GPOR - Gulfport Energy Corporation

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer focused on extracting and selling natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil primarily from the Utica Shale in Ohio and the SCOOP play in Oklahoma. The company operates a pure upstream exploration and production (E&P) business model, selling commodity output to midstream operators, utilities, and energy marketers under spot and term contracts. Gulfport generates approximately $1.0–1.2B in annual revenue, with operations concentrated entirely in the continental United States, primarily the Appalachian and Mid-Continent basins. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2021 and has since focused on disciplined capital returns through share buybacks and debt reduction rather than aggressive production growth.

Past Year Trends

• Gulfport Energy's full-year 2024 revenue fell 11.37% YoY to $909.2 million, driven by lower realized natural gas prices, resulting in a Q4 2024 GAAP net loss of $273.2 million despite adjusted EBITDA of $202.8 million for the quarter. (Bearish)
• Gulfport returned 96% of its 2024 adjusted free cash flow to shareholders via share repurchases, reducing its share count by 18% since 2022, including 341K shares bought back in Q3 2024 at a weighted-average price of $146.17 per share. (Bullish)
• Gulfport deployed $44.8 million in discretionary acreage acquisitions in 2024 and divested non-core assets totaling over $100 million in value, reshaping its portfolio while maintaining a leveraged focus on Utica and Marcellus operations (~80% of production). (Neutral)

Next Year Trends

• Gulfport's 2025 hedge book covers only ~25% of production at an average floor of $3.90/MMBtu, compared to ~65% hedged in 2024, leaving the company significantly more exposed to spot natural gas price moves and creating outsized downside risk if Henry Hub prices stay below $3.90. (Bearish)
• Gulfport guided for over 30% liquids production growth in 2025 versus 2024 and plans to shift drilling activity toward dry gas Utica development in late 2025, positioning it to capture margin expansion if natural gas prices recover from their 2024 lows. (Bullish)
• Gulfport's planned redemption of its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is expected to temporarily push net leverage above its 1.0x long-term target, with normalization not expected until late 2025 or early 2026, creating a near-term balance sheet constraint on capital flexibility. (Bearish)

Red Flags

[Securities Fraud / Investigation] Securities fraud class action lawsuit filed March 2020 (class period May 3, 2019 – February 27, 2020) alleging Gulfport Energy made materially false statements about its Q3 2019 financials, which understated accumulated depletion/depreciation/amortization by $554 million and overstated net income by $436 million. — Hagens Berman, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, Pomerantz LLP (multiple plaintiff firms), March 2020

[Securities Fraud / Investigation] SEC charged former CEO David Wood with failing to disclose executive perks in violation of antifraud and proxy provisions of federal securities laws; Wood paid an $88,248 civil penalty. — SEC Press Release, February 2021

[Financial Restatement / Auditor Issue] Gulfport Energy restated its Q3 2019 financial statements, correcting a $554 million understatement of accumulated DD&A and $436 million overstatement of net income due to improper exclusion of leasehold costs from depletion calculations. — SEC filings / company disclosure, February 2020

[Exchange Delisting Warning] NASDAQ issued a delisting warning on April 16, 2020 for failure to maintain the $1.00 minimum bid price; Gulfport was ultimately delisted effective February 12, 2021 and stock moved to OTC Pink Marketplace as GPORQ. — NASDAQ / S&P Global Market Intelligence, April 2020 – February 2021