Chevron Misses Profit Estimate on Weak Oil Price, Tax Charge

(Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp.’s third-quarter earnings missed estimates, making it the only oil major to fall short of analysts’ predictions, after reporting a $430 million tax charge and weak upstream results amid declining prices for crude and natural gas.

Shale output from the Permian basin rose 35% to 455,000 barrels of oil per day from a year earlier, the company said Friday.

Key Insights

• Expectations were high for Chevron, which is close to overtaking Shell as the world’s second-largest publicly traded oil company. It was the best performing Big Oil stock in 2019 after hiking its share buyback program 25% and dividend by 6%.
• CEO Mike Wirth is forging a reputation as oil’s “Mr. Discipline” for his unwillingness to splurge on major new projects and walking away from a $33 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in May after being outbid. But investors are starting to question whether Chevron has enough in the locker for growth after 2023.
• Chevron’s interest in Anadarko begs the question of what company it may be prepared to buy next, especially as stock valuations in the Permian Basin have plummeted this year amid low oil prices and investor apathy toward independent producers.

Market Reaction

• Chevron fell as much as 1.6% in pre-market trading in New York.

Get More

• To read Chevron’s earnings statement, click here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in Houston at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Christine Buurma, Joe Carroll

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