Overview
- Shell reported $5.4 billion in adjusted Q3 earnings, cut net debt to $41.2 billion and launched a $3.5 billion buyback, its 16th straight quarter of at least $3 billion in repurchases.
- Chevron posted adjusted earnings of $1.85 per share on record production of 4.1 million boe/d after closing the Hess deal, with operating cash flow excluding working capital up nearly 20% to $9.9 billion.
- Exxon recorded $7.55 billion in net income and adjusted EPS of $1.88, with output of about 4.8 million boe/d including more than 700,000 bpd in Guyana and nearly 1.7 million bpd in the Permian Basin.
- Brent crude averaged about $68 per barrel in Q3, down roughly 13% from a year earlier, pressuring headline profits even as higher volumes and stronger trading and refining margins offset weaker prices.
- Shareholder returns stayed robust: Exxon distributed $4.2 billion in dividends and repurchased $5.1 billion of stock, while Chevron paid $3.4 billion in dividends and bought back $2.6 billion in shares.