ProFrac Holding: Q2 TAKE THREE

ProFrac (ACDC) sees early signs of recovery with frac spreads redeployed and improving utilization since late June. Management expects market tightening in early 2026 if both oil and gas activity pick up. Despite the Q2 margin pressure, the company is investing in automation and plans $175–$225 million in capex for 2026.

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Outlook Signal Recovery : ProFrac’s “active fleet count reached a trough in late June-early July”, led by the commodity price fall. Despite that, the company is optimistic about a recovery. It has redeployed incremental frac spreads by the end of July. Frac calendar utilization has modestly improved since Q2, with some frac spreads returning to work and rising customer engagement for 2026.

Management sees potential for a market tightening in early 2026 if both oil- and gas-directed activity rise together. The company continues to invest in automation via its ProPilot platform and has expanded its capabilities through the Flotek partnership. In April, Flotek acquired power generation assets from ProFrac for $105 million.

Segment Performance in Q2: From Q1 to Q2, ACDC's revenues from the Stimulation Services and Manufacturing saw steep falls (17.6% and 15% down, respectively), while its revenues from Proppant production improved (15% up). Quarter-over-quarter, the company's adjusted EBITDA margin contracted by 590 basis points in Q2. A slump in the active frac spread count following the commodity price decline and lower proppant volume resulted in the topline and margin deterioration in Q2. Read more about ACDC in our recent article here .

Cash Flows Fell In 6M 2025 : In 6M 2025, the company's free cash flow turned positive but was significantly lower than a year ago due to a substantial decline in cash flow from operations. In 6M 2025, its capex also fell as the company reduced its capital expenditure needs. Its projected capex for FY2026 can vary between $175 million and $225 million, driven primarily by frac fleet maintenance, growth, and improvements at Alpine to increase throughput from the mines in South Texas and the Haynesville Shale.

Thanks for reading the ACDC Take Three, designed to give you three critical takeaways from ACDC's earnings report. Soon, we will present a second update on ACDC earnings highlighting its current strategy, news, and notes we extracted from our deeper dive.

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