Key Highlights

  • Second quarter 2026 earnings were $12.1 billion, or $6.11 per diluted share, compared with $2.5 billion a year earlier.
  • Net oil-equivalent production reached 4,070 MBOED, up 20%, with record U.S. output and record U.S. refinery crude unit throughput.
  • Chevron signed agreements to divest Hess Midstream interests and DJ Basin crude midstream assets, with closing expected by year-end 2026.
  • Chevron said its Venezuela joint ventures plan to invest over $7 billion across five years and roughly double production.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) shares were trading near their 52-week high at USD 225.22 on October 19, 2026, up 0.10%. Since July, the company has reported a second quarter with record U.S. production, agreed to exit Hess Midstream at a large expected loss, expanded in Venezuela and named a new chief financial officer. Large brokerages have updated ratings and targets since the July 31 results.

Brokerage context

Barclays lowered its target to $208 from $216 on August 17 and kept its Equal Weight rating. On September 3, Wells Fargo raised its target to $230 from $226 at Overweight, and BMO Capital Markets raised its to $235 from $210 at Outperform. Goldman Sachs trimmed its target to $228 from $240 on September 22 and kept a Buy rating. UBS moved to $235 from $220 at Buy on October 8, and Morgan Stanley to $226 from $218 at Overweight on October 15. At USD 225.22, the shares sit below five of the six targets and above Barclays'. These are the firms' views, not a forecast.

Second quarter: output up 20%, debt down $8.4 billion

Earnings attributable to Chevron were $12.1 billion, or $6.11 per diluted share, against $2.5 billion, or $1.45, a year earlier. The company said the increase includes $1.4 billion of favorable timing effects. Adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure, were $12.0 billion, or $6.06 per diluted share. Net oil-equivalent production of 4,070 MBOED was 20% above the year-earlier 3,396 MBOED, a rise the company tied largely to legacy Hess assets and Permian Basin and Gulf of America growth.

Cash flow from operations was $22.6 billion and capital expenditures were $4.5 billion. Total debt fell by a record $8.4 billion in the quarter to $37.1 billion, and the net debt ratio was 13.1% at June 30, down from 15.6% at year-end 2025. The board declared a $1.78 quarterly dividend payable September 10. Hess-related annual run-rate synergies reached $1.5 billion, ahead of schedule.

A midstream exit, a Venezuela expansion and a new CFO

On October 6, Chevron said subsidiaries had signed definitive agreements with Hess Midstream LP. In exchange for $200 million in cash and revised Bakken contracts it expects to cut Bakken unit midstream costs by about 50%, Chevron will transfer its Hess Midstream ownership interests, its general partner role and its DJ Basin crude oil midstream assets. A preliminary accounting assessment points to deconsolidating Hess Midstream, including about $3.7 billion of debt, and a one-time after-tax loss of roughly $3 billion to $4 billion at closing, which Chevron expects to treat as a special item. Closing is expected by year-end 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

On September 2, Chevron announced agreements with Venezuela on updated joint venture terms and added Orinoco Belt acreage for Petroindependencia, in which a Chevron subsidiary holds 49%. The ventures plan to invest more than $7 billion over five years and roughly double production to about 600,000 barrels per day from 2026 levels, a projection the company said may differ from actual results.

Leadership changes announced October 5 take effect January 1, 2027: Jeff Gustavson, now president of New Energies, becomes chief financial officer, and current CFO Eimear Bonner becomes president of Oil, Products & Gas.

Outlook

On July 31, Chevron said it expects to finish 2026 at the lower end of its $18 billion to $19 billion capital spending guidance range. For the third quarter it outlined share repurchases of $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion and upstream turnarounds and downtime of 150 to 200 MBOED, including the Partitioned Zone curtailment. The sale of its 50% interest in the Singapore Refining Company and other downstream assets is expected to close in 2027. The third-quarter earnings call is scheduled for October 30, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. ET. These are the company's own estimates.