Exxon and Chevron Beat Forecasts Despite Lower Profits
Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron both beat profit forecasts. But both companies also made less money than a year ago.
Chevron's profits fell 36% compared to last year. Exxon's profits fell 45% compared to last year.
The drops were linked to disruptions from the war with Iran. The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
Oil prices had been low for the first two months of the year. After the attack oil prices rose sharply.
Higher oil and gas prices helped Chevron beat forecasts. Chevron also had production outages linked to the conflict.
But supplies from its purchase of energy company Hess Corp helped make up for those losses. Hess assets in Guyana and the Gulf of Mexico acted as a buffer.
Reports say Chevron's exposure in the Middle East is less than 5% of its total output. Sources say about $1 billion in paper losses are expected to turn into profit later in 2026.
Key Terms 4
- profit forecasts Predictions by financial experts about how much a company will earn
- production outages Times when oil or gas output stopped or was reduced
- paper losses Losses recorded on paper due to accounting rules not actual cash lost
- Middle East exposure How much of Chevron's business depends on the Middle East region