Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending December 31, 2024

February 25, 2025 10:00 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Hello. And welcome to Coterra Energy Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference call. Please note that this call is being recorded. After the speaker’s prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]

Thank you. I’d now like to hand the call over to Dan Guffey, Vice President of Finance, Investor Relations and Treasury. You may now begin.

Dan Guffey

Thank you, Ellie. Good morning. And thank you for joining Coterra Energy’s fourth quarter 2024 earnings and 2025 outlook conference call. Today’s prepared remarks will include an overview from Tom Jorden, Chairman, CEO and President; Shane Young, Executive Vice President and CFO; and Blake Sirgo, Senior Vice President of Operations. Michael Deshazer, Senior Vice President of Business Units, is also in the room to answer questions. Following our prepared remarks, we will take your questions during our Q&A session.

As a reminder, on today’s call, we will make forward-looking statements based on our current expectations. Additionally, some of our comments will reference non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-looking statements and other disclaimers, as well as reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, were provided in our earnings release and updated investor presentation, both of which can be found on our website.

With that, I’ll turn the call over to Tom.

Tom Jorden

Thank you, Dan, and welcome to everyone joining us this morning. We’re pleased to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2024 results, our plans for 2025 and our updated three-year outlook. First, Coterra had an excellent fourth quarter. We achieved production levels above the high end of our guidance range for oil and natural gas, with capital expenditures coming in near the low end of our guidance. We returned 61% of our free cash flow in the fourth quarter through dividends and share buybacks. For the full year 2024, we returned 89% of our free cash flow. Most importantly, we generated outstanding results on our capital investments in 2024, achieving financial returns that are robust, durable and repeatable. I want to commend our entire organization for delivering these exceptional results.

Our 2025 capital plan aligns with the preliminary guidance we provided during our November announcement regarding the Franklin Mountain and Avant acquisitions. In 2025, after folding in the newly acquired Permian assets, we expect to run a consistent and highly capital-efficient program across each of our three operating regions.