Oil Profits Soar
Oil Giants Report Record Profits as Middle East Tensions Send Crude Prices Soaring
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Key Points
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Chevron delivered adjusted earnings per share of $6.06, beating analyst estimates by about $0.50, while Exxon Mobil posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.52, slightly below forecasts by roughly $0.08.
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Exxon Mobil’s downstream/refining segment remained solid, with refining earnings just under $4.1 billion in the latest quarter, helping offset upstream volatility amid tighter global supply.
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European producers posted historic profits: Equinor near $11.5 billion in adjusted profits, Shell about $9.84 billion, and TotalEnergies around $5.44 billion, while Aramco’s earnings rose roughly 27% but were weighed down by higher security costs.
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Brent crude surged to well over $120 a barrel, briefly peaking around $126, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and related tensions tightened global supply chains.
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Six of Europe’s largest oil firms posted combined first-quarter profits of about $22 billion, more than 40% higher than the previous year, underlining a broader windfall driven by refining strength and market disruptions.
The biggest US-Iran conflict in decades has sent Brent crude surging from $73 a barrel in early February 2026 to a peak of $126, and oil giants are cashing in. ExxonMobil posted $14.5 billion in quarterly earnings — up 105% year-over-year — while Chevron reported $12.1 billion, a stunning 385% jump, according to GPB News.
The windfall flows directly from the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which once carried up to 25% of the world's seaborne oil. Daily tanker traffic through the strait has collapsed from roughly 70 ships to just 2 to 5, removing an estimated 1 billion barrels from global supply chains since fighting began on February 28, 2026, CD Dispatch reported.
Brent Crude Spikes as Hormuz Chokes Global Supply
The crisis began February 28, when US and Israeli forces struck Iran's military and nuclear sites, killing Supreme Leader Khamenei. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy responded by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude blew past $100 within days and briefly hit $126 a barrel in March, West Hawaii Today reported. International oil prices have since averaged around $96 a barrel across the quarter.
Ceasefire talks collapsed on July 25, 2026. Yemen's Houthi rebels then threatened to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — another key shipping lane — sending crude up 4% to $94.42 in a single day. Days later, the IRGC attacked three commercial tankers, ending a brief pause in hostilities. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the company's East-West Pipeline, running at its maximum 7 million barrels per day, has become "a critical supply artery" in response.
ExxonMobil and Chevron Post Blowout Earnings on Refining Strength
Chevron's adjusted earnings per share hit $6.06, beating analyst estimates by $0.50 — its highest quarterly earnings ever, GPB News reported. ExxonMobil's adjusted EPS of $3.52 came in just $0.08 below forecasts. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the quarter was "shaped by disruption, but defined by execution," crediting the company's integrated refining network for moving products where they were needed most.
Refining — turning crude oil into usable fuels like gasoline and diesel — drove much of the profit. When crude prices rise sharply, refiners can charge more for finished fuel than what they paid for raw oil. ExxonMobil's refining segment alone earned just under $4.1 billion. Chevron recorded record US refinery crude throughput and a 20% year-on-year rise in oil-equivalent production, fueled by rapid drilling in the Permian Basin.
European Majors Also Rake In Historic Wartime Profits
The windfall is not limited to US firms. Norway's Equinor posted roughly $11.5 billion in adjusted profits. Shell reported about $9.84 billion — its second-highest quarterly earnings ever. TotalEnergies earned around $5.44 billion and raised its dividend by 5.9%, Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. Combined, Europe's six largest oil firms pulled in about $22 billion in first-quarter profits, more than 40% higher than the year before.
Saudi Aramco's earnings rose roughly 27%, though higher security costs weighed on margins. Meanwhile, firms including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell have used profits to cut debt rather than launch aggressive buybacks. Shell alone reduced its net debt by $10.8 billion, cutting its debt-to-assets ratio from over 23% to under 19%. Analysts at Rystad Energy estimate US oil companies will gain a direct $63.4 billion boost from the conflict.
Windfall Tax Pressure Builds as Consumers Bear the Cost
While executives celebrate record quarters, ordinary people are feeling the squeeze. Fuel rationing has hit parts of Asia and Australia. Rolling blackouts have forced government offices to close in Nepal and Sri Lanka. US Democrats introduced windfall profit tax bills in March 2026. President Trump has also threatened federal price-gouging probes against oil companies, even as his administration directs the military campaign that sparked the crisis, CD Dispatch reported.
Patrick Galey of Global Witness put it plainly: "There are constituencies around the world who are having a very good crisis, and the oil producers are one of them." He added that "hundreds of millions of people who are struggling with rolling blackouts" are paying an "unjustifiable price." Chevron CEO Mike Wirth acknowledged on CBS that the risks are "very real" and warned that the global energy system has lost its "shock absorbers," GPB News reported.
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