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DATE
Friday, Oct. 30, 2026
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Head of Investor Relations – Jeanine Wai
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer – Mike Wirth
- Vice Chairman – Mark Nelson
- Chief Financial Officer – Eimear Bonner
TAKEAWAYS
- Adjusted Earnings — $10.4 billion or $5.28 per share, reflecting higher refining margins and volumes despite lower oil realizations.
- Total Revenue and Other Income — $67.8 billion, representing an increase from $49.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
- U.S. Upstream Production — 2.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, marking the fifth consecutive quarter where production exceeded 2 million barrels.
- Total Net Oil-Equivalent Production — 3.98 million barrels per day, reflecting a decline from last year due to lower entitlements and Middle East conflict impacts.
- Natural Gas Production — Over 9 billion cubic feet per day, driven by record output from operated assets in Australia and the Eastern Mediterranean.
- U.S. Downstream Earnings — $3.6 billion, up from $638 million last year due to higher margins on refined product sales.
- Refinery Throughput — 1.09 million barrels per day in U.S. refineries, achieved with a crude unit utilization rate of 98%.
- Cash Flow From Operations — $16.6 billion excluding working capital, supported by increased cash distributions from Tengizchevroil.
- Capital Expenditures — $4 billion during the quarter, with management expecting full-year spending to finish at the low end of guidance.
- Shareholder Returns — $2.5 billion to $3 billion in share repurchases during the quarter, alongside a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share.
- Venezuela Production Target — 600,000 barrels per day by 2031, with management intending to double production from three joint ventures.
- Venezuela Cost Structure — Under $20 per barrel for total costs, including both capital and operating expenses.
- Bakken Midstream Restructuring — 50% reduction in tariffs, intended to expand economic inventory and increase operational flexibility.
- Bakken Financial Impact — Deconsolidation of $3.7 billion of debt and an expected 0.5% improvement in corporate return on capital employed.
- Exploration Budget — 50% increase relative to 2025 levels, following 15 infrastructure-led discoveries achieved over the last two years.
- AI Value Capture — Over $100 million year to date, driven by proprietary solutions for drilling optimization and reliability.
- Project Kilby — 2.67 gigawatts of behind-the-meter power capacity in West Texas, supported by a 20-year agreement with Microsoft.
- Anchor Facility Capacity — 33% increase to 25,000 barrels per day, facilitating the integration of new wells expected over the next year.
- TCO Processing Capacity — Over 1 million barrels per day, following a 20% capacity expansion at the third-generation plant.
- Net Debt-to-CFFO Ratio — 0.4 times, as management reduced total debt by $3.5 billion during the quarter.
- International Upstream Production — 1.94 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, including record output in Australia.
- DJ Basin Reliability — Reduced loss production events by 50% during the quarter through the application of artificial intelligence to anticipate downtime.
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RISKS
- Bonner stated, “Working capital was negatively impacted by sharp commodity prices increases late in the quarter,” noting that timing effects often emerge when prices rise.
SUMMARY
Chevron Corporation (CVX +1.75%) reported adjusted earnings of $10.4 billion and cash flow from operations excluding working capital of $16.6 billion. Management reported record U.S. refinery throughput and the fifth consecutive quarter of U.S. upstream production exceeding 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company executed strategic agreements to reduce Bakken midstream tariffs by 50% and expanded its acreage and fiscal terms in Venezuela. Operational efficiency gains were supported by artificial intelligence initiatives that have captured over $100 million in value year to date.
- CFO Bonner stated, “2026 is also proving to be an inflection year for AI, with more than $100 million in value capture to date, with much more building quickly.”
- CEO Wirth reported that the Venezuela development program will be self-funding and “won’t be exposing additional capital investment” as it targets 600,000 barrels per day by 2031.
- The company established a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft for Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt project designed to provide power without increasing pressure on the electrical grid.
- Management indicated that Bakken operations will transition from three rigs to two rigs by year-end while maintaining production levels of 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
- The exploration success rate over the last two years reached 40%, leading to a planned 50% increase in exploration spending for the upcoming year.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- MMbpd: Million barrels per day.
- MBOED: Thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.
- CFFO: Cash flow from operations.
- ROCE: Return on capital employed.
- TCO: Tengizchevroil, a joint venture in Kazakhstan.
- PPA: Power purchase agreement.
- Bakken: A major oil-producing rock formation in the North Dakota and Montana region.
- Permian: A large oil-and-gas-producing region in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico.
- NOJV: Non-operated joint venture.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Operator: Good morning. My name is Katie, and I will be your conference facilitator today. Welcome to Chevron’s Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker’s remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session, and instructions will be given at that time. If anyone requires assistance during the conference call, please press star then zero on your touch-tone telephone. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I will now turn the conference call over to the Head of Investor Relations of Chevron Corporation, Jeanine Wai. Please go ahead.
Jeanine Wai: Thank you, Katie. Welcome to Chevron’s Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. I’m Jeanine Wai, Head of Investor Relations. Our Chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth, Vice Chairman, Mark Nelson, and CFO, Eimear Bonner, are all on the call with me today. We’ll refer to the slides and prepared remarks that are available on chevron.com. Before we begin, please be reminded that this presentation contains estimates, projections, and other forward-looking statements. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the appendix of this presentation. Please review the cautionary statement and additional information presented on slide two. I’ll now turn it over
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