HESM vs WMB: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: HESM is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. HESM and WMB share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined HESM and WMB exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Hess Midstream LP owns and operates midstream infrastructure in the Williston Basin (Bakken and Three Forks shale plays) in North Dakota, running three segments: gathering (oil, gas, and produced water pipelines), processing and storage (natural gas processing and NGL fractionation), and terminaling and export (crude and NGL loading and transport). It earns essentially all revenue from fixed, fee-based, long-term contracts, historically with Hess Corporation and now with Chevron following Chevron's July 2026 completion of its Hess acquisition. This structure insulates cash flow from short-term commodity-price swings, since HESM is paid for handling volumes rather than for the value of the barrels. Trailing revenue is about $1.61 billion and trailing net income about $375 million (as of October 2026); second-quarter 2026 revenue was ~$399 million and EPS of $0.75 beat the ~$0.66 estimate.

Full HESM guide

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) is a Tulsa-based energy infrastructure company focused almost entirely on natural gas. Its crown jewel is Transco, an interstate pipeline running more than 10,000 miles from south Texas and the Gulf Coast up the Atlantic Seaboard to the New York City area, complemented by the Northwest Pipeline in the Pacific Northwest and an extensive footprint of gathering, processing, and storage assets in basins such as the Marcellus and Haynesville. Williams makes most of its money through long-term, fee-based and capacity-reservation contracts under which customers pay to reserve and use pipeline space largely regardless of how much gas actually flows, which gives its cash flows a utility-like stability. Across its systems, Williams handles roughly a third of the natural gas used in the United States.

Full WMB guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• HESM drivers: Fee-based, contracted cash flow; Return of capital, reset.
• WMB drivers: Fee-based gas transport core; LNG export and Transco expansion growth.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: HESM still carries significant concentration risk: Bakken volumes depend on Chevron's drilling activity, and Chevron's move from three rigs to two is expected to reduce volumes about 5% through 2027. For WMB, williams carries meaningful leverage, with total debt of roughly $30.8 billion as of mid-2026 (net debt was about $29.5 billion at the end of FY2025), so a period of higher-for-longer interest rates would raise refinancing costs and could compress free cash flow.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick HESM if you believe its drivers more; WMB if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the HESM and WMB guides.

HESM. After the October 2026 sell-off, HESM trades at about 10.6 times trailing earnings and roughly 6 times trailing EBITDA, with a trailing yield near 10%, cheaper than before the Chevron deal was announced. Those trailing figures overstate future earnings power: preliminary 2027 adjusted EBITDA of about $900 million is well below the ~$1.23 billion trailing figure, and analysts' 2027 revenue estimate is about $1.45 billion. The market is pricing lower Bakken fees, a paused distribution and higher leverage against contracts that now run to 2045.

WMB. Reading a midstream C-corp like Williams is less about GAAP net income and more about contracted cash flow: adjusted EBITDA, available funds from operations, dividend coverage and net debt to EBITDA. At about 16.7 times EBITDA and 26 times forward earnings in October 2026, the market is paying for durability plus growth from Transco expansions and power projects, and analysts' average target near $85 sits above the $69.89 close. Because Williams is a C-corporation, the payout is reported on a 1099 rather than a K-1. Figures are from Yahoo Finance and company reports as of October 16, 2026.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): HESM shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.61B, q2 2026 revenue ~$399M (-3.7% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$375M, preliminary 2027 adj. ebitda ~$900M; WMB shows revenue (ttm) ~$12.3 billion; Q2 2026 revenue ~$3.05 billion, up ~8% YoY, adjusted ebitda FY2025 ~$7.75 billion (up ~9%); 2026 guidance midpoint ~$8.2 billion, net income (ttm) ~$3.07 billion; operating margin ~40%, p/e ~28x trailing, ~26x forward; EV/EBITDA ~16.7x.

HESM and WMB are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined HESM and WMB exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.