SM Energy Co

Our long-term vision and strategy is to sustainably grow value for all of our stakeholders as a premier operator of top-tier assets. Our 2026 strategy and operating plan seek to deliver long-term profitability and value creation through the following priorities:

•Successfully integrating Civitas.

•Completing the divestiture of certain of our South Texas assets which will advance our deleveraging goals and position us to substantially achieve our commitment to complete at least $1.0 billion of divestitures within one year following the closing of the Civitas Merger.

•Generating cash flows to support reducing debt and returning capital to stockholders through our increased annual base dividend of $0.88 per share and share repurchases.

•Executing operations with financial discipline by focusing on capital efficiency, and the development of low breakeven, high-return wells across our portfolio, while maintaining an emphasis on innovation and remaining a leader in stewardship.

•Capturing and maximizing synergies consisting of overhead and G&A, drilling and completion and operational costs, and cost of capital.

•Maintaining and expanding our portfolio of top-tier economic drilling inventory through exploration activities, the application of advanced analytics and new technologies, development optimization, and acquisitions.

We expect our total 2026 capital program to be approximately $2.65 billion to $2.85 billion, excluding acquisitions, which we expect to fund with cash flows from operations, with any remaining cash needs being funded by borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We plan to focus our 2026 capital program on highly economic oil development projects across our asset base.

Refer to Overview of Liquidity and Capital Resources in Part II, Item 7 of this report and Note 17 – Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional discussion.