that is used by management and external users of our financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies. Viper defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) attributable to the Company, plus net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest (“net income (loss)”) before interest expense, net, non-cash share-based compensation expense, depletion, non-cash (gain) loss on derivative instruments, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and other non-cash or non-recurring operating expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of net income as determined by United States’ generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful because it allows them to evaluate Viper’s operating performance and compare the results of its operations from period to period without regard to its financing methods or capital structure. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income, royalty income, cash flow from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented as determined in accordance with GAAP. Certain items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing a company’s financial performance, such as a company’s cost of capital and tax structure, as well as the historic costs of depreciable assets, none of which are components of Adjusted EBITDA.
Viper defines cash available for distribution to the Company’s stockholders generally as an amount equal to its Adjusted EBITDA for the applicable period less cash needed for income taxes payable by Viper for the current period, debt service, contractual obligations, fixed charges and reserves for future operating or capital needs that the Board may deem appropriate, lease bonus income, net of tax, dividend equivalent rights payments, preferred dividends, if any, and further adjusted for the tax impact from divestitures. Management believes cash available for distribution is useful because it allows them to more effectively evaluate Viper’s ability to return capital to stockholders by excluding the impact of non-cash financial items and short-term changes in working capital. Viper’s computations of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies or to such measure in its credit facility or any of its other contracts. Viper’s dividend policy also requires the Company to distribute, as variable dividends, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of cash available for distribution less base dividends declared and repurchased shares as part of its share buyback program for the applicable quarter.
The following tables present a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) to the non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution:
The following table presents a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of income (loss) before income taxes to the non-GAAP financial measure of pre-tax income attributable to the Company. Management believes this measure is useful to investors given it provides the basis for income taxes payable by Viper, which is an adjustment to reconcile Adjusted EBITDA to cash available for distribution to holders of the Company’s Class A common stock.
Adjusted net income (loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure equal to net income (loss) attributable to the Company plus net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest, further adjusted for non-cash (gain) loss on derivative instruments, net, other non-cash or non-recurring operating expenses, if any, and related income tax adjustments. The Company’s computation of adjusted net income may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies or to such measure in our credit facility or any of our other contracts. Management believes adjusted net income helps investors in the oil and natural gas industry to measure and compare the Company’s performance to other oil and natural gas companies by excluding from the calculation items that can vary significantly from company to company depending upon accounting methods, the book value of assets and other non-operational factors.
The following table presents a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of net income (loss) attributable to the Company to the non-GAAP financial measure of adjusted net income (loss):
NET DEBT
The Company defines the non-GAAP measure of net debt as debt (excluding debt issuance costs, discounts and premiums) less cash and cash equivalents. Net debt should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, total debt, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Management uses net debt to determine the Company’s outstanding debt obligations that would not be readily satisfied by its cash and cash equivalents on hand. The Company believes this metric is useful to analysts and investors in determining the Company’s leverage position because the Company has the ability to, and may decide to, use a portion of its cash and cash equivalents to reduce debt.
Derivatives
As of the date of this news release, the Company had the following outstanding derivative contracts. The Company’s derivative contracts are based upon reported settlement prices on commodity exchanges, with crude oil derivative settlements based on New York Mercantile Exchange West Texas Intermediate pricing and Crude Oil Brent. When aggregating multiple contracts, the weighted average contract price is disclosed.
Investor Contact:
Chip Seale
+1 432.247.6218
cseale@viperenergy.com
Source: Viper Energy, Inc.; Diamondback Energy, Inc.