Big Oil profits slump despite historic Iran-driven oil price surge

Oil prices saw a massive quarterly surge, and the top two US oil giants somehow managed to make less money.

Exxon Mobil and Chevron both reported first-quarter earnings today that fell sharply compared to a year ago. Exxon’s net income dropped 45% to $4.2 billion from $7.7 billion a year earlier. Chevron’s slid 36% to $2.2 billion from $3.5 billion.

Brent crude prices climbed sharply from $61 to $118 per barrel following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, recording the biggest quarterly jump since 1988.

The escalation led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for around 20% of global oil transit. During the peak disruption, 10–13 million barrels per day were cut off, resulting in over 500 million barrels being effectively lost in just 50 days.

Both companies delivered strong operational earnings while headline numbers told a murkier story, driven largely by Middle East disruption that sent Brent crude sharply higher.

The surge created a timing mismatch; it increased the value of physical oil in the system, but financial hedges were marked to market immediately while the underlying cargoes had not yet been realized in earnings.

After removing $3.9 billion in unfavorable timing effects from unsettled derivatives and a $700 million hedging loss linked to Middle East supply disruptions, Exxon’s underlying earnings came in at $8.8 billion, representing a 16% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

The company’s revenue of $85.1 billion topped analyst estimates of $82.2 billion. Its operating cash flow hit $13 billion during the quarter.

Chevron’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.41 crushed the consensus estimate of 95 cents, its widest beat since October 2020. Its revenue of $48.6 billion missed expectations of $52.1 billion.

Global oil output hits record on offshore and LNG gains

ExxonMobil’s production in Guyana hit a record high of more than 900,000 gross barrels per day. Total net production reached 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels daily.

In late March, Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture with QatarEnergy at the Sabine Pass terminal in Texas, produced its first liquefied natural gas from Train 1. That will boost US LNG exports by roughly 5% relative to 2025 levels. The facility shipped its inaugural export cargo in April.

Chevron pushed its worldwide production up 15% year-over-year to around 3.8 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day. US output alone jumped 24%, crossing the 2 million barrel threshold for a third consecutive quarter.

Much of that growth came from the Hess Corporation acquisition completed in late 2025, combined with expansion in the Permian Basin and the Gulf of America.

Shares of both companies ticked higher in premarket trading, with Exxon gaining about 1% and Chevron edging higher.