Pedevco (NYSEAMERICAN:PED) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to frame 2025 as a “transformational year” following the Oct. 31, 2025 merger with Juniper’s Rocky Mountain portfolio companies, while outlining priorities for cost reductions, capital discipline, and a larger production base entering 2026.
Merger creates a larger Rockies-focused platform
President and CEO J. Douglas Schick said the Juniper transaction materially increased scale, shifting the company from roughly 1,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) previously to a combined rate that “averaged over 5,300 BOE per day in the fourth quarter.” He also said proved reserves “nearly doubled to 32.1 million BOE,” which he described as “approximately $27 per share on a post-split basis.”
Investor relations associate Laurent Weil of Elevate IR noted the call reflected the company’s first earnings release as a combined company and reminded listeners that per-share figures reflect a 1-for-20 reverse stock split effective March 13, 2026. Weil said the split has been applied retroactively and that Pedevco had 13,300,621 shares outstanding as of March 27, 2026.
Cost optimization targeted to reduce LOE
Chief Operating Officer Reagan Tuck Dukes said a key near-term focus is lowering operating costs across the larger asset base. Dukes said the company has identified “around $10 million-$13 million in capital projects” intended to reduce lease operating expense (LOE), including “converting high-cost jet pumps to more efficient rod pumps,” “compression optimization projects,” recompletions, and well cleanouts.
Those initiatives are expected to reduce LOE “by up to $1 million per month,” which Dukes said equates to “$10 million-$12 million in annual savings.” He said work has begun in the DJ Basin, including “initial pump conversions and well work,” and management expects to provide quarterly updates on progress.
During Q&A, Schick said the optimization projects started “pretty much right before the beginning of the year” and that management expects “most of that work done by the third, fourth quarter of this year, on the LOE side.” He added that the broader EBITDA benefit from optimization—he cited “$13 million-$15 million of annualized EBITDA additions”—is “really kind of a late 2026, 2027 event.” Dukes added that activity ramped down into winter and is “picking back up coming out of the winter” in Wyoming, continuing “throughout the year and into midyear 2027.”
Operational update: DJ drives near-term activity, PRB longer-dated
Dukes said the DJ Basin is the combined company’s largest production base, with about “100,000 net acres across southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado,” and is where “a majority of the current 2026 capital budget is currently expected to be allocated.” He said that during 2025 the company participated in 32 wells in the DJ Basin, with 31 beginning to contribute in late 2025 and one operated well expected to be completed in 2026. Of those 31 wells, Dukes said two were operated and 29 were non-operated.
In the Permian Basin, Dukes said Pedevco drilled and completed four operated wells in 2025. He described the Permian position as approximately “14,000 net acres on the Northwest Shelf with the San Andres formation as our primary target,” adding that the asset provides “a long-term, low decline, oil-concentrated asset” and that production is performing “in line with expectations.”
Management also highlighted near-term production dynamics. Dukes said the development work initiated before and around the merger close is now showing up in results, with “31 of the 32 wells that were in progress at closing” online and producing. He said those wells are contributing to elevated production in the first quarter of 2026 because they are still in “flush production,” and cautioned that “Q1 will likely be a peak production quarter for 2026” and “is not a run rate that should be annualized.” As declines normalize, Dukes said production would be expected to settle “close to the levels consistent with the merger time rate of approximately 6,400-6,500 BOE per day” before considering natural declines and new activity.
In the Powder River Basin, Dukes said the merger added “over 200,000 additional net acres” and described the position as “longer-dated” with resource potential across multiple formations. He cited break-evens “as low as $30 per bbl” in some formations and noted activity by operators on nearby acreage, including “EOG, Devon, Oxy, and Continental.” Schick said some locations could be “actionable sooner than 2027-2028,” but that the company is still conducting asset reviews and does not have “any development plan up there in the next six months.”
Financial results, 2026 Adjusted EBITDA outlook, and leverage targets
Chief Financial Officer Robert Long said fourth-quarter results included “two months of contribution from the acquired assets” after the Oct. 31 close. For the fourth quarter, Long reported $23.1 million of revenue, $15.4 million of adjusted EBITDA, and production of 483,159 BOE.
For full-year 2025, Long said the company reported a net loss of $10.4 million, driven by several merger- and transition-related items. He cited $7.5 million of non-recurring merger costs, $8.1 million of deferred income tax expense, $1.4 million of interest expense on the credit facility, a $1.4 million note receivable write-off, and $2.8 million of accelerated share-based compensation, partially offset by gains on derivatives and asset sales. Long added that adjusted EBITDA removes “non-cash and non-recurring items” to provide a clearer view of operating performance.
On unit costs, Long said full-year direct LOE was $11.62 per BOE versus $10.36 previously, “driven entirely by higher costs of the acquired assets.” He said the company expects per-unit LOE to decline through 2026 as optimization takes effect, with “meaningful improvement visible by mid-year.” Long also said cash G&A, excluding merger costs, should settle into a $3.50 to $4.00 per BOE range as the larger production base absorbs overhead.
For 2026, Long said Pedevco is projecting full-year adjusted EBITDA of $60 million to $70 million based on average realized oil prices of $65 per barrel and average realized gas prices of $3.50 per Mcf. He said that range assumes the base production profile and the benefit of cost optimization work, but “does not assume incremental operated development beyond what has been planned,” leaving potential upside if additional high-return development is pursued.
Capital program, liquidity, and flexibility to add activity
Long said that as of Dec. 31 the company had $87 million drawn under its senior secured revolving credit facility led by Citibank, with a $120 million borrowing base under a $250 million maximum commitment and an Oct. 31, 2029 maturity. He said the company drew an additional $11 million after year-end, bringing total borrowings to $98 million as of Feb. 5, 2026, and leaving approximately $25 million of total liquidity. Long said a spring redetermination will update the borrowing base.
Long outlined 2026 capital expenditures expected to total $16 million to $20 million, including:
- $6 million to $7 million for DJ Basin drilling and completion capital (including about $3 million of 2025 carryover)
- $10 million to $13 million for optimization projects
He said about 90% of the current capital budget is allocated to the DJ Basin, though the amounts and allocation could change over time. Long said the company expects to fund the program with operating cash flow, existing cash, and facility availability, and projected a year-end leverage ratio of roughly 1.2x to 1.3x net debt to EBITDA at $65 oil. He added management is focused on maintaining leverage of 1.5x or less using conservative commodity price assumptions, and said the company is “not committing to a second half development acceleration at this time.”
In response to a question from Roth Capital’s Nicholas Pope about readiness to increase activity, Schick said the company is conducting asset reviews for “second half in 2027 development programs” and that in the DJ Basin there is flexibility to “stand up a rig relatively quickly…in the next few months” if warranted. He also discussed permitting differences, saying Colorado takes longer and that the company has “one permitted DSU” of “six-seven wells” that is actionable, with another DSU “in progress” that could be ready in “six-nine months.”
On future acquisitions, Schick said the company’s goal with Juniper was to “consolidate a public company in the Rockies” and pointed to “extensive acquisition opportunities in the Powder River Basin.” He characterized acquisitions as “opportunistic,” adding that management’s longer-term objective is to grow Pedevco “from a small-cap company to a mid-cap company.”
About Pedevco (NYSEAMERICAN:PED)
Pedevco Corp is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company incorporated in Delaware and listed on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol PED. The firm focuses on acquiring, developing and producing hydrocarbon assets, with a strategic emphasis on shallow water and onshore properties in Trinidad and Tobago. Since its listing, Pedevco has pursued opportunities to expand reserves through targeted exploration and development projects in one of the Caribbean’s most prolific hydrocarbon-producing regions.
The company’s portfolio centers on two primary concession areas in Trinidad and Tobago: the O-55 shallow water offshore block and the onshore Block 3(a) license.
