The Williams Companies, Inc. research snapshot
WMB AI stock analysis now reads The Williams Companies, Inc. as a high-quality U.S. natural gas infrastructure business whose contracted fee-based cash flows keep growing while valuation stays demanding. The positive signal is the first-quarter report published May 4, 2026, with GAAP net income of $864 million, adjusted EBITDA of $2.254 billion (up 13% year over year), AFFO of $1.770 billion, dividend coverage of 2.76x, and 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $8.05 billion to $8.35 billion. The balance sheet picture improved when a Blackstone-led group agreed in July 2026 to invest $5.34 billion for a 49% noncontrolling interest in five behind-the-meter power projects. The caution is valuation and the price pullback: at the July 31, 2026 close of $71.54, WMB trades near 31.4x trailing EPS, about 6.8x book value, and still carries roughly $29.35 billion of net debt, with the stock now below its 50-day moving average. This WMB AI stock analysis is informational only and is not investment advice.
Current price
$71.54 close on July 31, 2026
Market cap
$87.49 billion reported and verified
AI score
72 / 100
Rating
High-quality contracted natural gas infrastructure with growing EBITDA and AFFO, a Blackstone-funded power project backlog, and a premium valuation that leaves little room for execution error
Trend status
Corrective, with price below the 50-day moving average of $73.63 but above the 200-day moving average of $68.51, and RSI near 43 showing fading momentum after the pullback from the early July high
Data cutoff (updated monthly)
August 4, 2026
Informational use only. This page is not investment advice.
| Dimension | Conclusion | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Business quality | WMB owns and operates U.S. natural gas transmission, storage, gathering, processing, and marketing assets that connect supply basins with utilities, LNG demand, industrial users, and power demand. | High |
| Moat | The moat comes from permitted pipelines, Transco scale, storage capacity, basin interconnections, long-lived customer contracts, replacement cost, and regulatory complexity. | High |
| Management | CEO Chad Zamarin inherited a strong asset base and is being judged on transmission expansions, power innovation projects, the Blackstone financing deal, capital discipline, and leverage control. | Medium-high |
| Financial trend | FY2025 revenue was $11.950 billion, FY2025 net income to common was $2.615 billion, and Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA rose 13% year over year to $2.254 billion with 2.76x dividend coverage. | High |
| Valuation | At $71.54, WMB screens expensive versus many midstream names at about 31.4x trailing EPS, 6.8x book value, 7.2x sales, and a 2.94% dividend yield, with a forward P/E near 30.5x. | High |
| Technical trend | Daily technicals turned corrective because price closed below the 50-day moving average, although it remains above the 200-day moving average, so the longer-term uptrend is intact but momentum has cooled. | Medium |
| Risk level | Main risks include valuation compression, high debt, heavy growth capex, project delays, regulatory and permitting friction, pipeline safety events, counterparty stress, commodity margin swings, and acquisition integration risk from a possible Momentum Midstream deal. | Medium-high |
| AI confidence | Descriptive confidence is high because filings and market data are rich. Forecast confidence is medium because the outcome depends heavily on terminal multiples, project execution, and the pending Q2 2026 report. | High data confidence |
| Investment certainty | WMB is a strong infrastructure business, but the stock needs continued EBITDA growth, dividend coverage, project delivery, balance sheet discipline, and a stable multiple to justify the premium. | Medium |
WMB AI stock forecast
The WMB AI stock forecast uses scenario math around the $71.54 July 31, 2026 close, trailing EPS of $2.28, and a three-year earnings multiple framework. The model produced a bearish point near $64, a base point near $92, and a bullish point near $112 before dividends, and the analyst price target range of $67 to $99 sits inside those bounds.
$100 to $112
More likely if Transco expansions, Gulf volumes, storage revenues, data-center power demand, and the Blackstone-funded power projects lift earnings near a 12% compound rate while investors keep valuing WMB near the low-30s earnings multiple range.
$82 to $92
More likely if adjusted EBITDA tracks the 2026 guidance path, dividend coverage stays above 2.5x, the Blackstone deal closes as planned, and the market values WMB around 30x forward earnings near the analyst average target.
$60 to $70
More likely if capex runs ahead of returns, rates or credit spreads pressure equity multiples, regulators slow projects, the Momentum acquisition overpays, gas demand disappoints, or the market re-rates WMB toward the mid-20s earnings multiple.
WMB AI technical analysis
WMB AI technical analysis is corrective but not broken as of the August 2, 2026 cutoff. The $71.54 close is below the 50-day moving average around $73.63 but still above the 200-day moving average around $68.51, while RSI near 43 points to fading momentum after the drop from the early July high near $75.
| Level | Value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Current price | $71.54 | July 31, 2026 closing price used for market-cap and valuation verification. |
| Immediate support | $68.50 to $70.50 | Area around the 200-day moving average of $68.51 and the July lows, a key test of whether the longer-term uptrend remains intact. |
| Deeper support | $65 to $68 | Area that would confirm a deeper corrective phase if the 200-day area gives way. |
| Near resistance | $73.50 to $75 | The 50-day moving average of $73.63 and the early July high zone where the pullback started. |
| Higher resistance | $78 to $80 | The 52-week high reference is $80.08, while the analyst target consensus sits near $83.82. |
| Moving averages | 50-day about $73.63, 200-day about $68.51 | StockAnalysis daily references show price below the 50-day and above the 200-day as of the cutoff. |
| Momentum | RSI about 43, momentum cooling | The June and early July uptrend has lost momentum, and RSI no longer supports a strongly positive read. |
| Volume | Recent volume about 7.2 million shares | StockAnalysis listed July 31 volume near 7.25 million shares versus a 20-day average near 6.4 million, so the pullback came on modestly higher volume. |
| Volatility | Beta about 0.59 | Lower beta helps explain defensive demand, but leverage and rates can still create sharp equity moves. |
| Invalidation | Sustained close below $68.50 | A durable break below the 200-day area would weaken the constructive longer-term setup and shift attention to valuation reset risk. |
WMB AI trading strategy
The WMB AI trading strategy below is a rules-based research framework, not personalized advice. It connects trend signals to adjusted EBITDA, AFFO coverage, Transco projects, Gulf volumes, the Blackstone deal, leverage, regulatory milestones, and the Q2 2026 report scheduled for August 3, 2026.
Look for WMB to hold above the $68.50 to $70.50 area and then clear $73.50 to $75 while Q2 results confirm EBITDA growth, dividend coverage, and project execution on Transco, Gulf, and power innovation assets.
A failed bounce or close below the 200-day area should lower setup confidence, especially if paired with weaker AFFO coverage, higher debt cost, or delayed project approvals.
If WMB pulls back toward the $68.50 to $70.50 zone while EBITDA guidance, dividend coverage, and customer demand remain intact, compare the lower price with updated EPS and debt metrics and the analyst target range.
Do not treat every decline as attractive if it reflects a permitting setback, safety event, acquisition overpayment, commodity margin pressure, or a broad multiple reset for yield-sensitive infrastructure stocks.
Track adjusted EBITDA, AFFO, dividend coverage, debt-to-adjusted EBITDA, the Blackstone power project closing, any Momentum Midstream deal terms, Transco expansion milestones, Gulf project volumes, and capital investments.
Position sizing should reflect that a contracted midstream business can still disappoint if valuation compression overwhelms steady cash flow growth.
Investment research summary
Customers pay WMB to move, store, gather, process, and market natural gas and NGLs across essential U.S. infrastructure. The business works when pipeline access, storage, reliability, and long-lived contracts convert energy demand into recurring cash flow.
WMB has a wide moat from Transco scale, storage capacity, hard-to-replicate pipeline rights of way, permitting barriers, basin interconnections, customer relationships, and the capital required to build competing infrastructure.
The thesis fails if debt grows faster than cash flow, project returns disappoint, the Blackstone deal or a Momentum acquisition changes the risk profile, permitting slows growth, safety or environmental issues create liabilities, commodity-linked margins weaken, or investors stop paying a premium for natural gas infrastructure.
Management has emphasized natural gas demand, transmission expansions, power innovation projects, dividend coverage, and disciplined growth. The key question is whether CEO Chad Zamarin can compound returns while keeping leverage under control as capex stays high.
Natural gas infrastructure sits at the intersection of power demand, LNG exports, industrial demand, reliability needs, and decarbonization debates. WMB benefits if gas remains a favored bridge fuel and grid reliability asset, with data centers adding to the demand outlook.
The current price already embeds confidence in WMB as a premium midstream compounder. The base case offers moderate upside unless EPS growth, EBITDA guidance, dividend coverage, and the Blackstone deal keep improving while the market maintains a high multiple.
Source-backed data
Every metric below includes a source and last verification date.
| Metric | Value | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current price reference | $71.54 close on July 31, 2026 | StockAnalysis market cap page | August 2, 2026 |
| Shares outstanding | 1.22 billion shares | StockAnalysis statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| Market cap verification | $87.28 billion calculated vs $87.49 billion reported | Pineify financial_rigor.py | August 2, 2026 |
| FY2025 revenue | $11.950 billion | StockAnalysis financials | August 2, 2026 |
| FY2025 net income to common | $2.615 billion | StockAnalysis financials | August 2, 2026 |
| Q1 2026 revenue | $3.030 billion | Williams Q1 2026 earnings release | August 2, 2026 |
| Q1 2026 net income to common | $864 million | Williams Q1 2026 earnings release | August 2, 2026 |
| Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA and AFFO | $2.254 billion adjusted EBITDA and $1.770 billion AFFO with 2.76x dividend coverage | Williams Q1 2026 earnings release | August 2, 2026 |
| Cash and net debt | $950 million cash and about $29.35 billion net debt at March 31, 2026 | Williams Q1 2026 earnings release and StockAnalysis balance sheet | August 2, 2026 |
| Valuation check | 31.38x PE, 6.75x PB, 7.23x PS, 2.94% dividend yield at $71.54 | Pineify financial_rigor.py | August 2, 2026 |
| Analyst consensus | Strong Buy from 23 analysts with an average price target of $83.82 and a range of $67 to $99 | StockAnalysis forecast page | August 2, 2026 |
| 2026 guidance and dividend | 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $8.05 to $8.35 billion, leverage near 4.1x, and a 5% dividend increase to $2.10 | Williams Q1 2026 earnings release | August 2, 2026 |
| Technical moving averages | 50-day about $73.63 and 200-day about $68.51 | StockAnalysis statistics | August 2, 2026 |
This WMB AI stock analysis is an informational research tool only. It is not investment advice, a recommendation, or a guarantee of future returns. Forecast scenarios are based on available public data as of the stated cutoff date and can be wrong if earnings, valuation multiples, rates, debt costs, regulation, project execution, the Blackstone deal, acquisition terms, or market conditions change.
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