Key Highlights

  • ConocoPhillips reported second-quarter GAAP earnings of $3.9 billion, or $3.23 per diluted share, against $2.0 billion a year earlier.
  • It returned $3.0 billion to shareholders in the quarter: $2.0 billion of buybacks and $1.0 billion of ordinary dividends.
  • The company agreed to acquire a 42% interest in a bp joint venture in Iraq's Kirkuk area for $0.4 billion.
  • Andy O'Brien succeeds Ryan Lance as president and CEO effective September 1, while Lance becomes executive chair of the board.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) shares were trading near their 52-week high at USD 145.63 on October 19, 2026, down 0.60%. The Houston-based producer reported second-quarter results and announced a leadership succession on August 6. Six large brokerages have posted ratings or targets since then. The quarter paired higher earnings with lower production.

What six brokerages have said since the August results

UBS kept a Buy rating on September 14 and raised its target to $169 from $153. Jefferies lifted its Buy-rated target to $174 from $159 on October 6, and Truist kept a Hold rating on October 7 with a target of $136, up from $130. Barclays reiterated Overweight with a $150 target on October 12. On October 14, Wells Fargo kept Overweight with a $189 target, and RBC Capital Markets kept Buy with a $152 target. The price sits below five of the six targets and above Truist's. These are the firms' views, not a forecast by this article.

Higher earnings, lower volumes

Second-quarter GAAP earnings were $3.9 billion, or $3.23 per diluted share, against $2.0 billion, or $1.56, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure, were $4.0 billion, or $3.24 per share. The average realized price rose 36% to $62.33 per barrel of oil equivalent.

Production averaged 2,248 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOED), down from 2,391 MBOED a year earlier and 4% lower after adjusting for acquisitions and dispositions. The company said organic Lower 48 growth was more than offset by the Middle East conflict's effect on Qatar and higher Surmont royalties.

Net cash from operating activities was $7.4 billion, and cash from operations, a non-GAAP measure that excludes working capital changes, was $7.2 billion. Buybacks of $2.0 billion doubled from the first quarter, ordinary dividends were $1.0 billion, and the company declared a $0.84 quarterly dividend payable September 1. At June 30, cash and cash equivalents were $6.6 billion and total debt was about $23.3 billion.

Asset sales, Kirkuk and a new chief executive

ConocoPhillips signed agreements to sell noncore Lower 48 assets for $1.7 billion, which closed in July and met its $5 billion disposition target ahead of schedule. It also agreed to acquire, from a wholly owned subsidiary of bp, a 42% interest in a non-operated joint venture supporting redevelopment of four producing oil fields near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. The $0.4 billion purchase price, before closing adjustments, includes $0.2 billion of deferred payments due within three years of closing. Closing is expected by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Separately, the company agreed to re-enter Syria and added 2 million metric tons per annum of LNG offtake.

Under the succession plan, Andy O'Brien, previously chief financial officer, becomes president and CEO and joins the board on September 1. Ryan Lance, CEO for 14 years, becomes executive chair, and Konnie Haynes-Welsh becomes chief financial officer.

The quarterly report also lists continuing legal matters. At June 30, about $795 million had been received on the first of the company's ICC awards against Venezuela, and collection actions are ongoing. The company intends to appeal a June 9 ruling upholding an order to decommission facilities on a legacy lease near Carpinteria, California, and calls climate-related lawsuits against oil and gas companies, including itself, meritless.

Outlook

On August 6, ConocoPhillips said all full-year guidance items remain unchanged, after setting 2026 production at 2.295 to 2.325 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and capital spending at $12 billion to $12.5 billion in April. Third-quarter production is expected at 2.29 to 2.32 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company says it is on track to return 45% of 2026 cash from operations to shareholders and to reach a $7 billion free cash flow inflection by 2029. These are the company's own estimates. Third-quarter results are due before the market opens on November 5, with a call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.