Chevron Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates as Production Hits Record

Chevron Corporation CVX reported adjusted third-quarter earnings per share of $1.85, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66. The outperformance stemmed from higher-than-expected production in the company’s key upstream segment. The company’s output of 4,086 thousand oil-equivalent barrels per day (MBOE/d), a record, came in above the consensus mark of 3,928 MBOE/d. 

However, the bottom line came well below the year-ago adjusted profit of $2.51, primarily due to lower crude oil prices, severance-related charges and transaction costs tied to the Hess acquisition and healthy gains in refined product margins also played a role.

The company generated revenues of $49.7 billion. The sales figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $53.6 billion and decreased 1.9% year over year.

Chevron Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Chevron Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Chevron Corporation Quote

CVX’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.71 per share to its common shareholders of record on Nov. 18, 2025. The payout, which is unchanged from the previous quarter, will be made on Dec. 10, 2025.

During the quarter, Chevron achieved record worldwide and U.S. net oil-equivalent production. The recently completed Hess acquisition contributed 495 MBOE/d, while legacy Chevron operations added another 227 MBOE/d. Growth was driven by higher output from the Permian Basin, as well as the continued ramp-up of projects at CVX’s Tengizchevroil LLP (“TCO”) affiliate and in the Gulf of America.

Segment Performance of CVX

Upstream: Chevron’s production of crude oil and natural gas — at 4,086 MBOE/d — rose 21.5% year over year. The latest volume statistics primarily reflect higher volumes from the Permian Basin, Gulf of America and Kazakhstan.

The U.S. output increased 27.1% year over year to an all-time high of 2,040 MBOE/d and the company’s international operations (accounting for 50.1% of the total) also increased 16.3% to 2,046 MBOE/d.

Despite overall volumes improving from last year, Chevron’s third-quarter 2025 upstream segment profit fell 28% to $3.3 billion. This was primarily due to lower liquid realizations. To some extent, this was offset by higher natural gas sales prices.

At $48.12 per barrel, Chevron’s average realized liquids prices in the United States were more than 10% below the year-earlier levels. Prices overseas decreased 10.5% to $63.16 per barrel. Natural gas prices surged 221.8% in the United States, while falling 7.8% across international markets.

Downstream: Chevron’s downstream segment recorded a profit of $1.1 billion, up 91.1% from last year’s income of $595 million. The gain primarily underlined higher product sales margins.

CVX’s Cash Flows, Capital Expenditure

The company recorded $9.4 billion in cash flow from operations compared with $6.7 billion in the year-ago period. Chevron’s free cash flow for the quarter was $4.9 billion.

Further, Chevron paid $3.4 billion in dividends and bought back $2.6 billion worth of its shares.

This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company spent around $4.4 billion in capital and exploratory expenditures during the quarter compared with the year-ago period’s $4.1 billion, due to spending on legacy Hess assets post-acquisition.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

CVX’s Balance Sheet

As of Sept. 30, 2025, the only energy component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average had $7.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents and total debt of $41.5 billion with a debt-to-total capitalization of about 18%.

Important Earnings at a Glance

While we have discussed CVX’s third-quarter results in detail, let us take a look at three other key reports in this space.

Liberty Energy Inc. LBRT, a leading pressure pumping and oilfield services firm headquartered in Denver, posted a third-quarter 2025 adjusted net loss of 6 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 1 cent. Moreover, the bottom line decreased sharply from the year-ago quarter’s profit of 45 cents. The company's underperformance can be attributed to macroeconomic headwinds accompanied by a slowdown in the industry’s frac activity and market pricing pressure.

As of Sept. 30, Liberty Energy had approximately $13.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. The pressure pumper’s long-term debt of $253 million represented a debt-to-capitalization of 10.9%.

San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corporation VLO, a leading independent refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products, reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $3.66 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.95. The bottom line improved from the year-ago quarter’s level of $1.16 per share. Better-than-expected quarterly results can be primarily attributed to an increase in refining margins, higher ethanol margins and lower total cost of sales.

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $4.8 billion at the end of the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had a total debt of $8.4 billion and finance-lease obligations of $2.2 billion.

Houston-based Halliburton Company HAL, one of the world’s largest oilfield services providers specializing in drilling and well completions, posted third-quarter 2025 adjusted net income per share of 58 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents. The outperformance primarily reflects successful cost reduction initiatives. However, the bottom line fell from the year-ago adjusted profit of 73 cents due to softer activity in North America.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research