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Equity
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2026
Equity [Abstract]  
Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure
Note 5 - Equity
Common Stock
On January 27, 2026, our stockholders voted in favor of both proposals necessary to complete the Merger, which included approval of (i) the issuance of shares of SM Energy common stock to Civitas stockholders as contemplated by the Merger Agreement, and (ii) an amendment of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock from 200 million shares to 400 million shares. Upon completion of the Merger, we issued 124 million shares of our common stock to holders of Civitas common stock. Refer to Note 2 - Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures for additional discussion.
Dividends
In February 2026, our Board of Directors approved a 10 percent increase to our annual base dividend to $0.88 per share, to be paid in quarterly increments of $0.22 per share. Beginning with the first quarter of 2026, dividends are declared and paid within the same quarter, rather than being paid in the quarter subsequent to declaration. As a result of this change in timing, during the nine months ended September 30, 2026, we paid dividends that were declared in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first, second, and third quarters of 2026, totaling $0.86 per share, or $187 million.
Stock Repurchase Program
Our stock repurchase program, which our Board of Directors authorized in June 2024, for the repurchase of up to $500 million in aggregate value of our outstanding common stock through December 31, 2027, permits us to repurchase our shares from time to time in open market transactions (including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans), through privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws and subject to certain provisions of our Credit Agreement and the indentures governing our Senior Notes (“Stock Repurchase Program”). Refer to Note 6 - Long-Term Debt for definition of Senior Notes.
The following table presents activity under our Stock Repurchase Program for the periods presented:
For the Three Months Ended
September 30,		For the Nine Months Ended
September 30,
2026202520262025
Shares of common stock repurchased (1)
2,303,327 444,7054,946,833 444,705
Weighted-average price per share (2)
$35.30 $27.25 $33.39 $27.25 
Cost of shares of common stock repurchased (in millions) (2) (3)
$81 $12 $165 $12 
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(1)    All repurchased shares of our common stock were subsequently retired.
(2)    Amounts exclude excise taxes, commissions, and fees.
(3)    Amounts may not calculate due to rounding.
As of September 30, 2026, $323 million remained available for repurchases of our outstanding common stock through December 31, 2027, under our Stock Repurchase Program.