Expand 2Q: M-U Delivers 4.3 Bcfe/d, Pays $5K/Acre in Bradford County

Expand Energy, the largest natural gas producer in the country, reported its second-quarter 2026 numbers on Tuesday and held its analyst call Wednesday morning. Headline items: net production of 7.48 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day), net income of $522 million, and a reaffirmed full-year guide of 7.4–7.6 Bcfe/d on $2.75–$2.95 billion of capital spending. But the news that matters most to MDN readers isn't in the headline — it's buried in the slide deck. Expand quietly paid roughly $5,000 an acre for 3,000 acres in core Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and turned in the best drilling quarter in the history of its Southwest Appalachia business. Meanwhile, interim CEO Mike Wichterich says the search for a permanent boss is in "the back third" and will land inside the promised nine months. Let's break it down.

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