--- title: "Kinder Morgan's backlog jumped half in one quarter to a record $14.4 billion" description: "Record profit and two project approvals took the pipeline company's expansion backlog to $14.4 billion, half again its June level, with two new lines carrying more than 5 billion cubic feet of gas a day for power demand, one of them for an unnamed A-rated hyperscaler. The contracts are signed now; the gas flows in 2030." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-10-21T23:04:40.236Z modified: 2026-10-21T23:04:40.236Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-backlog-jumped-half-in-one-quarter-to-a-record-14-4-billion language: en keywords: "Kinder Morgan, Natural Gas, Data Centers, Power Demand, Earnings" --- # Kinder Morgan's backlog jumped half in one quarter to a record $14.4 billion > Record profit and two project approvals took the pipeline company's expansion backlog to $14.4 billion, half again its June level, with two new lines carrying more than 5 billion cubic feet of gas a day for power demand, one of them for an unnamed A-rated hyperscaler. The contracts are signed now; the gas flows in 2030. [Kinder Morgan](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/kinder-morgan), the Houston operator of about 78,000 miles of pipelines, put a number on the AI buildout's next layer on October 21 [1]. [Third-quarter net income attributable to KMI was $764 million](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630726000130/0001506307-26-000130-index.htm), up from $628 million a year earlier, and adjusted EPS rose 21% to $0.35 [1]. The expansion project backlog jumped half in a single quarter, to $14.4 billion on $5.4 billion of additions net of $700 million placed in service; gas projects are $13.2 billion of it, the largest natural gas backlog in company history, and more than 75% of the total now backs power generation and local gas distribution [1]. ## Two new lines, each over 2.5 billion cubic feet a day Chief Executive Kim Dang sanctioned two final investment decisions, projects management ranks among the largest US gas pipelines built in decades [1]. The Southeast Connector, on Southern Natural Gas, Kinder Morgan's 50/50 venture with the Atlanta utility [Southern Company](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/southern-company) [6], moves up to 2.6 billion cubic feet a day over roughly 470 new miles into the Southeast; the KMI share is about $3.1 billion, with first phases in service from late 2030 [1]. The $4.2 billion Permian Link, with a $1.6 billion KMI share, carries about 2.8 billion cubic feet a day to new power generation for a customer described only as an A-rated hyperscaler, from mid-2030 [1]. A $150 million Creekside Lateral expansion in Central Texas follows take-or-pay deals with data-center and industrial customers [1]. *Chart: **After a year going nowhere, the backlog jumped half in one quarter** Column chart of Kinder Morgan's expansion project backlog at each quarter end from Q3 2025 to Q3 2026, showing a jump from $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion* *Expansion project backlog at quarter end, US$ billions, from Kinder Morgan earnings releases. Q3 2026 includes $5.4 billion of additions net of $700 million placed in service. [1][2][3][4][5]* ## The contracts are signed now; the gas flows in 2030 The returns are fixed before the first mile is welded: the stable, primarily take-or-pay $13.7 billion of the backlog is expected to earn about 5.7 times first-full-year project EBITDA [1]. [A year ago the backlog stood at $9.3 billion](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630725000063/kmi2025q38-kex991.htm), about half of it tied to power generation [2]. Take-or-pay means the shipper pays whether or not the gas moves. If demand disappoints in 2030, the cost sits with the hyperscalers and utilities that signed, and, opponents of the contested Mississippi corridor argue, with the ratepayers behind them [6]. ## The other camp had a busy week [Barclays](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/barclays) analyst Tim Long cut Dell, [Hewlett Packard Enterprise](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/hewlett-packard-enterprise) and [NetApp](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/netapp) on October 16, [arguing that enterprise AI strength reflects memory prices more than a durable buildout](https://moneymorning.com/2026/10/16/dell-barclays-downgrade-enterprise-ai-memory-october-2026) [7]. Kinder Morgan's own demand case is in court: its Tennessee Gas subsidiary has [sued 141 Mississippi landowners](https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-sued-141-landowners-for-a-5-2-billion-gas-corridor-foes-call-the-ai-demand-case-4x-overstated) since July to clear the $5.2 billion Mississippi Crossing corridor, and opponents [told a federal appeals court on October 1](https://theinference.org/article/ferc-approved-5-2-billion-of-gas-pipe-on-data-center-forecasts-a-court-will-now-ask-who-needs-it) that its data-center forecast runs more than four times what utility records support [6]. The company says it scopes projects to customer need and does not overbuild [6]. ## Six straight quarters, and two dates to hold The bull case is already on the scoreboard: net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 3.5 times, at the low end of target, a dividend up 2%, 2026 adjusted EPS expected more than 13% above budget, gathering volumes up 14%, and six straight quarters of year-over-year net income growth [1][8]. *Chart: **Net income has grown year over year for six straight quarters** Line chart of Kinder Morgan's quarterly net income attributable to KMI from Q3 2023 to Q3 2026, rising from about $0.5 billion to $0.76 billion* *Quarterly net income attributable to Kinder Morgan, US$ billions, from its SEC filings; Q3 2026 from the October 21, 2026, release. [8][1]* Two readings decide whether the record backlog was a step or a ceiling: Southern Company's November 5 results, the first contracted-gigawatt count behind the challenged corridor [6], and Kinder Morgan's own fourth-quarter backlog number in January. ## Takeaway Record $14.4 billion backlog: two take-or-pay gas lines put AI-era power demand on Kinder Morgan's books now, with the gas arriving from 2030. ## Sources 1. [Kinder Morgan, Inc. Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1, Record Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results, 21 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630726000130/0001506307-26-000130-index.htm) 2. [Kinder Morgan third quarter 2025 earnings release (SEC EX-99.1), 22 October 2025](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630725000063/kmi2025q38-kex991.htm) 3. [Kinder Morgan fourth quarter 2025 earnings release (SEC EX-99.1), 21 January 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506307/000150630726000002/kmi2025q48-kex991.htm) 4. [Kinder Morgan first quarter 2026 earnings release, Business Wire via The Globe and Mail, 22 April 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/KMI-N/pressreleases/1457857/kinder-morgan-reports-first-quarter-2026-financial-results/) 5. [Kinder Morgan second quarter 2026 earnings release, Business Wire via The Globe and Mail, 22 July 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/KMI/pressreleases/3411587/kinder-morgan-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results/) 6. [The Inference, Kinder Morgan sued 141 landowners for a $5.2 billion gas corridor; foes call the AI demand case 4x overstated, 16 October 2026](https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-sued-141-landowners-for-a-5-2-billion-gas-corridor-foes-call-the-ai-demand-case-4x-overstated) 7. [Money Morning, Barclays Just Cut Dell. The Reason Hits the Whole AI Server Trade., 16 October 2026](https://moneymorning.com/2026/10/16/dell-barclays-downgrade-enterprise-ai-memory-october-2026) 8. [Kinder Morgan quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 21 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001506307) --- Kinder Morgan's backlog jumped half in one quarter to a record $14.4 billion — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kinder-morgan-s-backlog-jumped-half-in-one-quarter-to-a-record-14-4-billion