Chevron’s Adjusted Profit Jumps to $10.4 Billion in Third Quarter, Beating Estimates
Key Facts
Chevron reported adjusted earnings of $10.4 billion, or $5.28 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $3.6 billion and $1.85 per share in the same period last year. Earnings per share topped the analyst consensus estimate of $4.12, according to the Associated Press. The company also posted reported earnings of $9.9 billion, or $5.06 per share, versus $3.5 billion and $1.82 a year earlier. Results came in a quarter that saw a contrast between strength in U.S. refining and a decline in overall production from a year earlier. The company said its results included one month of Venezuelan production following an accounting-related change during the quarter.
Cash flow from operations totaled $16 billion in the quarter, compared with $9.4 billion a year earlier. Excluding working capital, cash flow reached $16.6 billion, versus $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2025. These figures provide another measure of the strength of results alongside net income, though they vary with the impact of changes in working capital. The company did not provide an explicit free cash flow forecast in the available information. The comparison of operating cash flow between the two periods therefore remains the cash flow indicator reported in the quarterly results.
In U.S. refining, earnings rose to $3.585 billion from $638 million in the year-earlier quarter. Chevron attributed the increase mainly to higher margins on refined products, according to its regulatory filing. U.S. refinery crude utilization was 98%, while crude throughput exceeded 1 million barrels per day. These indicators are consistent with improved product-selling margins as a specific driver of refining earnings growth. They do not, however, explain the company’s consolidated results on their own, which include production, refining and other activities.
By contrast, the company’s net oil-equivalent production was 3.980 million barrels per day, down from 4.086 million barrels per day a year earlier. Chevron said international production fell by 109,000 barrels per day year over year, attributing the decline mainly to lower production entitlements as prices rose and to the effects of conflict in the Middle East. Record output at company-operated assets in Australia, along with the inclusion of one month of Venezuelan production, partly offset the decline. In the United States, production was 27% above its level two years earlier, and upstream output exceeded 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for the fifth consecutive quarter. The comparison shows differing production trends in the United States and international operations during the quarter.
The company includes Venezuela in its production growth plans for the coming years. It said its joint ventures there plan to invest $7 billion over the next five years and are targeting more than a doubling of production to about 600,000 barrels per day compared with the 2026 level. The plan estimates total costs at less than $20 per barrel. The three joint ventures had increased production 15% from the start of the year through September 2, 2026, according to the company. The long-term target follows the inclusion of one month of Venezuelan production in third-quarter results, while achieving it depends on carrying out the announced investment and production plan.
In the market, Chevron shares rose 1.8% in morning trading on October 30 after the results were announced, according to the Associated Press. EL7’s daily closing data showed the stock ended the session at $235.52. On the same day, the news agency reported that Brent and U.S. benchmark crude topped $100 per barrel amid volatility and uncertainty linked to the conflict with Iran. A discussion of the quarter’s results with analysts was scheduled for October 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time, according to the company’s filing. The share-price reaction came as earnings beat estimates, alongside elevated oil prices and a year-over-year decline in overall production.