Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. is a scaled energy company that provides shareholders with exposure similar to energy private equity through operated partnerships and traditional non operated assets. The company owns oil and natural gas assets in 6 prolific unconventional basins across the United States, including the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Haynesville, Denver Julesburg and Appalachian basins. Its strategy focuses on building a diversified portfolio of high graded…
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. is a scaled energy company that provides shareholders with exposure similar to energy private equity through operated partnerships and traditional non operated assets. The company owns oil and natural gas assets in 6 prolific unconventional basins across the United States, including the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Haynesville, Denver Julesburg and Appalachian basins. Its strategy focuses on building a diversified portfolio of high graded opportunities developed by proven public and private operators to achieve best in class full cycle returns.
The company generates revenue primarily from the sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids produced from its properties. Oil production is sold at prices tied to spot oil markets, while natural gas is sold under short term contracts indexed to first of month or daily spot prices. Granite Ridge relies on its operating partners to market and sell the production, receiving proceeds based on its working interest in each well.
The company operates through the following segments.
• Operated Partnerships: This segment involves investing in assets drilled, developed and operated by private operators, with Granite Ridge providing the majority of capital at risk and retaining control over acquisition costs, strategy, development timing, rig schedules and well design, while structuring economic interests that benefit operators after return hurdles are met.
• Traditional Non Operated Assets: This segment consists of minority interests in oil and gas properties that give Granite Ridge a proportional right to participate alongside third-party operators who propose, drill and operate the assets, with the company evaluating each well proposal using proprietary data to ensure it meets return thresholds based on production estimates, costs, prices and operator expertise.
Granite Ridge holds a niche position in the oil and natural gas industry by concentrating on operated partnerships and non operated interests that allow it to compete effectively despite having fewer resources than larger integrated peers. Its competitive advantages include a geographically diversified asset base across 6 basins, a proprietary data set that enhances investment decision making, a focus on high graded drilling inventory with strong full cycle returns, and a disciplined, low leverage balance sheet that supports consistent cash flow generation.
The company’s customers are primarily oil and natural gas purchasers, including refiners, utilities and energy traders that buy its production at market linked prices. While specific customer names are not disclosed, the reliance on spot and short term contract sales indicates a broad and liquid base of commodity buyers.
Sector:EnergySector rationaleThe company generates its revenue primarily from the sale of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids produced from its properties in various US basins. Its business model is centered on owning working interests in hydrocarbon assets and selling these energy commodities to refiners, utilities, and traders.Industries:Oil and Gas Exploration and ProductionEnergyPrimaryGranite Ridge generates revenue primarily from the sale of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids produced from its properties in basins like the Permian and Eagle Ford. While it utilizes partnerships, it holds working interests and controls development timing and well design in its Operated Partnerships segment, making it an active participant in exploration and production.Oil and Gas RoyaltiesEnergySecondaryThe company maintains a 'Traditional Non Operated Assets' segment consisting of minority interests where it receives a proportional right to production revenue while third-party operators handle the drilling and operations.Classified using BQ-MICSCIK: 0001928446
Investment Thesis
▲ Bull case
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc is positioned to achieve sustainable free cash flow generation in 2027 through a capital-efficient operated partnership model that targets 25% full-cycle returns at strip pricing, with development capital expenditures projected to decline by approximately 15% year-over-year in 2026 while still delivering 9% production growth, indicating improving capital discipline and operational leverage as the company transitions from scale-building to cash-flow durability. The company’s strategy of underwriting unit-by-unit acquisitions at strip pricing has yielded an average cost per net location of just $1.4 million in the Permian Basin—far below recent public market transaction comps—providing a structural cost advantage that allows for incremental value creation even in moderate commodity price environments, and this approach is being replicated across four operated partners, each with proven private equity-backed exits and significant personal capital alignment, ensuring sustained access to high-quality inventory without overpaying for assets. The recent partnership with Conduit Power and Diamondback Energy to develop 200 megawatts of natural gas-fired power generation in ERCOT, slated for full operation in 2027, represents an underappreciated catalyst that will synthetically hedge Permian gas realizations and is expected to enhance gas value by $1 to $2 per Mcf, directly addressing a persistent weakness in gas differentials that weighed on Q4 2025 results and improving the overall quality of the company’s cash flow stream as gas constitutes nearly half of production. Furthermore, management’s deliberate shift toward prioritizing free cash flow over aggressive growth—evidenced by guiding for 2026 development capital of $300–$330 million (down from $401 million in 2025) while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share—signals maturation of the business model and increasing optionality for shareholder returns once sustainable free cash flow is achieved, with net debt to adjusted EBITDAX already at a conservative 1.2x and liquidity of $339.5 million providing ample flexibility to navigate commodity volatility without sacrificing long-term inventory capture opportunities.
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc faces significant headwinds from structurally weak Permian Basin gas realizations, which averaged just 48% of Henry Hub in Q4 2025 due to persistent Waha basis widening, and despite modeling for continued negative differentials through 2026 and only modest improvement by 2027, the company’s reliance on gas for nearly half of its production exposes it to a persistent drag on revenue and cash flow that cannot be fully mitigated by the Conduit Power hedge until 2027, leaving two full years of suboptimal gas pricing that could suppress adjusted EBITDAX margins and delay free cash flow generation beyond the guided 2027 timeline if basin-wide oversupply conditions persist or worsen due to ongoing midstream constraints and reduced downstream demand. The company’s operated partnership model, while innovative, remains unproven at scale and heavily dependent on the continued availability of disciplined, private equity-experienced operators who have significant personal capital at risk—yet management deliberately limits public disclosure of three of its four partners, creating opacity around counterparty risk, operational execution consistency, and the true scalability of the model beyond the Admiral partnership, which benefits from a head start and deeper community ties, raising concerns that inventory capture and development efficiency may not replicate across other teams, particularly in hyper-competitive areas like the northern Midland Basin where PetroLegacy operates and where management admittedly questions additional “running room.” Furthermore, while Granite Ridge Resources, Inc emphasizes capital efficiency and a transition to free cash flow, its 2026 guidance still calls for $320–$360 million in total capital expenditures, implying only a modest reduction from 2025’s $401 million despite a target of just 9% production growth, suggesting that the company may not be achieving the implied step-change in capital productivity it claims, and with maintenance capital estimated at $250 million, the runway for disciplined growth above that level is narrow—leaving little room for error if acquisition costs rise, operating expenses continue to creep up (as evidenced by LOE increasing to $7.72 per BOE in Q4 2025 from lower levels due to Permian-focused service costs), or commodity prices falter below the $60 oil threshold that underpins the free cash flow model, potentially forcing a reevaluation of leverage targets or dividend sustainability.
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc is positioned to achieve sustainable free cash flow generation in 2027 through a capital-efficient operated partnership model that targets 25% full-cycle returns at strip pricing, with development capital expenditures projected to decline by approximately 15% year-over-year in 2026 while still delivering 9% production growth, indicating improving capital discipline and operational leverage as the company transitions from scale-building to cash-flow durability. The company’s strategy of underwriting unit-by-unit acquisitions at strip pricing has yielded an average cost per net location of just $1.4 million in the Permian Basin—far below recent public market transaction comps—providing a structural cost advantage that allows for incremental value creation even in moderate commodity price environments, and this approach is being replicated across four operated partners, each with proven private equity-backed exits and significant personal capital alignment, ensuring sustained access to high-quality inventory without overpaying for assets. The recent partnership with Conduit Power and Diamondback Energy to develop 200 megawatts of natural gas-fired power generation in ERCOT, slated for full operation in 2027, represents an underappreciated catalyst that will synthetically hedge Permian gas realizations and is expected to enhance gas value by $1 to $2 per Mcf, directly addressing a persistent weakness in gas differentials that weighed on Q4 2025 results and improving the overall quality of the company’s cash flow stream as gas constitutes nearly half of production. Furthermore, management’s deliberate shift toward prioritizing free cash flow over aggressive growth—evidenced by guiding for 2026 development capital of $300–$330 million (down from $401 million in 2025) while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share—signals maturation of the business model and increasing optionality for shareholder returns once sustainable free cash flow is achieved, with net debt to adjusted EBITDAX already at a conservative 1.2x and liquidity of $339.5 million providing ample flexibility to navigate commodity volatility without sacrificing long-term inventory capture opportunities.
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc faces significant headwinds from structurally weak Permian Basin gas realizations, which averaged just 48% of Henry Hub in Q4 2025 due to persistent Waha basis widening, and despite modeling for continued negative differentials through 2026 and only modest improvement by 2027, the company’s reliance on gas for nearly half of its production exposes it to a persistent drag on revenue and cash flow that cannot be fully mitigated by the Conduit Power hedge until 2027, leaving two full years of suboptimal gas pricing that could suppress adjusted EBITDAX margins and delay free cash flow generation beyond the guided 2027 timeline if basin-wide oversupply conditions persist or worsen due to ongoing midstream constraints and reduced downstream demand. The company’s operated partnership model, while innovative, remains unproven at scale and heavily dependent on the continued availability of disciplined, private equity-experienced operators who have significant personal capital at risk—yet management deliberately limits public disclosure of three of its four partners, creating opacity around counterparty risk, operational execution consistency, and the true scalability of the model beyond the Admiral partnership, which benefits from a head start and deeper community ties, raising concerns that inventory capture and development efficiency may not replicate across other teams, particularly in hyper-competitive areas like the northern Midland Basin where PetroLegacy operates and where management admittedly questions additional “running room.” Furthermore, while Granite Ridge Resources, Inc emphasizes capital efficiency and a transition to free cash flow, its 2026 guidance still calls for $320–$360 million in total capital expenditures, implying only a modest reduction from 2025’s $401 million despite a target of just 9% production growth, suggesting that the company may not be achieving the implied step-change in capital productivity it claims, and with maintenance capital estimated at $250 million, the runway for disciplined growth above that level is narrow—leaving little room for error if acquisition costs rise, operating expenses continue to creep up (as evidenced by LOE increasing to $7.72 per BOE in Q4 2025 from lower levels due to Permian-focused service costs), or commodity prices falter below the $60 oil threshold that underpins the free cash flow model, potentially forcing a reevaluation of leverage targets or dividend sustainability.
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc faces significant headwinds from structurally weak Permian Basin gas realizations, which averaged just 48% of Henry Hub in Q4 2025 due to persistent Waha basis widening, and despite modeling for continued negative differentials through 2026 and only modest improvement by 2027, the company’s reliance on gas for nearly half of its production exposes it to a persistent drag on revenue and cash flow that cannot be fully mitigated by the Conduit Power hedge until 2027, leaving two full years of suboptimal gas pricing that could suppress adjusted EBITDAX margins and delay free cash flow generation beyond the guided 2027 timeline if basin-wide oversupply conditions persist or worsen due to ongoing midstream constraints and reduced downstream demand. The company’s operated partnership model, while innovative, remains unproven at scale and heavily dependent on the continued availability of disciplined, private equity-experienced operators who have significant personal capital at risk—yet management deliberately limits public disclosure of three of its four partners, creating opacity around counterparty risk, operational execution consistency, and the true scalability of the model beyond the Admiral partnership, which benefits from a head start and deeper community ties, raising concerns that inventory capture and development efficiency may not replicate across other teams, particularly in hyper-competitive areas like the northern Midland Basin where PetroLegacy operates and where management admittedly questions additional “running room.” Furthermore, while Granite Ridge Resources, Inc emphasizes capital efficiency and a transition to free cash flow, its 2026 guidance still calls for $320–$360 million in total capital expenditures, implying only a modest reduction from 2025’s $401 million despite a target of just 9% production growth, suggesting that the company may not be achieving the implied step-change in capital productivity it claims, and with maintenance capital estimated at $250 million, the runway for disciplined growth above that level is narrow—leaving little room for error if acquisition costs rise, operating expenses continue to creep up (as evidenced by LOE increasing to $7.72 per BOE in Q4 2025 from lower levels due to Permian-focused service costs), or commodity prices falter below the $60 oil threshold that underpins the free cash flow model, potentially forcing a reevaluation of leverage targets or dividend sustainability.
Granite Ridge Resources, Inc faces significant headwinds from structurally weak Permian Basin gas realizations, which averaged just 48% of Henry Hub in Q4 2025 due to persistent Waha basis widening, and despite modeling for continued negative differentials through 2026 and only modest improvement by 2027, the company’s reliance on gas for nearly half of its production exposes it to a persistent drag on revenue and cash flow that cannot be fully mitigated by the Conduit Power hedge until 2027, leaving two full years of suboptimal gas pricing that could suppress adjusted EBITDAX margins and delay free cash flow generation beyond the guided 2027 timeline if basin-wide oversupply conditions persist or worsen due to ongoing midstream constraints and reduced downstream demand. The company’s operated partnership model, while innovative, remains unproven at scale and heavily dependent on the continued availability of disciplined, private equity-experienced operators who have significant personal capital at risk—yet management deliberately limits public disclosure of three of its four partners, creating opacity around counterparty risk, operational execution consistency, and the true scalability of the model beyond the Admiral partnership, which benefits from a head start and deeper community ties, raising concerns that inventory capture and development efficiency may not replicate across other teams, particularly in hyper-competitive areas like the northern Midland Basin where PetroLegacy operates and where management admittedly questions additional “running room.” Furthermore, while Granite Ridge Resources, Inc emphasizes capital efficiency and a transition to free cash flow, its 2026 guidance still calls for $320–$360 million in total capital expenditures, implying only a modest reduction from 2025’s $401 million despite a target of just 9% production growth, suggesting that the company may not be achieving the implied step-change in capital productivity it claims, and with maintenance capital estimated at $250 million, the runway for disciplined growth above that level is narrow—leaving little room for error if acquisition costs rise, operating expenses continue to creep up (as evidenced by LOE increasing to $7.72 per BOE in Q4 2025 from lower levels due to Permian-focused service costs), or commodity prices falter below the $60 oil threshold that underpins the free cash flow model, potentially forcing a reevaluation of leverage targets or dividend sustainability.