Chevron tops estimates and announces buyback plan amid recovery in oil prices

Chevron reported a second straight quarter of profits Friday as improving demand for petroleum products and a jump in oil prices boosted operations. The company also reinstated its share repurchase program.

The oil giant earned $1.71 per share during the second quarter on an adjusted basis, with revenue coming in at $37.6 billion. Analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.59 per share on $35.94 billion in revenue, according to estimates from Refinitiv.

“Our free cash flow was the highest in two years due to solid operational and financial performance and lower capital spending,” Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and CEO said in a statement. “We will resume share repurchases in the third quarter at an expected rate of $2-3 billion per year.”

During the same period one year ago, the company lost $1.59 per share on an adjusted basis on revenue of $13.49 billion as the pandemic sapped demand for petroleum products.

The latest results are also up quarter over quarter. During the first quarter of 2021, the company earned 90 cents per share on an adjusted basis, with revenue coming in at $32.03 billion.

Chevron said it continues to exercise discipline with its capital spending, which is down 32% so far this year compared to last year. During the depths of the pandemic in 2020, the company alongside its peers slashed spending as West Texas Intermediate crude futures briefly tumbled into negative territory for the first time on record.

Chevron’s net oil-equivalent production rose 5% year over year to 3.13 million barrels per day during the second quarter. The company’s U.S. upstream operations earned $1.4 billion, compared to a loss of $2.1 billion in the same period a year ago. Chevron said its average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $54, up from $19 a year earlier.

Shares of Chevron advanced 1.6% in premarket trading Friday.

Exxon is scheduled to report quarterly results later Friday morning. The company is expected to earn 99 cents per share on $66.80 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv. Last quarter, the company turned a profit, snapping a four-quarter streak of losses. The company earned 65 cents per share excluding items on $59.15 billion in revenue.