Exxon, Chevron beat estimates on record refining profits

ExxonMobil ↗ 2.16% and Chevron ↗ 1.75% beat Wall Street's profit forecasts on Friday, October 30. War-driven fuel shortages pushed earnings from their refining businesses to record highs. Exxon reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $17.5 billion, or $4.23 a share, on net income of $15.4 billion. Chevron posted adjusted earnings of $10.4 billion, or $5.28 a share, on net income of $9.9 billion.investor.exxonmobil.com+1

Analysts had expected $4.08 a share from Exxon, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters, and $4.89 from Chevron. Fighting in the Middle East and Ukrainian strikes on Russian plants have taken about 10% of the world's fuel-making capacity offline. That has handed large profits to the refineries still running.businesstimes.com.sg+2

Refineries out-earn oil fields

Exxon's refining division earned a record $9.05 billion, nearly five times its result a year earlier. Chevron's refineries earned $4.93 billion, also a record and four times the year-earlier figure. Refining usually earns thinner margins than production. This quarter, its profits rivaled what the companies made from oil and gas. Exxon's adjusted upstream earnings fell 20% from the second quarter to $7.3 billion because Brent crude prices were lower.reuters.com+2

Exxon's Gulf Coast refineries ran at 100% utilization. Chevron's U.S. plants processed a record of just over 1 million barrels of crude a day at 98% capacity, according to CNBC. Both stocks rose in premarket trading.businesstimes.com.sg+1

Different uses for the cash

Exxon returned $9.4 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $5.1 billion in share buybacks. It raised its dividend for the 44th year in a row. Chief Financial Officer Neil Hansen said the best response to high prices was to "pull every lever that's available to us to increase supply".businesstimes.com.sg+1

Chevron kept its buybacks at $2.5 billion, the low end of its guidance, and put most of the extra cash toward paying down debt. "We don't react to upside or downside," Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner said. Chevron has cut its net debt by nearly $14 billion since the end of 2025.reuters.com+1

Pain at the pump

European rivals also reported strong results this week. BP's ↗ 0.08% profit reached an 18-year high, TotalEnergies ↗ 1.38% more than doubled its quarterly profit, and Shell ↗ 0.95% increased its buybacks.businesstimes.com.sg

International oil prices have risen almost 60% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. High fuel costs have become a political issue ahead of the midterm elections. President Donald Trump said at a rally this week that pump prices will come down "very soon".businesstimes.com.sg