Down 27% in 2025, This Worst-Performing Oil Stock Is Set to Go Parabolic in 2026

• Oneok is increasing aggressively done back-to-back multibillion-dollar acquisitions.

• These acquisitions, however, person travel astatine a cost, and that has driven the banal lower.

• 2026, however, could beryllium a twelvemonth of surprises for investors successful Oneok.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Oneok ›

Oneok (NYSE: OKE) had a turbulent 2025, with the pipeline banal losing 26.8% worth successful the year.

Oneok is among the largest midstream vigor companies successful the U.S. with a web of pipelines spanning astir 60,000 miles. It doesn't drill for lipid oregon nutrient earthy gas. Instead, Oneok connects vigor producers with extremity users, gathering, storing, and transporting earthy gas, earthy state liquids, crude oil, and refined products nether semipermanent contracts for a fee. Nearly 90% of Oneok's net are fee-based, and they're growing. In the 9 months ending Sept. 30, 2025, Oneok's nett income surged 14% to $2.4 billion.

Why, then, was Oneok 1 of the worst-performing vigor stocks of 2025? A signifier of monolithic acquisitions grew the company's footprint but besides strained its banal price. The sell-off is overdone, though, and there's each accidental Oneok banal could spell parabolic successful 2026.

Oneok went connected an acquisition spree successful precocious 2024, acquiring Medallion Midstream for $2.6 cardinal and the remaining involvement successful EnLink Midstream for $4.3 cardinal successful an all-stock deal. These deals came connected the backmost of Oneok's mega-acquisition of Magellan Midstream for $18.8 cardinal successful precocious 2023.

While adding important scale, the acquisitions besides added employee-related and integration costs, arsenic good arsenic debt. Oneok's semipermanent indebtedness was $32 cardinal arsenic of Sept. 30, 2025 compared with lone $12.7 cardinal arsenic of June 30, 2023. Oneok's assertive debt-backed maturation made vigor investors jittery, and the banal felt the unit passim 2025.

2026, however, could look strikingly antithetic for Oneok.

Three important catalysts could thrust Oneok's currency flows higher successful 2026, making the worth banal a coagulated buy.

First is the publication from Medallion, Magellan, and EnLink. On its third-quarter 2025 net call, Oneok projected $500 cardinal successful outgo synergies from Magellan unsocial by the extremity of 2025, surpassing its archetypal estimates.

Second, Oneok expects currency taxation expenses to autumn by astir $1.5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years, acknowledgment to taxation deductions nether President Donald Trump's "big, beauteous bill."

Third, with superior expenditures expected to diminution pursuing caller acquisitions, Oneok volition person a batch much escaped currency to repay debt, wage dividends, and bargain backmost shares. Oneok has been repurchasing shares regularly and aims to summation its yearly dividend payout by 3% to 4%, with a extremity to instrumentality 75% to 85% of the currency it generates from operations to its shareholders.