ExxonMobil and Chevron beat estimates as Americans feel pain at the pump

ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two biggest US oil companies, both reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Friday, benefiting from higher prices and record production.

The boom for the oil companies has simultaneously been a major pain point for consumers. Gas prices average $4.20 a gallon, according to AAA, nearly $1.20 a gallon higher than a year ago. Consumers say the higher cost of living, especially gas prices, will affect how they vote in the upcoming midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. In a recent Harris poll for the Guardian, 36% of voters said the rising cost of living is the single most important issue this election.

For the third quarter, ExxonMobil’s net income more than doubled to $3.72 per share. On an adjusted basis, profit totalled $4.23 per share, easily topping the average analyst estimate of $4.12 per share.

Revenue in the three months ended in September rose 33% to $113.16bn, also beating estimates. The company, based in Spring, Texas, also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.07 and set a $20bn stock buyback plan.

Houston-based Chevron said on Friday it earned $9.9bn, or $5.06 per share, during the third quarter, as revenue surged 36% to $67.8bn. Its results handily topped estimates.

Besides the disruption caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine that have driven up the cost of fuel, Exxon is also seeing strong production in its fields in Guyana and the Permian Basin in the south-west. Chevron said its results include one month of production in Venezuela, where it is making a big investment.

Utilization at Exxon’s US Gulf coast refineries was at 100%, and US Gulf coast diesel production was at the second-highest on record. The price of diesel, currently about $6.32 per gallon, is up 71% since last year, according to AAA. Regular gasoline is up about 38% in the past year as well.

ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Darren Woods noted that investments such as the expansion of its Beaumont refinery in Texas have contributed to an increase in its distillate production by approximately 40% since 2019.

Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has had a presence in Venezuela since 1923. Last month it announced it will invest $7bn over the next five years in Venezuela. It said on Friday that following an accounting-related change during the quarter, it was now including those results.

In pre-market trading, Exxon shares rose 1.9%; the stock is up 64% in the past 12 months. Chevron shares rose 1.1%.

At a recent rally in Georgia on 24 October, President Donald Trump told the crowd — despite, he noted, warnings from his advisers not to — that higher gas prices had ultimately been a blessing for all Americans. “Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what’s happened in the Middle East, because they’re coming to Texas and they’re coming to Oklahoma and they’re coming to Louisiana and they’re taking that oil,” Trump said. He added: “I said, ‘I don’t give a damn, I’m gonna say it: we’re making a fortune.’”