ExxonMobil and Chevron Post Higher Third-Quarter Profits as Fuel Prices Climb

ExxonMobil and Chevron both reported third-quarter 2026 results on October 30, 2026, with profits above what analysts had expected. Both companies pointed to higher prices and strong refining activity, the process of turning crude oil into fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

ExxonMobil reported net income of $3.72 per share, more than double the level of a year earlier. Its adjusted profit, which leaves out certain one-off items, came to $4.23 per share. The Guardian said that figure beat an average analyst estimate of $4.12 per share. Reuters put the LSEG-compiled average at $4.08 per share.

Revenue reached $113.16 billion, up 33 percent from a year earlier. On a standard accounting basis, the company's earnings were $15.4 billion, and its adjusted earnings were $17.5 billion. Cash flow from operations, the money generated by the business itself, was $25.7 billion, and cash capital spending, money put into projects and equipment, was $7.0 billion.

The company raised its quarterly dividend, the regular payment to shareholders, to $1.07 and set a $20 billion stock buyback plan, a program to repurchase its own shares. ExxonMobil said its US Gulf Coast refineries ran at 100 percent utilization in the quarter. It also said distillate output, which includes diesel, has risen by about 40 percent since 2019, aided by the expansion of its Beaumont refinery in Texas.

Chevron reported third-quarter earnings of $9.9 billion, or $5.06 per share, and revenue of $67.8 billion, up 36 percent. Its earnings topped analyst expectations on higher downstream profit, meaning profit from refining and fuel sales, as refining margins rose. The company reported a return on capital employed, a measure of profit against the money invested in the business, of 18 percent. Its US production was up 27 percent from two years earlier.

Chevron's results include one month of production in Venezuela. In September, the company announced it will invest $7 billion over the next five years in the country.

Reuters linked both companies' earnings to a refining surge driven by the war, amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Consumer prices reflect that pressure. On October 30, average US gasoline stood at $4.20 per gallon, nearly $1.20 higher than a year earlier, and diesel was about $6.32 per gallon, up 71 percent over the same period.