Exxon and Chevron top profit forecasts as refining margins surge
Exxon Mobil and Chevron each exceeded third-quarter profit forecasts as stronger refining margins and firmer crude prices boosted results, adding to a broader earnings season running well above its historical pace.
Exxon Mobil delivered adjusted earnings of $4.23 per share, edging past the Bloomberg-polled forecast of $4.13. The company attributed the improvement to a sharp rise in refining margins stemming from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which have damaged fuel-production infrastructure and driven up diesel and gasoline prices. Earlier in the month, Exxon had already signaled that stronger refining margins would contribute roughly $4.5 billion to its results, building on a $4.1 billion lift recorded the previous quarter.
Chevron came in even further above expectations, posting adjusted earnings per share of $5.28 against a forecast of $4.88, with total adjusted profit of $10.4 billion compared with $3.6 billion a year earlier. Sales climbed 36% from the prior year to $67.8 billion, surpassing the $60.55 billion analysts had penciled in. In the United States, Chevron’s refineries processed an all-time-high 1.09 million barrels of crude per day, running at roughly 98% capacity, as margins on downstream products improved. Chevron’s stock climbed 2.2% after the announcement, extending an earlier premarket gain of about 1%.
Other large Western energy companies have reported comparable gains this quarter, with both Shell and TotalEnergies also benefiting from stronger refining performance.
These results arrive amid a robust overall reporting period: FactSet data shows roughly one in four S&P 500 firms has already released third-quarter figures, with combined profit growth tracking at 29.5% — a pace that, if sustained, would mark a third consecutive quarter of gains exceeding 25%.
Why it matters for markets: Wider refining margins and firmer crude prices translate directly into higher earnings for integrated oil majors, a dynamic that can lift energy stocks and support broader index gains. Persistent conflict-driven disruption to fuel supply chains also keeps upward pressure on Brent and WTI crude benchmarks, a trend markets are watching alongside the wider S&P 500 earnings trend.
Source: Yahoo Finance