Chevron Profit Jumps to $9.9 Billion on Higher Oil Prices and Record U.S. Refinery Runs
Chevron's third-quarter profit rose 180.4% from a year earlier as higher oil prices and record refinery runs lifted both halves of the business, the company reported Friday.
Earnings rose to $9.924 billion, or $5.06 a diluted share, from $3.539 billion, or $1.82 a share, in the third quarter of 2025, according to the earnings release Chevron filed with an 8-K. Adjusted earnings were $10.361 billion, or $5.28 a share, up from $3.627 billion, or $1.85 a share. Profit was lower than the second quarter's $12.072 billion.
The quarter included a $160 million legal reserve, a $110 million impairment and $24 million of pension settlement costs. Currency moves cut earnings by $143 million.
Oil prices did the heavy lifting
Brent crude averaged $97 a barrel in the quarter, compared with $69 a year earlier, according to the release. Upstream earnings rose to $5.698 billion from $3.302 billion. Downstream earnings jumped 333.7% to $4.931 billion from $1.137 billion, as Chevron's U.S. refineries ran at record crude throughput and 98% crude utilization.
Net oil-equivalent production was 3.980 million barrels a day, down from 4.086 million a year earlier and 4.070 million in the second quarter. U.S. upstream output topped 2 million barrels of oil equivalent a day for the fifth straight quarter, and Chevron said U.S. production is up 27% from two years ago.
Cash and returns
Cash flow from operations was $16.0 billion, up from $9.4 billion a year earlier, and free cash flow reached $12.0 billion. Capital spending was $4.0 billion. Return on capital employed was 17.7%, versus 7.6% a year earlier.
Venezuela and the Bakken
Chevron said its joint ventures in Venezuela plan to invest $7 billion over the next five years, and that it expanded its acreage there. In North Dakota's Bakken, the company signed agreements to cut midstream costs by half, according to the release.
"We're reinvesting to bring more energy to a supply-constrained market," Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said.
By the numbers
- $9.924 billion: third-quarter earnings, versus $3.539 billion a year earlier
- $5.28: adjusted earnings per diluted share
- $97: average Brent price per barrel
- $16.0 billion: cash flow from operations
- $12.0 billion: free cash flow
- 3.980 million: barrels of oil equivalent produced per day
Sources
- Chevron Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 30, 2026 (accession 0000093410-26-000196)
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