Goldman-backed InCommodities eyes US gas expansion after profit slump

InCommodities is doubling down on U.S. physical gas even after pretax profit collapsed to €2.95 million in 2025, a stark test of whether the Goldman Sachs-backed trader sees durable American demand or a wager on market dislocation. The Danish company had already told investors to expect much better, forecasting pretax profit of €85 million to €195 million for the year. Instead, management is pushing ahead with expansion.

The move fits a business that has spent years building beyond its Nordic roots. InCommodities agreed in July 2021 to sell a minority stake to Goldman Sachs, and said the partnership would support expansion across major global markets. Founded in 2017 in Aarhus by four founders, the company says it has grown to more than 245 people and now operates across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

That footprint has been reorganized to match the geography. InCommodities said in its 2024 annual report that it was restructured into three autonomous business units, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, each with its own leadership structure. In August 2025, it named Rich Brockmeyer, formerly head of North American natural gas and power at Gunvor, as CEO for North America. He was to be based in Stamford, Connecticut, where the company planned to open a new office, a clear signal that the U.S. push was becoming a deeper operating commitment rather than a one-off trade.

The timing is striking because the profit slide has been severe. Pretax profit fell to €72.5 million in 2024 from €136.4 million in 2023, when gross profit reached €179 million and net profit was €106.6 million. In 2022, earnings before tax had been €1.369 billion, showing how quickly results can swing when trading conditions become less favorable. The latest drop to €2.95 million underlines how dependent the business remains on volatility, tight spreads and the ability to move faster than the market.

That is also why U.S. gas matters. The International Energy Agency said in January 2026 that global LNG supply returned to double-digit growth in the second half of 2025 as new liquefaction projects ramped up in the United States, Canada and Africa, even as geopolitical tensions and weather could still trigger price volatility. For InCommodities, that combination offers both the lure of scale and the risk of brutal earnings compression if markets settle down again. The expansion says management is choosing to press its advantage in one of the world’s most important energy markets, even after a year that exposed how fragile trading profits can be.