Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
VNOM is Viper Energy, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed mineral and royalty company controlled by Diamondback Energy. It owns the subsurface rights under roughly 90,212 net royalty acres in the Permian Basin and collects a cut of every barrel produced from them without paying any drilling cost. Owning it is a wager on Permian drilling pace, oil realizations, and management's skill at adding acres at accretive prices.
VNOM stock price
As of 2026-08-25, Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) last closed at $44.07, up 13.1% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $35.84 and $50.95.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Viper Energy, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) do?
Viper Energy, Inc. owns mineral and royalty interests, meaning it holds the ownership of the oil and gas beneath the ground rather than the wells that produce it. As of July 1, 2026 that footprint was approximately 90,212 net royalty acres, essentially all in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico after the company sold its Denver-Julesburg, Eagle Ford and Williston acreage in February 2026. Roughly 25,560 gross horizontal wells were producing on it at an average net royalty interest of about 2.3%, with around 106 rigs running. Second quarter 2026 net production was approximately 134,363 boe/d, about 65,077 bo/d of it oil, against proved reserves of approximately 406 MMBOE at the end of 2025. The company has zero employees: Diamondback supplies the executives and staff under a secondment agreement, and Viper holds roughly 52.7% of the operating subsidiary through which it owns the acreage.
Trailing twelve-month total operating income runs around $2.0 billion against approximately $861 million for all of 2024, a jump driven by the May 2025 drop down of about 24,446 net royalty acres from Diamondback and the all-equity acquisition of Sitio Royalties that August at a value near $4.0 billion. Second quarter 2026 operating income was approximately $677 million with consolidated net income of approximately $331 million, about $142 million of it attributable to Viper itself. Full year 2025 still shows a consolidated net loss of approximately $206 million on a ~$768 million impairment, which is why the trailing earnings multiple looks extreme. In August 2026 the board raised the base dividend 32% to approximately $2.00 per Class A share annually and dropped its commitment to return at least 75% of distributable cash each quarter. The open question is whether a royalty stream this cheap to run is worth roughly 7.9 times revenue when the operators setting its production pace answer to someone else.
What's driving Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)?
1. Development pace on acreage Viper already owns
Near-term production growth requires no new acquisition. As of July 1, 2026 approximately 1,798 gross horizontal wells were in active development on Viper's acreage, expected to reach production within roughly six to eight months, plus about 1,589 line-of-sight wells visible over the following fifteen to eighteen months. That inventory is why full year 2026 guidance rose to approximately 66,000 to 67,250 bo/d.
2. Acquisitions and parent drop downs
The scale change since 2024 came from deals rather than drilling. Viper took roughly 24,446 net royalty acres from Diamondback in May 2025 for about $873 million in cash plus 69.6 million OpCo units, absorbed Sitio Royalties in an all-equity deal valued near $4.0 billion that August, and on August 3, 2026 signed for approximately 933 more acres in exchange for about 3.7 million OpCo units. The price paid per acre against the cash those acres throw off is the whole argument for retaining capital.
3. The rewritten return of capital framework
Through mid-2026 Viper committed to returning at least 75% of distributable cash each quarter, split between a base and a variable dividend. From the third quarter of 2026 the base rises about 32% to roughly $2.00 per Class A share annually, a level management describes as protected down to approximately $30 per barrel WTI, and the 75% commitment is gone. Viper repurchased about 3.0 million Class A shares for approximately $132 million in the second quarter.
4. A cost structure that barely exists
A royalty owner pays no drilling capital and no lease operating expense, which produces a consolidated net margin near 49% in a quarter like the second of 2026. Guidance puts cash general and administrative expense at approximately $0.70 to $0.90 per boe and production and ad valorem taxes near 7% of revenue. Depletion, guided at approximately $14.75 to $17.25 per boe, is the large non-cash charge separating reported earnings from distributable cash.
What are the risks to Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)?
Oil realizations drive almost everything: oil accounted for approximately $1,010 million of the $1,154 million of royalty income in the first half of 2026, so a sustained crude decline flows straight into the payout. Permian natural gas is close to worthless at the wellhead in some quarters, with Viper's unhedged second quarter 2026 realization at roughly $0.05 per Mcf. Viper also has no say in drilling timing, since third parties operated about 545 of the 691 wells turned to production in the quarter. The Diamondback relationship cuts both ways, because the parent holds approximately 39.2% of fully diluted voting power and sits across the table in drop down negotiations. The ~$768 million impairment recorded in 2025 shows that royalty acres are carried at a value price decks can erase, and approximately $1.7 billion of debt ranks ahead of the dividend.
What is the Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) forecast?
19 analysts publish price targets on VNOM, averaging $55.84 against a $44.07 price as of August 2026, or +26.7%. The published targets run from $46.00 to $65.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 19 buy, 0 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 7 raises and 4 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full VNOM forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is VNOM a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Viper Energy, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Development pace on acreage Viper already owns. Near-term production growth requires no new acquisition. The most optimistic published target, $65.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. Oil realizations drive almost everything: oil accounted for approximately $1,010 million of the $1,154 million of royalty income in the first half of 2026, so a sustained crude decline flows straight into the payout. The most pessimistic target, $46.00, is roughly what VNOM is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on VNOM, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How is Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM) valued? (approximate, August 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Viper Energy, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$2.0 billion
- Q2 2026 total operating income: ~$677 million
- Q2 2026 consolidated net income: ~$331 million (~$142 million attributable to Viper, ~$0.73 per Class A share)
- Market cap: ~$15.8 billion across ~359 million Class A and Class B shares
- Net debt / liquidity: ~$1.6 billion net debt, ~$2.0 billion total liquidity
- Q2 2026 dividend declared: ~$0.67 per Class A share (~$0.38 base plus ~$0.29 variable)
The trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 133 says very little here, because the trailing window still contains the ~$768 million 2025 impairment that pushed full year consolidated results to a ~$206 million loss. Price to revenue around 7.9 times looks steep next to a driller, and that gap is structural: a royalty owner keeps most of each revenue dollar because it funds none of the wells. Cash available for distribution to Class A shares was approximately $262 million in the quarter, or about $1.37 per share.
Who competes with Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)?
Publicly traded mineral and royalty owners
Texas Pacific Land Corporation, Black Stone Minerals, Kimbell Royalty Partners and Dorchester Minerals collect royalties without funding development, the same model Viper runs. They compete with it twice: in the auction for net royalty acres, where a rival bid raises Viper's cost of growth, and for income-focused investors comparing yields. Viper's differentiator is Permian concentration plus a parent that hands it drop down inventory.
Permian operators who carry the capital cost
Diamondback Energy, Permian Resources, Coterra Energy and Occidental Petroleum produce from the same rock but own the wells, the crews and the capital budget. Comparing them with Viper means weighing operational upside that carries cost inflation against a thinner slice of revenue that carries almost none. These operators are also Viper's customers, since about 545 of the 691 wells turned to production on its acreage last quarter belonged to third parties.
Private capital bidding for royalty acres
Private equity backed mineral aggregators, family offices and long-held family mineral positions set the clearing price for acreage Viper wants. GRP Energy Capital and Warwick Capital Partners, who took Viper's non-Permian package in February 2026, are examples of the money bidding against it. Since the growth story rests on adding acres at accretive prices, this unlisted competition matters more to the per-share outcome than the listed peers do.
What stocks are similar to Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)?
Other names that sit close to VNOM: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)
There are three common ways to get VNOM exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so VNOM sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where VNOM fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)
Viper is a high-margin toll on Permian drilling done by other people, and its value turns on the oil price, the rig count on its own acreage, and how well it converts retained cash into more acres.
More on Viper Energy, Inc. (VNOM)
Whether VNOM is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is VNOM a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the VNOM stock forecast.
For income investors, whether VNOM pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does VNOM pay a dividend? And to weigh VNOM against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: VNOM vs TPL and VNOM vs BSM.
Wondering how VNOM fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Viper Energy, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how VNOM fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Viper Energy actually own?
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Mineral and royalty interests: ownership of the oil, gas and other minerals beneath a piece of land, plus the right to be paid a percentage of whatever is produced from it. As of July 1, 2026 that came to approximately 90,212 net royalty acres, concentrated in the Permian Basin. Viper owns no wells, rigs or pipelines, and has no employees. Diamondback Energy provides personnel and administrative services under a secondment agreement.
How is owning minerals different from owning a driller?
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A driller like Diamondback leases the right to produce, spends heavily to drill and complete wells, and keeps what is left after costs. A mineral owner like Viper is paid off the top, a small percentage of gross revenue, before any of those costs come out, and never writes a check for them. Viper's average net royalty interest across its producing wells is about 2.3%. The result is a very high margin on a very thin slice, so revenue tracks prices and volumes rather than cost control, and the owner has no say in when a well gets drilled.
Do VNOM holders receive a Form 1099 or a Schedule K-1?
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A Form 1099-DIV. Viper Energy Partners LP converted from a Delaware limited partnership into a Delaware corporation named Viper Energy, Inc. effective November 13, 2023, and the August 2025 holding company reorganization kept the corporate form. Class A shares are ordinary corporate stock, so distributions arrive as dividends on a 1099 rather than as partnership allocations on a K-1, which removed the usual partnership frictions for tax-advantaged accounts.
Why did the dividend policy change in August 2026?
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Alongside second quarter results the board raised the base dividend 32% to approximately $2.00 per Class A share annually starting in the third quarter, and removed the commitment to return at least 75% of distributable cash each quarter. Management called the new base protected down to roughly $30 per barrel WTI. The effect is a steadier, smaller committed payout with more retained cash for repurchases and acquisitions.
What is Viper's relationship with Diamondback Energy?
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Diamondback formed Viper in 2014 and still beneficially owned approximately 39.2% of fully diluted voting power as of June 30, 2026. It supplies all of Viper's people, operates part of the acreage, and periodically sells royalty interests into Viper in drop down transactions such as the May 2025 deal for about 24,446 net royalty acres. That gives Viper a steady inventory pipeline and creates a standing conflict of interest, since the parent negotiates from the other side and its capital plans set the drilling pace on part of the acreage.
Why is the trailing price-to-earnings ratio so high?
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Because the trailing twelve months still include a large non-cash writedown. Viper recorded approximately $768 million of impairment on oil and gas properties during 2025, roughly $360 million of it in the third quarter, turning full year consolidated results into a loss of about $206 million. Consolidated net income in the first half of 2026 was approximately $546 million with no impairment, so the trailing multiple measures a period that no longer resembles current results.
What did the Sitio deal and the non-Permian sale do to the company?
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Viper closed the all-equity acquisition of Sitio Royalties on August 19, 2025 at a value near $4.0 billion including partial retirement of about $1.2 billion of Sitio net debt, adding roughly 25,300 net royalty acres in the Permian and about 9,000 elsewhere. On February 9, 2026 it sold the entire non-Permian package, approximately 9,400 net royalty acres producing about 4,750 bo/d, for roughly $610 million net. What is left is a pure Permian royalty owner with total assets of about $12.1 billion.
What moves Viper's results most from quarter to quarter?
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Realized oil prices first, since oil made up approximately $1,010 million of $1,154 million of first half 2026 royalty income. Second, the count of wells turned to production on its acreage, 691 gross wells in the second quarter, weighted by the royalty interest Viper holds under each. Natural gas contributes very little at current Permian differentials. Acquisitions change the base but usually issue shares or units alongside, so per-share volumes show whether a deal helped.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Viper Energy, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.