KGS vs USAC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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: USAC 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. KGS and USAC 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 KGS and USAC 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.

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. owns and operates contract compression infrastructure for oil and gas producers and midstream operators, primarily in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford. Customers pay monthly fees for Kodiak to install, run, and maintain large-horsepower compression packages that push associated natural gas through gathering systems, so revenue tracks installed horsepower under contract rather than the commodity price directly. The 2024 all-equity acquisition of CSI Compressco (~$854 million) created the industry's largest fleet and added gas treating, cooling, and aftermarket services, and the fleet stood at ~4.39 million revenue-generating horsepower at ~98% utilization in Q1 2026.

Full KGS guide

USA Compression Partners owns a fleet of natural gas compression packages and rents them to producers, processors, gatherers, and pipeline operators under fixed monthly fee contracts. The work is measured in horsepower, and the partnership focuses on the large midstream end of it rather than small wellhead units. At June 30, 2026 the fleet stood at ~4.95 million horsepower, of which ~4.46 million was revenue-generating across ~6,508 compression units, at average utilization of ~92.0%. It reports as a single segment. Headquarters is in Dallas, and USAC Management had ~885 full-time employees at the end of 2025, with another ~594 added through the January 2026 purchase of J-W Power Company. Energy Transfer owns 100% of the general partner and ~46.1 million common units, roughly a ~32% limited partner interest, and supplies shared back-office staff.

Full USAC guide

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

• KGS drivers: Distributed power for data centers; Contracted compression as the cash engine.
• USAC drivers: Contracted horsepower and pricing; J-W Power integration.

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: The power expansion is capital intensive and unproven at scale for Kodiak: growth capex is guided at ~$645 million to ~$775 million for 2026, and turbine and engine delivery slots stretch into 2029, so contracted megawatts and actual cash flow can arrive years apart. For USAC, utilization fell to ~92.0% from ~94.4% a year earlier while fleet horsepower grew ~28.3%, which is what adding capacity faster than it gets contracted looks like.

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 KGS if you believe its drivers more; USAC 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 KGS and USAC guides.

KGS. The headline P/E is misleading in both directions: net income of ~$66 million on ~$1.32 billion of revenue reflects heavy depreciation on a compression fleet and interest on acquisition debt, while adjusted EBITDA of ~$820 million to ~$860 million and discretionary cash flow of ~$520 million to ~$570 million are the numbers management and most analysts anchor on. Fleet utilization at ~98% and a ~70.6% compression gross margin show the base business running near capacity. Q2 2026 results are due August 6, 2026, and the market's focus is on power contract announcements rather than the compression line.

USAC. At roughly ~$26.76 per unit, enterprise value lands near ~$6.8 billion, or about ~8.7x the midpoint of guided 2026 Adjusted EBITDA. The trailing P/E near ~25x reads high for an asset-heavy business because depreciation of ~$89.1 million a quarter suppresses net income; guided Distributable Cash Flow of ~$480 million to ~$510 million is closer to ~$3.30 to ~$3.50 per unit, putting the units near ~7.6x to ~8.1x that measure.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): KGS shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.32B, q1 2026 revenue ~$346M (+5% YoY), q1 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$190M (~55% margin), 2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$820M-$860M; USAC shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.18B, q2 2026 revenue ~$342.1M (+~37% YoY), q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$193.2M (~56.5% margin), 2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$770M to ~$800M.

KGS and USAC 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 KGS and USAC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.