Chevron Posts Highest Profit In 8 Years

Chevron Corp ($CVX@US) posted its highest quarterly profit in the last 8 years on Friday, noting massive hikes in oil and gas prices, higher output and a recovery in retail fuel demand. As a result, refining margins are increasing, allowing the firm to make bigger gains in a shorter period of time. These results come on the heels of U.S. lawmakers questioning oil executives over the industry’s previous denial of climate change. Even so, Chevron posted a net income of $6.11 billion, far surpassing a $207 million loss at this time last year—remembering that oil is selling for twice as much as it did this time last year. Chevron shares rose 2% to leap past $155 per share in premarket trading, and adjusted earnings per share rose to $2.96, exceeding Wall Street estimates by 75 cents per share. Additionally, the company is surging after its acquisition of Noble Energy and additional production from its OPEC partners. Anish Kapadia of Palissy Advisors said these results are, “boding well for higher shareholder returns.” Across the industry, Shell ($RDS.A@Netherlands) stock fell 5%, BP ($BP@US) shares dropped a tenth of a percent and Exxon Mobil ($XOM@US) rose just over a quarter of a percent.