Strong 4Q25 Caps Record Year for Midstream/MLP Buybacks

• Eight constituents in the broad Alerian Midstream Energy Index (AMNA) spent a combined $1.31 billion on equity repurchases in 4Q25. Throughout 2025, 10 constituents repurchased a combined $4.55 billion, narrowly beating the index’s previous annual record from 2022.
• Cheniere Energy (LNG) dominated repurchase activity for the quarter and the year, spending over $1 billion on buybacks in 4Q25 for the second consecutive quarter.
• About 75% of AMNA by weighting has a buyback authorization in place, representing 17 constituents.

Aggregate equity repurchases for midstream MLPs and corporations remained healthy in 4Q25 as Cheniere Energy spent over $1 billion on buybacks for a second consecutive quarter. Familiar players also used their authorizations during the quarter. Buybacks complement ongoing dividend growth (discussed last week), which tends to be the primary means for returning cash to shareholders. This note digs into 4Q25 repurchase activity and compares 2025 total buybacks with recent years.

For 4Q25, eight constituents of the broad Alerian Midstream Energy Index (AMNA) repurchased an aggregate $1.31 billion in equity, compared with nine names repurchasing a combined $1.59 billion in 3Q25 (read more). For context, 3Q25 total buybacks were the highest ever seen for AMNA constituents.

Throughout 2025, 10 names in total repurchased $4.55 billion in common equity, and six names spent over $100 million. This marks a roughly 20% jump from the $3.76 billion repurchased across eight constituents in 2024 and narrowly beat the previous yearly record of $4.5 billion from 2022. As shown below, Cheniere’s buybacks were ~30% of the total repurchase spend in 2022 compared to almost 60% of the total in 2025.

Cheniere led the way in 4Q25 with $1.02 billion in repurchases. Cheniere has typically had the highest quarterly buyback spend among midstream companies in recent years. This quarter matched the $1.02 billion spent in 3Q25, driving total 2025 repurchases for the company to $2.69 billion. Cheniere’s Board approved an incremental $9 billion in repurchase authorization in February, bringing its total buyback authorization to over $10 billion through 2030.

MLPs MPLX (MPLX) and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) followed, repurchasing $100 million and $50 million in common units during 4Q25, respectively. Looking ahead to 2026, EPD expects around $1 billion in discretionary free cash flow and plans to allocate 55–60% of it toward programmatic and opportunistic repurchases.

Antero Midstream (AM) and ONEOK (OKE) repurchased $48 million and $44 million in shares during 4Q25, respectively. Targa Resources (TRGP) completed $37 million in equity buybacks. Other names with smaller repurchases include C-Corp Kinetik (KNTK) and MLP NGL Energy Partners (NGL). Of note, Keyera (KEY CN) did not make any repurchases under its Normal Course Issuer Bid, which terminated on December 2, 2025.

The table below shows the energy infrastructure companies with buyback authorizations and their total repurchases as of December 31, 2025. The table also includes each company’s weighting in AMNA, the "Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index":https://vettafi.com/issuer-services/indexing/energy/alerian-energy-infrastructure/AMZI/ (AMZI), the Alerian MLP Index (AMZ), the "Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index":https://vettafi.com/issuer-services/indexing/energy/alerian-energy-infrastructure/AMEI/ (AMEI), and the "Alerian Midstream Energy Corporation Dividend Index":https://www.vettafi.com/indexing/index/amccd (AMCCD). The majority of the indexes by weighting as of February 25, 2026have buyback authorizations in place.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2026, Hess Midstream (HESM) recently announced a $60 million repurchase, including $18 million of shares from its sponsor, Chevron (CVX), and $42 million from the public. HESM noted the repurchases will increase distributable cash flow per share and provide capacity for incremental distribution growth above its annual target of at least 5% through 2028.

Driven by Cheniere, Midstream/MLP buyback activity remained healthy in 4Q25, capping off a record-setting year for total repurchases in 2025. The outlook for continued buybacks remains solid given Cheniere’s upsized authorization and ongoing free cash flow generation in the space. While dividend growth tends to be the preferred method of returning cash to shareholders, select names continue to prioritize buybacks in their capital allocation plans.

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AMZI is the underlying index for the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) and the ETRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index ETN Series B (MLPB). AMZ is the underlying index for the JPMCFC Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJB), the ETRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN Series B (AMUB), and the ETRACS Quarterly Pay 1.5x Leveraged Alerian MLP Index ETN (MLPR). AMEI is the underlying index for the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR) and the ALPS Alerian Energy Infrastructure Portfolio (ALEFX). AMCCD is the underlying index for the Alerian Midstream Energy Dividend UCITS ETF (MMLP.LN).

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