U.S. Major LNG Export Executives Rush to Cash Out Millions in Stock Options

The U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global, Inc. (ticker: VG) saw its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Commercial Officer exercise stock options on the scale of several million shares earlier this month and immediately sell them all, securing roughly $15 million (approximately ₩15 billion) in cash. CFO Blake Sarah exercised options on several hundred thousand shares combined on March 5 and 9 and sold them all to raise about $3.6 million (around ₩5 billion). She still holds approximately 1.13 million shares—equity now valued at about $12.95 million (roughly ₩17 billion) at current market prices. CCO Earl Thomas exercised options on 1 million shares at an exercise price of $0.79 per share on March 9 and sold them at $11.826 per share the same day, raising approximately $11.83 million (about ₩15 billion). He continues to own around 5.54 million shares, now worth roughly $63.5 million (about ₩80 billion).

In addition, Senior Vice President of Development Musser Fory was granted options on 500,000 shares on March 18. At the exercise price, the total grant value stands at about $6.49 million (around ₩8 billion), while the underlying shares are worth approximately $7.19 million (about ₩9 billion) at today’s share price. These options serve as a long-term incentive, vesting quarterly over the next ten years.

Recently, Venture Global signed long-term LNG supply agreements with companies including Hanwha Aerospace and initiated a modest common-stock dividend following its IPO. In its Q4 2025 earnings release, the company reported earnings per share slightly below market expectations; however, Raymond James maintained an “Outperform” rating and raised its price target, underscoring continued market interest in Venture Global’s growth and profitability.

Founded in 2013, Venture Global has become one of the United States’ leading LNG exporters with major Gulf Coast projects in Louisiana—Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines LNG and CP2 LNG. In January 2025, the company raised approximately $1.75 billion (about ₩2.3 trillion) through its initial public offering of Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, and its shares currently trade under the ticker VG.