USA Compression Partners LP

Adjusted Gross Margin

Adjusted gross margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. We define Adjusted gross margin as revenue less cost of operations, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense. We believe Adjusted gross margin is useful to investors as a supplemental measure of our operating profitability. Adjusted gross margin primarily is impacted by the pricing trends for service operations and cost of operations, including labor rates for service technicians, volume, and per-unit costs for lubricant oils, quantity and pricing of routine preventative maintenance on compression units, and property tax rates on compression units. Adjusted gross margin should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, gross margin or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, our Adjusted gross margin, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Because we capitalize assets, depreciation and amortization of equipment is a necessary element of our cost structure. To compensate for the limitations of Adjusted gross margin as a measure of our performance, we believe it is important to consider gross margin determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted gross margin, to evaluate our operating profitability.

The following table reconciles Adjusted gross margin to gross margin, its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):

Adjusted EBITDA

We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before net interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, and income tax expense (benefit). We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, interest income on capital leases, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), severance charges, certain transaction expenses, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, loss on extinguishment of debt, loss (gain) on derivative instrument, and other. We view Adjusted EBITDA as one of management’s primary tools for evaluating our results of operations, and we track this item on a monthly basis as an absolute amount and as a percentage of revenue compared to the prior month, year-to-date, prior year, and budget. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by our management and external users of our financial statements, such as investors and commercial banks, to assess:

•the financial performance of our assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure, or the historical cost basis of our assets;

•the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities;

•the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to make debt payments and pay distributions; and

•our operating performance as compared to those of other companies in our industry without regard to the impact of financing methods and capital structure.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because, when viewed in conjunction with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, it may provide a more complete assessment of our performance as compared to considering solely GAAP results. We also believe that external users of our financial statements benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses to evaluate the results of our business.

Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities, or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, our Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Because we use capital assets, depreciation, impairment of compression equipment, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, and the interest cost of acquiring compression equipment also are necessary elements of our aggregate costs. Unit-based compensation expense related to equity awards granted to employees also is a meaningful business expense. Therefore, measures that exclude these cost elements have material limitations. To compensate for these limitations, we believe that it is important to consider net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities as determined under GAAP, as well as Adjusted EBITDA, to evaluate our financial performance and liquidity. Our Adjusted EBITDA excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and these excluded items may vary among companies. Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool by reviewing comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures, and incorporating this knowledge into their decision making.

The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net income and net cash provided by operating activities, its most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):

(1)For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, unit-based compensation expense included $1.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively, of cash payments related to quarterly payments of DERs on outstanding phantom unit awards. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, unit-based compensation expense included $1.1 million and $2.2 million, respectively, of cash payments related to quarterly payments of DERs on outstanding phantom unit awards. The remainder of unit-based compensation expense for all periods was related to non-cash adjustments to the unit-based compensation liability.

(2)Represents certain expenses related to potential and completed transactions and other items. We believe it is useful to investors to exclude these expenses.

(3)This loss on extinguishment of debt is a result of the Defeasance of the Senior Notes 2026. This amount represents the write-off of deferred financing costs of $4.3 million and the difference between (i) the purchase price of U.S. government securities of $748.8 million and (ii) the aggregate outstanding principal balance and accrued interest of the Senior Notes 2026 of $748.1 million at the time of Defeasance.

(4)Represents non-cash charges incurred to decrease the carrying value of long-lived assets with recorded values that are not expected to be recovered through future cash flows.

Distributable Cash Flow

We define DCF as net income (loss) plus non-cash interest expense, non-cash income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization expense, unit-based compensation expense (benefit), impairment of compression equipment, impairment of goodwill, certain transaction expenses, severance charges, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, loss on extinguishment of debt, change in fair value of derivative instrument, proceeds from insurance recovery, and other, less distributions on Preferred Units and maintenance capital expenditures.

We believe DCF is an important measure of operating performance because it allows management, investors, and others to compare the cash flows that we generate (after distributions on the Preferred Units but prior to any retained cash reserves established by the General Partner and the effect of the DRIP) to the cash distributions that we expect to pay our common unitholders.

DCF should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows from operating activities, or any other measure presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, our DCF, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Because we use capital assets, depreciation, impairment of compression equipment, loss (gain) on disposition of assets, the interest cost of acquiring compression equipment, and maintenance capital expenditures are necessary components of our aggregate costs. Unit-based compensation expense related to equity awards granted to employees also is a meaningful business expense. Therefore, measures that exclude these cost elements have material limitations. To compensate for these limitations, we believe that it is important to consider net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities as determined under GAAP, as well as DCF, to evaluate our financial performance and liquidity. Our DCF excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities, and these excluded items may vary among companies. Management compensates for the limitations of DCF as an analytical tool by reviewing comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures, and incorporating this knowledge into their decision making.

The following table reconciles DCF to net income and net cash provided by operating activities, its most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):

(1)For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, unit-based compensation expense included $1.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively, of cash payments related to quarterly payments of DERs on outstanding phantom unit awards. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, unit-based compensation expense included $1.1 million and $2.2 million, respectively, of cash payments related to quarterly payments of DERs on outstanding phantom unit awards. The remainder of unit-based compensation expense for all periods was related to non-cash adjustments to the unit-based compensation liability.

(2)Represents certain expenses related to potential and completed transactions and other items. We believe it is useful to investors to exclude these expenses.

(3)This loss on extinguishment of debt is a result of the Defeasance of the Senior Notes 2026. This amount represents the write-off of deferred financing costs of $4.3 million and the difference between (i) the purchase price of U.S. government securities of $748.8 million and (ii) the aggregate outstanding principal balance and accrued interest of the Senior Notes 2026 of $748.1 million at the time of Defeasance.

(4)Represents non-cash charges incurred to decrease the carrying value of long-lived assets with recorded values that are not expected to be recovered through future cash flows.

(5)During 2024, 320,000 Preferred Units were converted into 15,990,804 common units, all of which occurred on or prior to the distribution record date for the first-quarter 2024.

(6)Reflects actual maintenance capital expenditures for the period presented. Maintenance capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to maintain the operating capacity of our assets and extend their useful lives, replace partially or fully depreciated assets, or other capital expenditures that are incurred in maintaining our existing business and related cash flow.

DCF Coverage Ratio

DCF Coverage Ratio is defined as the period’s DCF divided by distributions declared to common unitholders in respect of such period. We believe DCF Coverage Ratio is an important measure of operating performance because it permits management, investors, and others to assess our ability to pay distributions to common unitholders out of the cash flows that we generate. Our DCF Coverage Ratio, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table summarizes our DCF Coverage Ratio for the periods presented (dollars in thousands):

(1)Represents distributions to the holders of our common units as of the record date.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The Partnership’s critical accounting estimates are described in Part II, Item 7 “Critical Accounting Estimates” of our 2023 Annual Report. There have been no material changes to our critical accounting estimates since the date of our 2023 Annual Report.