Kinder Morgan earns steady fees for moving and storing natural gas, and its profit rose in the first nine months of 2026. The question is whether its high debt can carry a much larger building programme.
When a gas furnace starts on a cold morning, the fuel has probably travelled through pipes most people never see. Kinder Morgan owns a large US network of them, mostly natural gas pipelines and underground storage. It charges for carrying and storing gas that usually belongs to its customers, much as a toll road earns from cars it does not own. Smaller businesses move refined fuels and crude oil, run storage terminals and produce oil and carbon dioxide.
Many customers sign long take-or-pay contracts: they pay for reserved space in pipes and tanks whether or not they use it. In the third quarter of 2026, gas pipelines brought in $2.9 billion of the group's $4.5 billion revenue. Prices are set by contracts and regulatory approval, so the company cannot simply raise them at will. On regulated pipelines for refined fuels and crude oil, the federal regulator can suspend a new rate, investigate it and order refunds if it finds the rate unlawful. Part of revenue comes from selling energy products at market prices, so it swings while the fee business changes slowly. What remains depends on contracted volumes, the cost of running the network and interest on large debt.
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