There are material limitations to using measures such as Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow, including the difficulty associated with using either as the sole measure to compare the results of one company to another, and the inability to analyze certain significant items that directly affect a company’s net income or loss or cash flows. In addition, our calculations of Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow may not be consistent with similarly titled measures of other companies and should be viewed in conjunction with measures that are computed in accordance with GAAP, such as operating income, net income and cash flows from operating activities. 

Definition of Adjusted EBITDA 

We define Adjusted EBITDA as total partnership earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and other non-cash items, such as non-cash compensation expense, gains and losses on disposals of assets, the allowance for equity funds used during construction, unrealized gains and losses on commodity risk management activities, inventory valuation adjustments, non-cash impairment charges, losses on extinguishments of debt and other non-operating income or expense items. Inventory valuation adjustments that are excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA represent only the changes in lower of cost or market reserves on inventory that is carried at last-in, first-out (“LIFO”). These amounts are unrealized valuation adjustments applied to Sunoco LP’s fuel volumes remaining in inventory at the end of the period. 

Adjusted EBITDA reflects amounts for unconsolidated affiliates based on the same recognition and measurement methods used to record equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates. Adjusted EBITDA related to unconsolidated affiliates excludes the same items with respect to the unconsolidated affiliate as those excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA, such as interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and other non-cash items. Although these amounts are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA related to unconsolidated affiliates, such exclusion should not be understood to imply that we have control over the operations and resulting revenues and expenses of such affiliates. We do not control our unconsolidated affiliates; therefore, we do not control the earnings or cash flows of such affiliates. The use of Adjusted EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA related to unconsolidated affiliates as an analytical tool should be limited accordingly. 

Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to determine our operating performance and, along with other financial and volumetric data, as internal measures for setting annual operating budgets, assessing financial performance of our numerous business locations, as a measure for evaluating targeted businesses for acquisition and as a measurement component of incentive compensation. 

Definition of Distributable Cash Flow 

We define Distributable Cash Flow as net income, adjusted for certain non-cash items, less distributions to preferred unitholders and maintenance capital expenditures. Non-cash items include depreciation, depletion and amortization, non-cash compensation expense, amortization included in interest expense, gains and losses on disposals of assets, the allowance for equity funds used during construction, unrealized gains and losses on commodity risk management activities, inventory valuation adjustments, non-cash impairment charges, losses on extinguishments of debt and deferred income taxes. For unconsolidated affiliates, Distributable Cash Flow reflects the Partnership’s proportionate share of the investees’ distributable cash flow. 

Distributable Cash Flow is used by management to evaluate our overall performance. Our partnership agreement requires us to distribute all available cash, and Distributable Cash Flow is calculated to evaluate our ability to fund distributions through cash generated by our operations. 

On a consolidated basis, Distributable Cash Flow includes 100% of the Distributable Cash Flow of Energy Transfer’s consolidated subsidiaries. However, to the extent that noncontrolling interests exist among our subsidiaries, the Distributable Cash Flow generated by our subsidiaries may not be available to be distributed to our partners. In order to reflect the cash flows available for distributions to our partners, we have reported Distributable Cash Flow attributable to partners, which is calculated by adjusting Distributable Cash Flow (consolidated), as follows: 

• For subsidiaries with publicly traded equity interests, Distributable Cash Flow (consolidated) includes 100% of Distributable Cash Flow attributable to such subsidiary, and Distributable Cash Flow attributable to our partners includes distributions to be received by the parent company with respect to the periods presented.
• For consolidated joint ventures or similar entities, where the noncontrolling interest is not publicly traded, Distributable Cash Flow (consolidated) includes 100% of Distributable Cash Flow attributable to such subsidiaries, but Distributable Cash Flow attributable to partners reflects only the amount of Distributable Cash Flow of such subsidiaries that is attributable to our ownership interest.

For Distributable Cash Flow attributable to partners, as adjusted, certain transaction-related adjustments and non-recurring expenses that are included in net income are excluded. 

Non-operating litigation-related loss recognized in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 represents the loss associated with a recent adverse ruling. This non-recurring, non-operating loss has been excluded from the Partnership’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA. 

These amounts exclude Sunoco LP’s Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow related to its investment in the Permian joint venture, which amounts are eliminated in the Energy Transfer consolidation. 

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, the amount reflected for transaction-related income taxes reflects current income tax expense recognized by Sunoco LP in connection with its April 2024 sale of convenience stores in West Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. 

The following analysis of segment operating results includes a measure of segment margin. Segment margin is a non-GAAP financial measure and is presented herein to assist in the analysis of segment operating results and particularly to facilitate an understanding of the impacts that changes in sales revenues have on the segment performance measure of Segment Adjusted EBITDA. Segment margin is similar to the GAAP measure of gross margin, except that segment margin excludes charges for depreciation, depletion and amortization. Among the GAAP measures reported by the Partnership, the most directly comparable measure to segment margin is Segment Adjusted EBITDA; a reconciliation of segment margin to Segment Adjusted EBITDA is included in the following tables for each segment where segment margin is presented. 

Transported volumes of gas on our Texas intrastate pipelines decreased primarily due to less third-party transportation and decreased gas production from the Haynesville area. Transported volumes reported above exclude volumes attributable to purchases and sales of gas for our pipelines’ own accounts and the optimization of any unused capacity. 

Segment Adjusted EBITDA. For the three months ended September 30, 2024 compared to the same period last year, Segment Adjusted EBITDA related to our intrastate transportation and storage segment increased due to the net impact of the following: 

• an increase of $100 million in realized natural gas sales and other primarily due to higher pipeline optimization from physical sales; and
• a decrease of $10 million in operating expenses primarily due to a change related to fuel consumption that is offset in cost of products sold in 2024; partially offset by
• a decrease of $13 million in storage margin primarily due to the timing of financial gains;
• a decrease of $11 million in retained fuel margin primarily due to a change related to fuel consumption that is offset in operating expenses in 2024; and
• a decrease of $4 million in transportation fees primarily due to a contract expiration on our Louisiana system.