High oil prices combined with strong refining operations drive Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) Q3 net profit to surge 180% year-over-year.

Before the U.S. market opened on Friday, Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) released its third-quarter 2026 results. Driven by high oil prices and record U.S. refining margins, the company's profit rose to its fourth-highest level in history and beat analysts' expectations across the board. The earnings report showed that Chevron Corporation's net profit attributable to shareholders in the third quarter was US$9.9 billion, an increase of about 180% from US$3.5 billion in the same period last year; adjusted earnings per share were US$5.28, 35 cents above the average analyst estimate. Although the company reduced its share buyback scale to US$2.5 billion, it remains within the full-year guidance range. The refining business was the key engine behind Chevron Corporation's better-than-expected performance this quarter. Profit in that business reached US$4.93 billion in the third quarter, a record high and about four times the level of the same period last year. The conflicts between Iran and Ukraine have caused as much as 10% of global refining capacity to exit the market, driving fuel prices sharply higher worldwide. In terms of capital allocation, Chevron Corporation, for a second consecutive quarter, used excess profit mainly to reduce debt, taking a more conservative approach than Shell and Repsol, both of which raised their buyback scales by more than 65%. "We don't react to the market going up or down, and we don't randomly adjust strategy," Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner said in an interview. "Right now, we are sticking to our long-standing financial priorities and not making any changes." On production, thanks to last year's acquisition of Hess, Chevron Corporation achieved year-over-year production growth, allowing it to fully benefit from the roughly 34% year-over-year rise in international crude oil prices. The Hess deal gave Chevron Corporation a 30% interest in Guyana's high-producing Stabroek block, which is operated by Exxon Mobil Corporation. Chevron Corporation expects Venezuela production to reach 300,000 barrels per day by the end of this year, up 20% from a year earlier. The company's costs in Venezuela are below US$20 per barrel, making it one of the most profitable oil-producing regions in the world. Bonner said the Venezuela project "generates immediate returns and produces positive free cash flow." "We are not worried about our ability to expand production." As of press time, Chevron Corporation was up 1.3% in premarket trading.