MLPguy Week Thoughts

Week Thoughts: Midstream Leads in Quiet Week

Hinds Howard — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 03:54:20 GMT

Energy stocks lagged the S&P 500, which itself was positive, helped by strength in technology stocks. Oil prices were lower on some de-escalation vibes coming through in headlines out of the Middle East. Despite all of that, MLPs and midstream stocks were positive and finished the week with better returns than the broad equity markets. Midstream benchmarks showing more correlation to technology stocks than oil prices, which was good this week!

Week Thoughts: Permian Presents

Hinds Howard — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 10:46:11 GMT

Risk off week across the market. Interest rates finished higher despite the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement on scaling up buybacks of long-dated bonds that got the market juiced up early in the week. Oil prices floated higher, but that wasn’t enough to get midstream stocks moving much higher, broad risk-off sentiment stifled the chance for midstream to follow up last week’s gains with further gains this week.

The two big Permian announcements may have weighed on natural gas prices and on natural gas pipeline companies that don’t have as much Permian exposure in their pipeline portfolios. But upstream players like TRGP, KNTK and PAA were winners.

Summer is dragging on, with Labor Day still two weeks away, so hopefully everyone will be well-rested for a big push into year end after the holiday weekend finally arrives and my youngest finally gets back to school. I would enjoy it more if the skies weren’t permanently gray here in Philadelphia. After spending some time in Houston this summer (and having grown up there), I am convinced the humidity and general weather oppression is worse here than in Houston.

But already Fall temperatures are emerging, so soon the oppressive humidity will hand it off to oppressive early darkness and coldness. So, despite poor stock performance this week and rainy weather, its best not to complain about midstream performance or a rainy week after another great year of stock price performance and still tolerable temperatures.

Week Thoughts: Blocking and Tackling

Hinds Howard — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:04:13 GMT

Midstream rallied on stronger oil prices and strong performance of energy stocks broadly. Energy within the S&P 500 was up 7.3% this week, the best among all sectors. Utilities were second best with just 1.5% return. The Strait of Hormuz situation seemed to inch closer to diplomatic resolution, but those headlines did not send oil prices lower, maybe because vessels were attacked and Iran doesn’t seem to corroborate the diplomatic progress headlines. The broad market took a break from volatility this week, and there wasn’t much news.

After successfully recovering my daughter from a successful 3-month internship in Houston this week, we, like many of you, are gearing up to ship her back to college while also gearing up to send her younger brother up to his college. Thankfully their move in dates are staggered. Being one more kid closer to an empty nest so far hasn’t resulted in a step-down in parental demands. Maybe that comes after they graduate. But I’m in no rush for them to need nothing from me. Like midstream companies, It is good to feel useful, and I hope my terminal value as a parent remains intact. It’s a little like a few years ago when some were suggesting we wouldn’t need pipelines in 10 years. That was a silly notion, of course we need them. And of course my kids will need me.

Week Thoughts: Momentum for WMB, but Not for Thee

Hinds Howard — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 04:01:45 GMT

Strait of Hormuz headlines dragged oil lower this week. Energy in the S&P 500 was down more than 5%. Midstream held up ok given the circumstances, helped by strong earnings results. There was a lot in earnings to be optimistic about, beyond just the optimization and marketing gains in the quarter. Activity levels are up, global demand for U.S. resources remains high given disrupted global trade.

Week Thoughts: I Want my MLPs

Hinds Howard — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:53:51 GMT

Oil prices were down, interest rates were up, the stock market rallied and left midstream corporations (and utilities) behind. Another big week of earnings is incoming after a slew of positive updates this week.

I turned 45 this Saturday, and so did MTV. And while at various points in the last decade, I felt that the midstream sector I cover was on track to become as irrelevant as MTV has become, the midstream sector is thriving after 5 years of very strong returns and a robust outlook. Nature is healing, midstream is too, happy for my health and for all of you.

Week Thoughts: Good Expectations

Hinds Howard — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 02:32:08 GMT

The market added $10/bbl to oil prices, following through on last week’s risk premium resurgence as the Iran War keeps going. Midstream’s reaction was muted again this week, but the stocks did outperform the S&P 500 handily again. Midstream has opened up a wide lead on the market, with more than 30% return for the AMNA so far this year.

Week Thoughts: Risk Premium Re-Engaged

Hinds Howard — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:04:32 GMT

Some oil price risk premium returned this week, and midstream benefitted with a strong week of price action. Earnings kick off this week with KMI on Wednesday. Most midstream players have pumped the breaks when asked about upside to numbers from higher commodity prices. This latest surge in oil prices shouldn’t change that for now. Expectations for earnings seem appropriately tempered, but fundamental things are certainly not bad for midstream.

Week Thoughts: Enjoy the Peace

Hinds Howard — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:55:43 GMT

Market expectations for returning to more of a hot war with Iran seem low, fatigue related to geopolitics seems high. Oil prices did finally stop going down this week, with the first weekly gain for oil prices since early June, but the breakdown of discussions and the ceasefire and strikes and counterstrikes did not spark much of a reaction by the end of the week. Energy stocks outperformed the S&P 500, but technology stocks did better. Outside of that, most sectors were down this week, so the breadth was not there despite a positive week for the S&P 500. That backdrop helped Midstream trade up and beat the S&P 500 on average.

Week Thoughts: Mid-Year Mix Up

Hinds Howard — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:27:22 GMT

Midstream was mixed this week, with MLPs up and midstream corporations mostly negative. Interest rates were up, which pressured utilities and Canadian midstream. Oil prices stabilized somewhat in the high $60s. The stock market kept on chugging, with the S&P 500 up 1.8%.

Week Thoughts: Demand Pulls Midstream Higher

Hinds Howard — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:45:44 GMT

Midstream bounced back in a risk-off week across the market that saw interest rates drop alongside oil prices. Utilities traded well, and so did other more cyclical areas of the old economy like midstream. MLP performance was more muted, and perhaps more influenced by the oil price decline than midstream corporations, which outperformed.

Week Thoughts: Oil Down, Midstream Down

Hinds Howard — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:05:17 GMT

It wasn’t the best week for midstream stocks, with around 3% drop across midstream on average. Lower oil prices were the primary driver, it feels like. There’s a major NYC energy conference hosted by JPM in the coming week that could be an opportunity for upstream and midstream companies to provide updates to activity and spending. We already had a few capex updates in midstream this week ahead of the conference.

Week Thoughts: Earthbound but Not Down

Hinds Howard — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:49:30 GMT

Midstream fared well this week despite a further drop in oil prices this week. But apparently midstream stocks were not a source of funds for the big SpaceX IPO this week. Interest rates dropping probably helped a bit. MLPs lagged and were challenged by some technical index rebalancing that put pressure on some of the big names. Otherwise, it was a very quiet week in the very terrestrial midstream world.

Summer is finally here in PA. For the second straight year, one of my children graduated high school. That means we dealt with another prom, threw another grad party, suffered through another season of senior assassin water gun game, and sat through another graduation ceremony. I will say, the ceremony is much more fun when your kid is one of the few who gives a speech (and absolutely nails it…).

But I will be happy to have a few years off from the intensity of the final few months of high school. Congrats to everyone for making it through another school year. I wish all of you parents a restful summer of fun with your kids. It goes by fast.

Week Thoughts: Pipelines Keep Flowing

Hinds Howard — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:16:24 GMT

Midstream bounced back this week in a shaky week for the broad market as the wave of tech equity issuance, higher oil prices, and higher interest rates took their toll. Midstream clawed back some of the losses from the last few weeks as it seemed like maybe oil prices are stabilizing after the downdraft from initial talks of a negotiated peace in Iran. Maybe it’s safe to buy energy stocks now that some of that geopolitical risk premium has come off.

SpaceX is planning to price its $75bn IPO on 6/11, and it should begin trading on 6/12. This will be a massive market event, and it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about, along with other tech capital raises that happened this week (GOOGL) or coming soon. There was a time when a $500mm equity offering by an MLP would overwhelm the midstream space with its precarious fund flow balance. But these gigantic numbers from the tech companies are wild. A lot of that equity will go towards securing infrastructure for data centers that will need midstream infrastructure to provide supply. Feels like midstream is going to be ok.

Week Thoughts: I Feel Bad for You...

Hinds Howard — Sat, 30 May 2026 17:58:15 GMT

The month ended very badly for midstream. “Sell in May” is alive and well in midstream, apparently, even if tech stocks and the S&P 500 keep drifting higher. Stocks were up and interest rates were down as the U.S. and Iran appear to have some agreement on peace that will see the Straight of Hormuz open again.

The market didn’t sell off much when the war started and is higher now than it was before the war. The market just decided early on that technology stocks just were not going think about Iran and keep compounding. Even if oil prices were going to be structurally higher, even if interest rates and inflation were going to linger higher for longer.

Week Thoughts: Strong Fundamental Backdrop

Hinds Howard — Sun, 24 May 2026 03:34:57 GMT

Midstream had a very good week considering oil and gas prices were down. U.S. midstream stocks were up around 1%, while strength in Canada helped the broader AMNA index finish up nearly 2%. In our very micro, insular view from inside the midstream space, I would point to the EIC conference in Florida as the catalyst for outperformance by midstream in a down week for energy.

The sector does seem better positioned fundamentally across the spectrum of midstream assets than at any point in recent memory. We’ve talked about how much interest there is in midstream waiting for the big flush selloff in oil prices on peace in Iran to jump into midstream stocks that will benefit from commodity prices that are structurally higher than they were pre-war. Maybe some of that happened this week. Maybe there was some benefit from the slight downtick in interest rates. Whatever the reason, midstream has found some momentum.

Week Thoughts: Big Move into Midstream

Hinds Howard — Sun, 17 May 2026 12:37:13 GMT

When conditions are just right for midstream stocks, sometimes the outcome is intuitive. More often it feels like there is always some nagging sector reason that midstream doesn’t perform by the book. But this week was textbook: oil prices are up 10%, midstream was up 6%, basically beta of 0.6.

Another feature of midstream is inflation protection. and sometimes when interest rates spike, the market forgets that midstream is relatively insulated from inflation. But this week, midstream was not forgotten. Midstream is on a roll with two big weeks in a row, and if oil prices stay above $100/bbl for a while, expect the winning to continue. So much so that we might get tired of it.

Week Thoughts: Nothing to See Here

Hinds Howard — Sat, 09 May 2026 11:42:22 GMT

The S&P 500 loved to hear about the 10^th time progress has been made on peace discussion with Iran. Commodities, energy stocks and of course midstream stocks did not fare so well with that backdrop, despite another very good week of quarterly reports.

Outside of midstream, FANG announced increased spending and development activity, an early signal of behavior starting to change among producers who had been skeptical of the price rally. But with the back end of the oil curve moving up in the last week, the incentive to drill is growing. That being said, it seems like the market is not convinced and is taking the strong earnings season so far as mostly from short term unsustainable commodity-related upside. Frustrating for those of us fans of midstream.

Week Thoughts: Buy The News

Hinds Howard — Sun, 03 May 2026 12:58:48 GMT

Oil prices rallied another 11% this week, settling well over $100/bbl. Natural gas prices also rallied. Midstream had a great week, beating the S&P 500, helped by solid earnings reports in addition to the spike in commodity prices.

Week Thoughts: Strong Leading Kindicators

Hinds Howard — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:33:14 GMT

After a couple of down weeks, midstream bounced back in another monster week for oil prices. The S&P 500 energy index was up 2.5%, so midstream didn’t have quite as good a week as broader energy, but nothing to complain about. On a trailing 12-month basis, the S&P 500 returns look silly at 30%+ given all the volatility that was going on last year around this time. Everything is up over the last 12 months, and up big, except domestic natural gas prices. Even massive demand growth can’t soak up all the supply.

KMI did not participate in the midstream rally despite kicking off earnings with good results. More earnings to come this week, hopefully with a better reaction. With the Iran conflict extending, earnings may not matter as much as what’s happening in the world. Airlines reported massive fuel costs, there are starting to be concerns of jet fuel supply in Europe and capacity adjustments from airlines in that region. Those are some of the early signals that the global economy may struggle if things don’t resolve soon.

KMI Earnings

Week Thoughts: Ships Float, Energy Sinks

Hinds Howard — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:02:13 GMT

Oil prices dominated everything again this week, which was good for the S&P 500, but bad for energy stocks (worst performing sector in the S&P 500). The Strait was announced as completely open to all commercial vessels by Iran’s Foreign minister on Friday, which the market took as a signal to fade the risk premium baked into front month oil prices. We’ll see Monday how much of that risk premium comes back into oil prices after ships trying to pass through the Strait were fired upon plus whatever new headlines emerge between now and Monday.

Heading into earnings with KMI this Wednesday, expectations are for solid results. Surprises could come from Winter Storm Fern that may have added some upside for those with marketing exposure like KMI, WMB, and ET. There may be some small negative impacts from volume curtailments from that storm, too. A few other things that will be in focus: