Venture Global lifts 2026 profit outlook to $10 billion and eyes 5 GW of AI power

US LNG exporter Venture Global raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $10.0-$10.3 billion and said it is exploring a new business: building power and infrastructure for AI data centers in Louisiana, with about 5 GW of capacity targeted by the end of 2031, Reuters reported.

The figures come from the company’s third quarter 2026 results, published on November 10.

A record quarter and a higher full-year guide

Venture Global reported third-quarter revenue of $4.756 billion, up 43% from $3.329 billion a year earlier. Income from operations was $2.295 billion, and net income attributable to common stockholders reached $2.546 billion, against $429 million in the same quarter of 2025. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA came to $2.583 billion, up 69%.

The company exported 124 cargoes in the quarter, compared with 100 a year earlier. For 2026 it now expects between 509 and 518 cargoes, narrowing its earlier range of 500 to 518, and says 99% of available cargoes are contracted at a weighted average liquefaction fee of $6.46 per MMBtu.

The new EBITDA guidance replaces a range of $8.7-$9.1 billion. It assumes a fee of $21.00-$22.00 per MMBtu on the remaining unsold 2026 cargoes. According to the company, each $1.00 change in that fee moves 2026 adjusted EBITDA by $20-30 million, so the forecast is now less exposed to price swings. The board declared a dividend of $0.04 per share, payable on December 31.

On the LNG side, Plaquemines Phase 1 reached commercial operations on October 31, and the company signed 2.0 million tonnes per year of new or increased 20-year offtake, including 1.0 MTPA with ConocoPhillips starting in 2030.

Turbines first, customers later

The AI plan is built around power equipment. In October, Venture Global signed framework agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes Energy Services for up to 16 new power islands of 720 MW each, plus transformers and grid equipment. Two sites in Cameron and Plaquemines parishes, about 250 miles apart, would host the network.

The company says it could start delivering compute capacity in late 2028 and reach about 5 GW by the end of 2031. It points to roughly 15,000 acres of controlled land, access to about 13 bcf/d of pipeline capacity, about 4 GW of existing power and an in-house engineering and construction team of about 1,000 people.

CEO Mike Sabel called it a “potential new, additive line of business” and said the company aims to “solve for the predominant challenges to the data center build out”, much as it did for LNG speed and scale.

The release names no data center customer and gives no cost for the power islands or the buildout. It calls this a potential offering, not a signed business. The 16 units at 720 MW would add up to about 11.5 GW of equipment, more than the 5 GW the company targets for 2031, and the release does not explain the gap.

What the plan means for the AI power race

The most direct angle is who this affects in practice: AI developers and data center operators that are short of grid power. Venture Global is pitching speed, the same claim it made for LNG, and it says it would run “island-mode” networks, meaning power generation built alongside the facilities instead of waiting on utility connections. None of that has been demonstrated yet, and the company has not said who would buy the capacity.

Venture Global is not alone in tying gas to AI. Reuters reported on Monday that SpaceX plans a $24 billion gas power plant and data center project in Texas. Separately, Bloomberg-sourced reporting summarized by Techmeme says ByteDance is seeking a second phase in Brazil larger than its ongoing $10 billion, 300 MW project. Against those numbers, a 5 GW target is large, which is why the missing customer and cost details matter.

There is also a track-record question. According to a summary of the company’s quarterly filing by FourWeekMBA, the filing says Venture Global has limited experience developing or operating data centers, and analysts quoted there flag execution risk across its LNG expansions and the new business. We have not read the filing text ourselves, so treat that wording as secondhand. The company’s LNG record is more concrete: the results show Plaquemines Phase 1 online and CP2 with 24 of 36 liquefaction modules on site, with first LNG now expected in mid-2027.

Timing is the next thing to watch. Per the reported filing, the first purchase order for a power island is expected by the end of 2026. Until that order and a named customer appear, the AI business remains a plan, while the raised guidance rests on cargoes the company is already shipping.