Excelerate Energy has quietly become the most operationally exposed pure-play to the global LNG import buildout, and the second quarter of 2026 is the first reporting period that fully captures the post-acquisition earnings profile than the transition noise. The headline tells the story: $329.3 million of revenue and $120.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA, both up meaningfully year over year, with the LNG, gas and power line tripling to $168.8 million on a full quarter of Jamaica. Adjusted Gross Margin of $137.9 million grew 16.7% on incremental long-term agreements. What is genuinely changing underneath is a structural expansion of the backlog. The company took delivery of a new 170,000 cubic meter FSRU from HD Hyundai in the second quarter, signed a seven-year Colombia contract for the Express with a Frontera subsidiary, deployed the Acadia to Jordan on an interim basis while Iraq progresses, and in July agreed to acquire the Methane Patricia Camila to convert into a fourth FSRU.
The strongest counterargument is also visible in the print. The headline net income of $50.1 million is flattering because the prior-year quarter carried $27.7 million of transition and transaction expenses from the New Fortress Jamaica acquisition. Strip those out and the operating leverage is real but more modest. Effective tax rate of 10.6% in the quarter was well below the prior year, helping GAAP earnings but largely a function of geographic mix. Interest expense of $24.2 million is running materially above the prior year because of the $800 million 2030 Notes that funded the deal, and that drag is durable. Customer concentration also tightened: Customer A dropped from 26% to 16% of revenue on a six-month basis, while Customer B rose from 5% to 14%, which on balance reduces single-customer dependence.
The forward test is straightforward. The Iraq integrated terminal is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2027 and represents the single largest catalyst in the backlog. If Excelerate executes that project on schedule while the FSRU conversion program is delivered for 2028 commercial deployment, Adjusted EBITDA growth can compound at a double-digit rate without requiring further commodity tailwind. If Iraq slips materially or the conversion project encounters conversion cost overruns, the growth narrative loses its anchor. The 2030 Notes are not the constraint. At $342.4 million of unrestricted cash and a fully undrawn $500 million revolver, the balance sheet is overcapitalized for the existing backlog, and the $75 million buyback authorization was 38% deployed in the first half.