At first glance, Enbridge’s first-quarter earnings, announced on May 8, shouldn’t have been enough to keep the stock trading near its 52-week high.
Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), a Canadian midstream energy company, operates pipelines to transport oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. In the first quarter, its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell by less than 1% year over year to 5.8 billion Canadian dollars, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were down 3% compared to the first quarter of 2025 to CA$0.98.
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However, Enbridge’s adjusted EPS exceeded the analyst consensus of $0.94 and the real number that income-oriented investors look at, distributable cash flow (DCF), went up by nearly 2% year over year to CA$3.85 billion. That means the company’s 5% dividend, which has increased for 31 consecutive years, is safe. The money funding the high-yield dividend is growing, even if the company’s profit on paper appears to be smaller. The company just raised its dividend by nearly 3% to $0.97 per quarterly share.
The company also reaffirmed its 2026 financial guidance for adjusted EBITDA between CA$20.2 billion and CA$20.8 billion and DCF per share between CA$5.70 and CA$6.10.
Demand remains high
The company operates more than 18,000 miles of pipelines, and they were busier than ever in the first quarter. Enbridge reported record mainline volumes of 3.2 million barrels per day. High utilization is a signal to the market that demand for Enbridge’s infrastructure is robust, regardless of short-term economic headlines or currency headwinds.
In many ways, because it charges fees to use its pipelines, it operates like a toll operator that benefits regardless of oil or gas prices.
The company is seeing a rising demand for natural gas, utility infrastructure, and power supply for data centers. Plus, since the beginning of the Iran war, Enbridge has seen an increase in demand for crude oil export capacity at its Ingleside, Texas, export terminal, the largest crude oil storage and export terminal in the United States.
CEO Greg Ebel said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call that those two factors are making the company’s investment plans more appealing.
“It’s actually lining up to be a super favorable environment for oil infrastructure in North America, both domestically and export-wise,” he said. “We are in a world with an amazing growth macro for energy infrastructure, the best growth opportunities I have seen in 10 to 15 years.”
