Vermilion: A Quarter of the Action, God Help Us

February 13, 2026. Another day, another billion-dollar dance with the demons of the energy market. LM Asset Management just dropped a bomb – 830,600 shares of Vermilion Energy. Six point eight-six million dollars, folks. That’s real money. Enough to make a sane man question his life choices. Or, in my case, just order another cup of coffee. A STRONG one.

The Tilt

The SEC filing confirms it: LM is all in on Vermilion. A quarter of their reported assets now tied up in crude and gas. Twenty-five percent. That’s not a position, that’s a commitment. A declaration. The value jumped $8.46 million in the last quarter. A tidy sum. But let’s not confuse profit with sanity. This isn’t about slow, steady growth; it’s about riding the rollercoaster, hoping the safety bar holds.

The Holdings Breakdown – A Descent into Madness

  • NYSE: VET: $31,433,746 (25% of AUM) – Jesus. A quarter.
  • NYSE: LUMN: $29.04 million (23.2% of AUM) – Lumen. Of course. Because why not double down on the risk?
  • NYSEMKT: GTE: $15.65 million (12.5% of AUM) – Gran Tierra. The trifecta of impending doom.
  • NASDAQ: GT: $14.72 million (11.8% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: TSAT: $9.52 million (7.6% of AUM)

Vermilion is currently trading at $10.03, up nearly 15% year-over-year. A respectable gain. But gains can evaporate faster than a shot of tequila in the desert. Alpha of 3.10 versus the S&P 500? Impressive, but numbers are just illusions. A mirage in the wasteland of Wall Street.

The Company – A Statistical Nightmare

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $2.3 billion
Net income (TTM) ($234.3 million)
Dividend yield 3.81%
Price (as of February 13, 2026) $10.03

The Snapshot – Fueling the Fire

  • Vermilion extracts crude and gas across North America, Europe, and Australia. A global empire built on black gold.
  • Integrated exploration and production. They dig it up, they sell it, they repeat. The cycle of addiction.
  • Serving regional and international energy markets. Feeding the beast.

Diversified energy producer with a global footprint? That’s a fancy way of saying they’re spread too thin. Operational efficiency? A myth. Geographic diversification? A desperate attempt to hedge against disaster. They’re playing a dangerous game, and so is LM.

What This Means – The Edge of the Abyss

Vermilion commands a quarter of this fund’s assets. A high-conviction call on commodity discipline, capital returns, and balance sheet repair? Or a reckless gamble on a volatile market? They posted $254 million in fund flows and $108 million in free cash flow. Good numbers, but they’re masking the underlying risk. Net debt is down to $1.38 billion, but leverage is still high. A 4% dividend increase? A bribe to keep the shareholders from rioting. They’re directing excess cash toward debt reduction and buybacks. Smart, but it won’t save them if the market turns sour.

Production averaged 119,000 boe per day, with 67% natural gas. Hedged to steady cash flow? A temporary fix. This deepens exposure to commodity risk. It can amplify returns if gas markets tighten, especially with Vermilion’s European pricing leverage. But it also magnifies volatility. This isn’t investing, it’s a controlled demolition. Prepare for impact. It’s going to be a wild ride.

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2026-02-17 00:42