ProFrac (ACDC) 2026年第三季度业绩电话会:自由现金流改善
ProFrac Holding Corp.公布2026年第三季度营收5.11亿美元,调整后EBITDA降至6500万美元,利润率收窄至13%,自由现金流改善至正1400万美元。增产服务与支撑剂业务因排期空档及竞争性定价受压,但Flotek表现强劲。管理层看好2027年压裂设备供应紧张带来的定价上涨,并对2027年净利润转正保持乐观。
核心要点
- ProFrac Holding Corp.公布2026年第三季度营收为5.11亿美元,高于第二季度的4.98亿美元。调整后EBITDA从6900万美元降至6500万美元,利润率从14%收窄至13%。
- 自由现金流从第二季度的负800万美元改善至正1400万美元,尽管现金资本支出增至约4000万美元。
- 由于9月份意外出现的排期空档导致单车队泵送工时减少,增产服务营收降至4.21亿美元。管理层表示,10月份设备利用率有所改善,并预计第四季度车队数量将恢复正常。
- 支撑剂生产业务营收从1.21亿美元降至1.01亿美元,调整后EBITDA降至240万美元。西得克萨斯州出货量下降、竞争性定价以及经营杠杆减弱对业绩造成拖累。
- Flotek实现营收1.17亿美元,调整后EBITDA为2200万美元,分别高于第二季度的1.02亿美元和900万美元。
- 鉴于压裂设备供应紧张、前沿定价上涨以及客户咨询量增加,管理层对2027年保持建设性乐观态度。首席执行官Matthew Wilks表示,他有信心ProFrac能在2027年实现净利润转正。
核心财务数据
| 指标 | 2026年第三季度 | 2026年第二季度 | 评述 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 营收 | 5.11亿美元 | 4.98亿美元 | 环比小幅增长 |
| 调整后EBITDA | 6500万美元 | 6900万美元 | 支撑剂与增产服务业务业绩下滑,被Flotek部分抵消 |
| 调整后EBITDA利润率 | 13% | 14% | 环比下降1个百分点 |
| 自由现金流 | 1400万美元 | -800万美元 | 改善2200万美元 |
| 现金资本支出 | 约4000万美元 | 3200万美元 | 设备项目支出增加 |
| SG&A费用 | 4500万美元 | 4400万美元 | 环比微增 |
| 现金及现金等价物 | 约4400万美元 | — | 包含归属于Flotek的约2500万美元 |
| 未偿还本金债务 | 约10.5亿美元 | — | 未来12个月内到期1.13亿美元 |
业务与经营业绩
增产服务
营收从第二季度的4.30亿美元降至4.21亿美元,调整后EBITDA从3900万美元降至3700万美元。利润率维持在约9%。
由于排期空档增加,9月份的作业活动弱于预期。车队数量与第二季度大致持平,但单车队泵送工时在该季度早些时候触及年内高点后出现回落。固定成本分摊减少以及材料和运营成本上升抵消了实际价格上涨带来的收益。
管理层表示,前沿定价持续上涨,但仍低于上一轮周期的峰值。合同重新定价正分批分期推进,因此公司预计定价带来的贡献将在第四季度逐步显现并延续至2027年。
支撑剂生产
营收从1.21亿美元降至1.01亿美元,调整后EBITDA从600万美元降至240万美元。EBITDA利润率从5.2%收窄至2.4%。
总销量约为250万吨。第三方客户销量占比约为45%,而第二季度为31%。西得克萨斯州的竞争性定价和吞吐量下降令销售额和利润率承压。
制造业务
制造业务营收从4800万美元增至5300万美元。调整后EBITDA维持在约600万美元,第三方销售占该分部营收的17%。
管理层指出,发电集成设备和设备改建翻新需求是主要支撑动力。公司预计所有电动混砂车将在年底前完成交付,其中大部分在年底前投入运营,部分部署将延续至2027年初。
Flotek
Flotek营收从1.02亿美元增至1.17亿美元。调整后EBITDA从第二季度的900万美元增至2200万美元,占营收的19%。第三方销售占该分部营收的约49%,高于此前的42%。
管理层展望
ProFrac将2026年全年资本支出指引从先前的1.55亿至1.85亿美元收窄至1.60亿至1.80亿美元(包含Flotek)。若不计入Flotek,预计资本支出为1.45亿至1.65亿美元。
对于第四季度,管理层预计维护性资本支出将略有下降,而增长性资本支出将有所上升,这主要是由于电动混砂车部署和发动机升级所致。
公司预计第四季度设备利用率在受常规年终季节性因素影响的前提下仍将保持相对强劲。管理层还预计,鉴于设备供应紧张且几乎没有客户预算耗尽的迹象,季节性压力将小于往年。
对于2027年,管理层预计随着合同重新定价,价格上涨将带来更显著的贡献。ProFrac仅在具备长期协议且定价能够支撑重置或新建经济效益的前提下,才会考虑重启车队或投产新的燃气动力车队。公司不打算进行投机性车队建设。
风险与关注点
- 即便客户作业效率有所提高,同步压裂完井设计也可能导致不同作业之间出现更多排期空档。
- 材料、维护、物流和人工成本依然居高不下。管理层预计通胀压力将持续至2027年。
- 来自数据中心和发电项目的竞争导致熟练技工市场日趋紧缺。
- 发动机及其他零部件较长的供货周期拖慢了ProFrac部分发动机升级和电动混砂车项目的进度。
- 西得克萨斯州支撑剂定价竞争依然激烈,限制了销量、吞吐量和经营杠杆。
- 更高的设备利用率正在加速设备磨损并缩短资产寿命,从而突显出制定足以收回重置成本的定价的重要性。
分析师问答亮点
管理层表示,水力压裂泵送市场异常紧缺,备用设备有限,且客户对高燃油效率车队表现出强烈偏好。ProFrac正优先考虑定价水平和合同稳定性,而非通过增加产能来承接现货业务。
Wilks表示,客户咨询涵盖对2027年增量车队和专属车队的需求。然而,由于发动机、变速箱和动力端依然难以采购,备用泵可能会保留作为作业冗余。
管理层估计,每小时费率从上一轮峰值跌至低谷时下滑了约50%,此后已收复该跌幅的约50%至60%。Wilks强调,当前车队每月泵送时间约为550至600小时,而2022年为400多小时低至中段,这加剧了设备磨损。
据管理层介绍,行业在役车队中约有80%具备一定的燃气利用能力,而完全采用燃气动力的直驱车队仅占个位数的极低比例。燃油经济效益通过具有最低替代要求的高溢价马力费率,或单独加收的双燃料附加费来实现。
财报电话会议完整实录
完整财报电话会议逐字稿
管理层陈述
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Please note this conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the conference over to Michael Messina, Senior VP of Finance. Thank you, Michael. You may begin.
Michael Messina
Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for ProFrac Holding Corp.'s conference call and webcast to review our results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. With me today are Matt Wilks, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman, and Austin Harbour, Chief Financial Officer. Following my remarks, management will provide high-level commentary on the operational and financial highlights of the third quarter 2026 before opening up the call to your questions. A replay of today's call will be made available by webcast on the company's website at pfholdingscorp.com. More information on how to access the replay is included in the company's earnings release. Please note that the information reported on this call speaks only as of today, November 5, 2026.
We would advise that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of transcript reading. Also, comments on this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, including management's expectations of future financial and business performance. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of ProFrac management and are not guarantees of future performance. Various risks, uncertainties, and contingencies could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in management's forward-looking statements. A listener or reader is encouraged to read ProFrac's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found at sec.gov or on the company's investor relations website section under the SEC Filings tab, to better understand those risks, uncertainties, and contingencies. The comments today also include certain non-GAAP financial measures, as well as other adjusted figures to exclude the contribution of Flotek. Additional details and reconciliations to the most directly comparable consolidated and GAAP financial measures are included in the earnings press release, which can be found on the company's website.
Now over to Mr. Matt Wilks, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of ProFrac.
Matthew Wilks
Thank you, Michael, and hello, everyone. I'll kick off with some remarks on our overall performance, the broader market environment, and progress on our strategic priorities. I'll then hand it over to Austin, who will take you through the segment results in more detail. The market backdrop heading into 2027 remains one we're genuinely optimistic about. The structural case we've been building around domestic energy security only looks stronger with time. Further, our peer group has remained disciplined, with several dedicating their resources and attention to newer aspects of their business. At the same time, the third quarter was more volatile than we anticipated, with activity in pumping and proppant moving less in a straight line than we would have liked.
Starting with pumping, September brought more calendar white space than we anticipated entering the quarter, which weighed on our activity levels for the month. Part of that reflects more efficient completion designs, including the use of simul-frac completions across multiple wells. Simul-frac can create more open calendar days between jobs, even as productivity improves. We're encouraged that activity improved in October, and we expect to see what we consider a normalized fleet count in the fourth quarter. Our efficiencies, including hours pumped per day, have improved, even with some calendar white space due to customer year-end seasonality built into our fourth quarter plans. Due to market tightness, driven by limited equipment availability and minimal indications of budget exhaustion, we expect less seasonality next quarter than what we have historically experienced. I would note that we also saw some cost pressure earlier in Q3 on the maintenance side, which began to normalize as we exited Q3.
Pricing remains one of the more important levers we have, and the environment for it continues to be favorable. Leading-edge pricing has been rising, but remains well below the highs we saw at the cycle's peak. We're working to carry that through our contracts and RFP structures as deliberately as we can, and we are constructive on the impact we expect to see in 2027. In proppant, lower than anticipated throughput in sales, particularly in West Texas, weighed on the results. We're addressing that directly and are encouraged by the early improvement we're seeing. More broadly, we're taking a disciplined approach across our frac sand footprint. Specifically, we are focused on strategically increasing pricing and throughput.
As we've said before, the operating leverage in this business becomes increasingly evident as we drive higher utilization across our strongest operations, and we continue to believe Proppant is capable of improved free cash flow as those efficiencies show up. Cash flows in the segment are also moving into a more sustainable position, supported by the term loan amendment that Austin will cover. Picking up on the broader market, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, WTI came in [ to the ] plenty of movement in between rather than a steady climb. Since quarter end, prices have pushed even higher, touching $110. The underlying drivers haven't changed. Tensions in the Middle East have continued with renewed attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks and knock-on effects such as elevated tanker and insurance costs. The political outlook on both sides of the conflict makes near-term de-escalation far from certain. The bottom line is that we continue to see a sustained disruption to global supply capacity rather than a short-term shock, with recent market activity reinforcing that view.
As we've said before, periods like this strengthen the case for reliable domestic production. For our business, that remains a meaningful advantage. After several choppy years in our industry, some of our larger, more diversified peers have shifted capital and attention toward power generation and other opportunities where higher returns are expected. We think this is exactly why the pumping market is poised for a period of tightness. Fewer dollars chasing frac equipment, combined with the lead time required to stand up a fleet, makes it harder for opportunistic entrants to replicate the capacity additions that have put pressure on pricing in past cycles. At the same time, older equipment across the industry continues to retire and much of it isn't being replaced, and the equipment that is being replaced is facing some of the longest lead times we have ever experienced, further tightening the market. To that end, higher commodity prices are supporting customer cash flow and their ability to keep programs moving through what's typically a seasonally lower period and has accelerated RFP discussions for 2027 work.
Our approach through that process remains constructive. Our preference is to capture value durably through contracts and RFPs rather than chase the spot market with additional equipment. And that includes focusing on pass-throughs for inflation-sensitive items such as logistics, consumables, materials, and labor so that we're not locked into a status quo margin over current costs. We're also seeing operators begin to look at contracting new-build fleets. And that lead time I just mentioned is part of why those conversations involve meaningful upfront commitments. We're getting close to the point where pricing begins to support new-build economics. So to be clear, we think we have more room to go before we are squarely in that zone.
Consistent with what we said last quarter, we will not build speculatively. We have active dialogue with customers on new builds, and we look to contract on multi-year terms. Our internal manufacturing capability gives us an advantage on timing, but customers are cognizant that they will need to act fast if they want to take an incremental fleet in the next calendar year. On the cost side, we've achieved the targets we set under our cost program introduced late last year, and we're proud of that progress. At the same time, inflation across logistics, consumables, materials, and labor remains a real challenge, and we expect that pressure to continue into the next year. Labor is particularly tight, with data center and power generation build-outs creating meaningful competition for skilled technicians in our markets. We view these pressures as an ongoing cost of doing business, not something we can fully eliminate through efficiency gains.
That makes passing through cost increases as they occur, rather than waiting for periodic resets, all the more important. As I mentioned previously, lead times are and will remain challenging. We're seeing longer lead times on new equipment broadly across our industry, particularly engines, as capacity has shifted to support power generation demand. This has affected the pace of our engine upgrade program somewhat, though it remains underway, as well as the development of our e-blender transition. Thankfully, our internal manufacturing capability continues to give us more control over timing. Speaking of our manufacturing business, it is benefiting from the broader build-out of power infrastructure across the industry.
We're seeing this translate into tangible demand, including power generation packaging work for other operators expanding their own capabilities and rebuild work for another industry participant. These relationships are deepening and creating a source of sustainable demand. It's a genuine strength for our business, and we're proud of the work our manufacturing team continues to deliver. On e-blenders, we expect all units to be delivered by year end and most units to be working by year end, with some deployments carrying into early 2027. The efficiency benefits we outlined when we introduced this program, including lower blender CapEx and operating costs, continue to show up as more of these units come online. Through all of this, our vertically integrated model and asset management platform remains central to how we think about our competitive position, not just this quarter, but across the cycle. With that, over to Austin to walk through the financial impact of the quarter in more detail.
Austin Harbour
Thanks, Matt. In the third quarter, revenues were $511 million, up modestly from $498 million in the second quarter of 2026. We generated $65 million of Adjusted EBITDA with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 13% compared to $69 million or 14% of revenue in Q2 2026. The change is driven by softer results in Proppant Production and to a lesser extent in Stimulation Services, partially offset by a stronger contribution from Flotek. Free cash flow was positive $14 million in the third quarter, an improvement from negative $8 million in Q2.
Turning to our segments, Stimulation Services revenues were $421 million in the third quarter versus $430 million in the second quarter of 2026. Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 was $37 million versus $39 million in Q2. Margins of 9% were comparable to Q2. Results reflected the September white space Matt described. While our fleet count for the quarter overall remained broadly consistent with Q2, pump hours per fleet softened in September after running near some of our best levels of the year earlier in the quarter. Lower cost absorption due to a less efficient calendar, coupled with increased costs on materials and certain operating expenses, offset price increases realized in the quarter.
Looking ahead, utilization improved in October, and we expect the calendar to remain relatively strong in the fourth quarter with customary year-end seasonality. Pricing, meanwhile, contributed modestly to the quarter, though the benefit from this year's increases is still working its way through on a staggered basis as individual contracts reset. We expect that contribution to build through the fourth quarter, and pricing remains a key driver behind the sequential improvement we're expecting as we go into 2027. On the cost side, we saw elevated materials, maintenance, and labor costs, and are closely monitoring labor, logistics, and equipment as we move forward.
Q3 Proppant Production generated $101 million of revenue versus $121 million in the second quarter of 2026. Approximately 45% of volumes were sold to third-party customers during the third quarter versus 31% in Q2. Adjusted EBITDA for the Proppant Production segment was $2.4 million for the third quarter, compared to Q2's $6 million. On a margin basis, EBITDA margins were 2.4% in the third quarter versus 5.2% in the second quarter. Total volumes were approximately 2.5 million tons. West Texas remains highly competitive on pricing, resulting in lower sales volumes and throughput. Operating leverage and increased costs negatively impacted margins in the quarter.
Our Manufacturing segment generated third quarter revenues of $53 million, up from $48 million in the second quarter. Approximately 17% of segment revenues were generated from third-party sales, consistent with the second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the Manufacturing segment was $6 million, roughly in line with Q2's results. The segment is benefiting from the power-related activity Matt described, and we're pleased with the trajectory there.
Flotek generated third quarter revenues of $117 million, up from $102 million reported in Q2. Approximately 49% of segment revenues were generated from third-party sales, compared to approximately 42% in Q2. Adjusted EBITDA for Flotek was $22 million, or 19% of revenue, up from $9 million in the second quarter. Third quarter selling, general, and administrative expenses were $45 million compared to $44 million in Q2.
Cash capital expenditures of approximately $40 million in the third quarter were up from $32 million in the second quarter of 2026. In Q4, maintenance capital could decrease slightly while growth capital moves higher, driven largely by the e-blender and engine upgrades we discussed earlier in the year. With three quarters of spending now behind us in 2026, we are tightening our full-year capital expenditure guidance to a range of $160 million to $180 million, including Flotek, versus our prior range of $155 million to $185 million. Excluding Flotek, we expect CapEx to be in the range of $145 million to $165 million for the year.
Turning to the balance sheet, total cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2026 were approximately $44 million, including approximately $25 million attributable to Flotek. Total liquidity at quarter end was approximately $97 million, including $79 million available under the ABL. The availability under the ABL credit facility ended the quarter at $148 million, a decrease from $162 million at second quarter end.
On the balance sheet, we have continued to take a disciplined and proactive approach to managing our liquidity and debt maturities. As we discussed in August, early in Q3, we closed a new $300 million asset-based revolving credit facility with Eclipse Business Capital, increasing our commitments, improving advance rates, and extending the maturity profile of our revolving facility. In September, we amended our Alpine Term Loan Credit Agreement, extending the maturity to February 2030 and eliminating scheduled amortization payments through the first quarter of 2028. Scheduled payments then resume at $10 million per quarter. The amendment also allows us at our election to pay approximately 675 basis points of interest expense in kind at current rates for the next 12 months, adding that amount to principal while requiring quarterly payments of excess free cash flow.
In connection with that transaction, $60 million of term loans held by affiliated lenders was repaid and canceled in exchange for Flotek shares held by a company subsidiary, eliminating $60 million of principal balance on the term loan. Taken together, these actions extend our debt maturity profile, reduce near-term scheduled principal and cash interest payments, and provide additional financial flexibility. At quarter end, we had approximately $1.05 billion of principal debt outstanding. Of this amount, only $113 million comes due over the next 12 months, with the majority of our maturities remaining concentrated in 2029 and beyond. With that, I will now turn the call back over to Matt for closing remarks.
Matthew Wilks
Thanks, Austin. Before we open the call for questions, let me close with a few key takeaways. We experienced some volatility in the third quarter despite an improving market backdrop, but are encouraged by the trends we've seen so far in Q4. The actions we took on the balance sheet this quarter from the Eclipse facility to the Flotek term loan and the Alpine term loan amendment and the $60 million affiliate loan exchange extend our maturity profile and give us added flexibility. We continue to invest in what differentiates us, including our manufacturing business and our equipment. Our vertically integrated model remains central to our competitive position, not just this quarter, but across the cycle. Looking ahead, our focus remains on execution, advancing our upgrade program, strengthening our financial position, and positioning ProFrac to capture the opportunity as the market tightens.
We remain genuinely excited about the setup heading into 2027 with what we see as a tight market and a disciplined peer group set against a structural case for domestic energy security that continues to strengthen. With that, I will now turn the call over to the operator for Q&A.
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from John Daniel with Daniel Energy. Please proceed with your question.
分析师问答
John Daniel
Matt, just want to focus on next year, if you will, in terms of the tight market. At this point, do you prefer to reactivate fleets or would you rather sort of play the price game? And man, how are you, just the price versus volume, if you could tell us what you're thinking for next year.
Matthew Wilks
It's pretty tight. I think attrition across the industry is pretty aggressive. There's just no equipment left in the market. And then there's a high preference for fuel-efficient fleets. And so everything that's working, that's available is working, but and so we're in a really good spot. We've been able to push pricing, continue to push pricing. And at this point, if there's customers that are willing to sign long-term agreements, then we can look at activating fleets and building gas fleets. With that being said, we're, you know, keeping status quo. You know, there are situations where we may see simul-frac fleets split into zippers.
And so from that standpoint, you might see a fleet count increase per minute, but there's not expected to be additions of additional equipment without replacement pricing or new build pricing.
John Daniel
Okay. And a follow-on, Matt, is a lot of the land drillers the last week or so talked about more inquiries from public operators for incremental rigs next year. I'm curious, are you getting calls from existing public operators looking for incremental fleets for next year?
Matthew Wilks
Without a doubt. And it's not just spot work, it's dedicated work as well. There's just not enough horsepower to go around, and so it's creating a great environment for the service side. And we're already seeing it in Q4, I'm pretty confident that 2027 we'll see positive net income, and we're seeing signs of it in Q4 already.
John Daniel
Okay. That's all I got. Thanks for including me.
Matthew Wilks
Definitely. Thank you.
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Our next question is from Saurabh Pant with Bank of America. Please proceed with your question.
Saurabh Pant
Matt, I was intrigued by your comments on pricing, not getting squarely there, but kind of getting there a little closer to new build economics, which is very interesting. Maybe Matt, if you don't mind, just give us a little context on how much pricing came down from the peak of call it early 2023 to the trough, have we recovered? And then what kind of returns would you be looking at if you were to pull the trigger on a new build fleet? I'm guessing it's on the gas side of things, right? There's a lot of demand on that, but maybe walk us through that dynamic a little bit.
Matthew Wilks
Yes, so from a per hour rate standpoint, you know, from prior peak to the trough was about a 50% reduction in hourly rates to the customer. But you've got to put it in context. In 2022, the average pump time per fleet was running in the low to mid 400 hours per month. Now you're seeing everything in the 550 to 600 range from a pump time standpoint. So the dollar per hour and the costs and the revenue aren't the same. It's accelerated the wear and tear on your equipment. And so, you know, even though it's diluted a lot of your costs to run the fleet, what it's done is it's shortened the life of the equipment as well.
So we can't forget about that piece. We gotta make sure that that's recovered as well. But as far as from the trough to where we are now, it's bounced back from the trough probably about 50 to 60% from there. There's still room to go to reach prior peaks. And, you know, from a timing standpoint, I don't know if it gets back to the peak or what timeframe it would. But what I can say is the prior peak had spare capacity on the market. And what we see going forward is there's no doubt there's no spare capacity.
There's long lead times on equipment. In '22, you could rebuild engines that were on the sidelines. You could rebuild transmissions, rebuild power ends. None of that is available and just the options available to you are pretty limited going forward. So you've got to work with what you've got. And I think that we'll continue to see, even if fleet count stayed where it's at now, it would continue to tighten because of the limited availability in the supply chain. And so we're very encouraged by what this means for the path forward. It also creates a scenario where if you do have spare pumps, you're more likely to reserve those for redundancy on your existing customer relationships rather than trying to deploy another fleet.
And just because you gotta take care of the customers you've got. And so trying to add a fleet and stress and get spread too thin, just because you can and you have a few extra pumps, you would rather make sure that you've got the depth in your replacement cycle with your maintenance teams to make sure that if you've got an engine issue and have to replace an engine, you may not have that engine. Transmissions, power ends, it's a really, really tight market on the component side. So when you look at building into redundancy for your business, your likelihood of adding a fleet isn't as appealing as keeping the redundancy that you need to keep your footprint that you already have. This is a different kind of tightness than what we've seen in prior cycles.
Saurabh Pant
Right, okay, Matt, I got it. That makes sense, that makes sense. And then my next one is just to understand a little bit on the whole fuel cost arbitrage, because if you do the math at current diesel price, I think 100% gas fleet maybe save like $50 million, maybe even more versus 100% diesel fleet. That's massive fuel cost arbitrage, right? But from a pressure pumper's, from your standpoint, how do you capture that? Does it work indirectly through supply demand? Is there a direct way to recover some of that through some kind of a bonus model tied to how much diesel you can displace? How does that flow through? And if you don't mind hazarding a guess, how much of the active fleet out there in the fleet why do you think it's still 100% diesel?
Matthew Wilks
So the majority, I'd say about 80% of the fleets in the market right now have gas capabilities and probably a small single digit percentage of the overall fleet is all gas for direct drive gas engines. Of course, there's electric fleets, gas fleets, dual fuel. The majority of the industry is dual fuel. And then depending on what your substitution rate and whether you get paid for that or not, sometimes operators will just pay you for the horsepower. And so you get a material premium for that type of equipment. If you have a, typically if they just pay you all at once and say, hey, here's your horsepower rate, there will be a minimum requirement for substitution and penalties if you don't hit that. But if it's not fully absorbed in the cost of the horsepower, the alternative to that is that you charge for substitution, for DGEs, so that your incentives are aligned and you get a base horsepower rate plus a dual fuel surcharge.
It changes from customer to customer. But in any event, the substitution is paid for. It's just whether it's built in from day one in the full horsepower rate with a minimum threshold or paid for improved substitution. But one of the things we look at is benchmarking against what a diesel fleet would cost, including the diesel, to establish what a fair rate is for a fuel-efficient fleet. How much is the diesel worth that we're saving? And that's the value proposition. You know, we'd like to get 100% of it, but these are partnerships, love our customers, and there's not too many ways for anybody in the industry to really get a good fuel hedge. You can hedge diesel, but then you've got to figure out, well, how efficient is my fleet going to be? How much diesel am I going to consume? And so you're always going to be exposed even if you do hedge it.
And who wants to hedge it at $5 or $6? Right. And so I don't think it's lost on us or our peers exactly what these fleets are worth. And it's just coming to a fair agreement with your customer that recognizes the overall fuel savings.
Saurabh Pant
Right. No, that makes sense. That's helpful. Thank you. I'll turn it back.
Matthew Wilks
Thank you.
Operator
We have reached the end of the question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Matthew D. Wilks for closing comments.
Matthew Wilks
We appreciate everybody for joining our call. Very excited about the outlook. We're seeing everything materialize very quickly right now. I cannot wait to get on our next call and tell you exactly why we're excited. So thank you.
Operator
This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.
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