Chevron and ExxonMobil on Friday reported profits that soared in the third quarter, as their U.S. refineries ramped up production to take advantage of high diesel fuel prices.
The world is facing a fuel crisis as Ukraine, Iran and Houthi militants attack refineries in Russia and the Middle East, reducing global capacity by millions of barrels per day. U.S. Gulf Coast refiners have ramped production to help fill the supply gap as diesel prices have surged.
ExxonMobil's profits doubled to $15.4 billion, or $3.72 a share, compared to $7.5 billion, or $1.76 a share, in the same period in 2025. When adjusted for one-time items, it posted earnings of $4.23 a share, soundly beating Wall Street's expectations.
"Refining capacity is very tight today," Exxon CEO Darren Woods told CNBC in an interview. "Frankly, diesel is the key crunch point here because it is so critical to economic growth [with] very inelastic demand."
U.S. diesel prices stood at a national average of $6.32 per gallon on Friday, an increase of more than 70% compared to the same period last year, according to AAA.
Chevron's net income surged nearly 200% to $9.9 billion, or $5.06 a share, compared to $3.5 billion, or $1.82 a share, in the same period last year. When adjusted for one-time items, it reported earnings of $5.28 per share, also beating the Street's expectations of $4.89.
"The system is under stress," Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC in an interview. "We remain in an environment that is fairly fragile."
Chevron shares are up nearly 2% while Exxon is more than 1% higher. Both touched all-time highs Friday.
Here's what Chevron and Exxon earned, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
Chevron earnings per share: $5.28 adjusted, vs. $4.89 expected
Chevron revenue: $67.8 billion, vs. $61.6 billion expected
Exxon earnings per share: $4.23 adjusted, vs. $4.08 expected
Exxon revenue: $113.2 billion, vs. $103.1 billion expected
High profits from the largest oil companies at a time of war is politically controversial. President Donald Trump said in August that Chevron and Exxon "were making too much money based on a shortage."
Profits from Chevron's refining division surged more than 300% to $4.9 billion compared to $1.1 billion in the same period in 2025. Its oil and gas production generated earnings of $5.7 billion, up 70% from $3.3 billion in the year-ago period.
Chevron's U.S. refineries processed record amounts of crude oil at just above 1 million barrels per day, as the facilities ran at 98% capacity. Diesel and jet fuel yields rose more than 10%, Wirth said.
Exxon's refining division generated profits of about $7.2 billion in the quarter, outpacing its production business' earnings of about $7.1 billion. Its refining profits have surged nearly 200% to $11.4 billion so far this year compared to $4 billion during the first nine months of 2025.
Exxon's Gulf Coast refineries operated at 100% capacity utilization. Those refineries produced "record volumes of diesel" in the quarter, Woods said.
Chevron's oil and gas production actually declined slightly to 3.9 million barrels per day compared to about 4 million bpd in the same period last year. The decline was in its international segment due in part to the conflict in the Middle East, while output was largely flat in the U.S. year over year.
Exxon has produced about 4.5 million bpd this year, a more than 2% decline from nearly 4.7 million during the first nine months of 2025.
