Venture Global, one of the United States' fastest-growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters, raised its full-year profit forecast for 2026 on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, after reporting record third-quarter earnings — and used the moment to unveil its most ambitious pivot yet: building off-grid power plants to supply electricity directly to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The Arlington, Virginia-based company now expects 2026 adjusted core earnings of between $10 billion and $10.3 billion, up sharply from its previous forecast of $8.7 billion to $9.1 billion, after third-quarter adjusted core profit of $2.6 billion beat Wall Street expectations. It also confirmed plans to begin delivering compute capacity for data centers in late 2028 and to scale to about 5 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2031, powered by natural gas from its own Louisiana sites rather than the public grid.
Illustration: A liquefied natural gas export terminal on the Louisiana Gulf Coast at dusk, with storage tanks, loading jetties and an LNG carrier.
What Happened
Venture Global reported third-quarter 2026 results on 10 November 2026 that beat analysts' expectations on almost every front. Revenue rose 43 percent from a year earlier to $4.8 billion, above the $4.67 billion Wall Street had forecast, according to data cited by Stocktwits, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.56 exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.52. Net income reached $2.5 billion, up 493 percent from a year earlier. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA — the company's preferred measure of adjusted core profit, reported as a non-GAAP figure — came in at $2.6 billion, up 69 percent from $1.5 billion a year earlier and ahead of the $2.5 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters. The company exported 124 cargoes in the quarter and sold 465.8 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of LNG, up 25 percent year on year.
The centrepiece was the raised guidance. Venture Global now expects full-year 2026 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $10.0 billion to $10.3 billion, up from $8.7 billion to $9.1 billion and above the $9.2 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG. The forecast assumes a weighted average liquefaction fee of $21.00 to $22.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for the company's remaining unsold cargoes, in line with current forward prices. The company also tightened its expected cargo range for the year to 509–518 cargoes and said 99 percent of its 2026 cargoes are now contracted at a weighted average liquefaction fee of $6.46 per MMBtu.
Investors welcomed the news. Shares of Venture Global rose about 4 percent in pre-market trading on Tuesday, according to Stocktwits. The board also declared a cash dividend of $0.04 per share, payable on 31 December 2026 to shareholders of record as of 15 December 2026.
But the earnings beat was only half the story. Chief executive Mike Sabel used the results announcement to flesh out a new line of business that could reshape the company: an off-grid "AI utility" supplying power, land, water and infrastructure to data centers from Venture Global's own Louisiana sites. "We are also excited about a potential new, additive line of business for the Company: expanding our existing and proven capabilities building and operating an island-mode power and infrastructure network to be able to offer an off-grid AI utility to support data centers," Sabel said. "Venture Global can provide access to island-mode power, land, closed-loop water systems, American natural gas supply, our in-house EPC, and track record of execution as the market dictates to support compute capacity for the country's AI race."
The plan builds on framework agreements signed in October 2026 with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes Energy Services for up to 16 new power island units, each rated at 720 megawatts (MW), together with associated transformers and grid equipment. The units would use combined-cycle gas turbines in configurations consistent with Venture Global's existing power infrastructure, covering about 11.5 GW of generating capacity in total. The company expects to place its first power island purchase order by the end of 2026, with deliveries running from 2028 through 2034, according to Zacks. It expects to begin delivering compute capacity in late 2028 and to reach about 5 GW by the end of 2031, at sites in Louisiana's Cameron and Plaquemines parishes that would not rely on public power or water supplies. The longer-term ambition is up to 10 GW of new compute capacity by the end of 2034.
Background
Venture Global was founded to build large-scale LNG export terminals on the US Gulf Coast, and in little more than a decade it has become one of the biggest names in the global LNG trade, with more than 100 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of capacity in production, construction or development. Its first facility, Calcasieu Pass in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, began operations in 2022. Its second and much larger facility, Plaquemines, reached a milestone on 31 October 2026 when Phase 1 commenced commercial operations — just over 53 months after its final investment decision — and began delivering LNG to long-term customers. Plaquemines Phase 2 remains on target for mid-2027.
The company's third major project, CP2, also in Louisiana, is under construction. Venture Global has now narrowed the timeline for first LNG production from CP2 to July 2027, 24 months after the final investment decision on Phase 1 in July 2025 — a pace the company says would be substantially faster than any other LNG project of its scale to date. Twenty-four of the project's 36 liquefaction modules are already on site. A 10 MTPA CP2 expansion is targeted for a final investment decision in early 2027, with first production in late 2028.
The LNG business is still signing new long-term customers. During and after the third quarter, Venture Global executed 2.0 MTPA of new or increased 20-year LNG offtake agreements, including a new agreement with ConocoPhillips for 1.0 MTPA starting in 2030 and one with China Gas for 0.5 MTPA starting at the commercial operations date of the CP2 expansion project. Total assets stood at $68.1 billion at 30 September 2026, up $18.0 billion from a year earlier.
The data center move grows directly out of the LNG business. Running LNG terminals requires enormous amounts of electricity, and Venture Global has spent years building its own power generation rather than depending on the grid. Its terminals run on what the company calls an "island-mode" industrial power network — self-contained, gas-fired generation independent of the public grid — already comprising about 4 GW of existing power infrastructure, alongside roughly 15,000 acres of controlled land and access to about 13 billion cubic feet per day of pipeline capacity, according to Reuters, plus a 1,000-person in-house engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) team.
The October framework agreements are designed to scale that capability. Under them, Venture Global may enter into definitive reservation agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes to reserve manufacturing capacity at agreed pricing and delivery terms — a structure that matters because power turbines and transformers are among the scarcest pieces of equipment in the energy market today. The company has two sites, in Cameron and Plaquemines parishes about 250 miles apart, where it expects to offer large-scale compute capacity without any reliance on public electricity or water supply, using closed-loop water systems.
Illustration: A futuristic AI data center campus powered by on-site natural gas power islands, with server halls and turbine plants in Louisiana.
Why It Matters
The announcement sits at the intersection of two of the biggest economic stories of the moment: the global LNG boom and the race to build AI data centers. Soaring demand for electricity from AI data centers has strained existing power grids in the United States, creating openings for energy companies that can supply dedicated power infrastructure, Reuters noted. Data centers need vast amounts of reliable, round-the-clock electricity, and connecting a new facility to the grid can take years in many parts of the country. Companies that can offer power built quickly, on private land, without waiting for grid upgrades, have a valuable product to sell.
Venture Global's pitch is that it is unusually well placed to offer exactly that: it already owns the land, controls the gas supply through its pipeline access, runs its own island-mode grids, and employs the construction teams that built its LNG terminals. "By leveraging this natural extension of our Company's core competencies, we can solve for the predominant challenges to the data center build out similar to how we solved the key speed and scale challenges for the LNG market," Sabel said. The company describes the ambition as becoming "the first fully vertically integrated AI Utility, combining energy and infrastructure as a single turnkey offering supporting America's data centers."
For investors, the move adds a potential new growth engine on top of a core LNG business already generating record cash. The raised forecast — a midpoint increase of roughly $1.3 billion — shows how strong the LNG business is performing even before any data center revenue arrives. The plan, if it works, could diversify earnings away from the volatile global LNG market towards long-term power contracts with technology customers, and it puts Venture Global in competition with a growing field of energy firms and utilities chasing the same data center power opportunity.
The plan also matters for Louisiana and for US energy policy. Venture Global's sites are in Cameron and Plaquemines parishes, coastal communities that have already hosted billions of dollars of LNG investment; a data center buildout would bring a second wave of construction and long-term industrial activity to the same sites. At the same time, the reliance on natural gas-fired power raises questions: gas-fired generation produces carbon emissions, and critics argue that powering AI with gas locks in emissions for decades. Venture Global has not presented the data center power as renewable or low-carbon; it presents it as reliable, fast to build and independent of the grid. How regulators, local communities and technology customers — many with their own climate targets — respond to gas-powered compute will be a key test.
What Happens Next
The near-term test is whether Venture Global converts its framework agreements into firm orders and firm customers. It currently expects to place its first power island purchase order by the end of 2026, with further orders from 2027 onward as customer commitments are established. Watch for announcements of named data center customers, signed power agreements and permit approvals — those will show whether the AI utility is becoming a real business or remains an option on future growth. If every contemplated order were exercised, aggregate payments could reach about $17.2 billion, according to the company's securities filing as reported by DC Market Insights.
On the LNG side, the calendar is crowded. First LNG from CP2 is now targeted for July 2027, and the company will be working through 2027 towards commercial operations at Plaquemines Phase 2 and final investment decisions on the Plaquemines and CP2 expansions. The company expects to export 152–154 cargoes from Calcasieu Pass and 357–364 cargoes from Plaquemines in 2026, and its guidance assumes liquefaction fees of $21.00–$22.00 per MMBtu for remaining unsold cargoes — so movements in global gas prices could still move the final 2026 result.
The data center timeline is longer: compute capacity from late 2028, about 5 GW by the end of 2031, and up to 10 GW by the end of 2034 if the full expansion proceeds. It is a staged, market-driven programme — the company has stressed it will build additional capacity only as customer commitments are established, rather than on speculation. Investors will be watching the fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results, expected early in 2027, for updates on the first purchase order and any data center customer news. If an LNG exporter can successfully become an AI power provider, other gas producers may follow; if it struggles to sign customers or secure permits, it will be a cautionary tale about the distance between an LNG terminal and a data center.
Illustration: A modern combined-cycle gas turbine power island with pipelines, transformers and closed-loop water systems at golden hour.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Venture Global announce on 10 November 2026?
Venture Global reported record third-quarter 2026 results, raised its full-year 2026 adjusted core earnings forecast to $10 billion–$10.3 billion, up from $8.7 billion–$9.1 billion, and set out plans to power AI data centers — expecting to begin delivering compute capacity in late 2028 and to reach about 5 GW by the end of 2031.
How much profit did Venture Global make in the third quarter of 2026?
The company's Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA — its measure of adjusted core profit — was $2.6 billion in the third quarter, up 69 percent from a year earlier and ahead of analysts' expectations of $2.5 billion, according to LSEG. Revenue rose 43 percent to $4.8 billion, and net income was $2.5 billion.
What are the GE Vernova and Baker Hughes agreements about?
In October 2026, Venture Global signed framework agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes Energy Services for up to 16 new power island units, each rated at 720 MW — about 11.5 GW in total — plus associated transformers and grid equipment. The units would use combined-cycle gas turbines to generate power independently of the public grid for data centers and for Venture Global's own LNG growth.
When will Venture Global start powering AI data centers?
The company expects to begin delivering compute capacity in late 2028 and to scale to about 5 GW by the end of 2031, at sites in Louisiana's Cameron and Plaquemines parishes, with up to 10 GW by the end of 2034 if the full expansion proceeds. It expects to place its first power island purchase order by the end of 2026.
What is happening with Venture Global's CP2 LNG project?
Construction at CP2 continues to advance, and the company has narrowed the timeline for first LNG production to July 2027, 24 months after the final investment decision on Phase 1 in July 2025. Twenty-four of the project's 36 liquefaction modules are already on site. A 10 MTPA CP2 brownfield expansion is targeted for a final investment decision in early 2027, with first production in late 2028.
Sources
- Reuters, "Venture Global raises profit forecast, expands push into AI data center power infrastructure," 10 November 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-raises-profit-forecast-expands-push-into-ai-data-center-power-2026-11-10/
- Venture Global, "Venture Global Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results," 10 November 2026 — https://ventureglobal.com/2026/11/10/venture-global-reports-third-quarter-2026-results/
- Venture Global, "Venture Global Secures New Agreements to Support Expansion of Existing Grid-Independent Power Network," 15 October 2026 — https://s205.q4cdn.com/622838971/files/doc_news/Venture-Global-Secures-New-Agreements-to-Support-Expansion-of-Existing-Grid-Independent-Power-Network-2026.pdf
- Stocktwits, "Venture Global CEO Eyes New Growth Opportunity In Off-Grid Power For AI Data Centers – Firm Raises FY2026 Guidance After Record Q3 Earnings," 10 November 2026 — https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/venture-global-ceo-eyes-new-growth-opportunity-off-grid-power-raises-fy2026-guidance-record-q3-earnings/cNGuSNYR9JG
- Zacks, "VG Inks Power Agreements With GEV, BKR to Support LNG Growth," 21 October 2026 — https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/3011795/vg-inks-power-agreements-with-gev-bkr-to-support-lng-growth
- DC Market Insights, "Venture Global's 11.5 GW gas deal prices onsite power near US$1,500 per kW," 2026 — https://www.dcmarketinsights.com/news/venture-globals-11-5-gw-gas-deal-prices-onsite-power-near-us1500-per-kw-ge-vernova-reports-on-28-october
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