Boosting America’s hydrocarbon output was a major plank in the 2024 Republican platform, and Donald Trump’s recent victory has stimulated a lot of optimism about the U.S. upstream sector. The nomination of Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright as Energy Secretary confirmed that “drill, baby, drill” will be a mantra in the new administration. However, over the past few years, U.S. producers have dramatically shifted their focus from growth at any cost to strict financial discipline focused on maximizing free cash flows and shareholder returns. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the Q3 2024 results of the major U.S. E&Ps we follow and look for early clues about how their senior executives might react to the renewed federal enthusiasm to rapidly accelerate drilling.