Chevron and Exxon Profits Soar to Record Highs as Global Diesel Shortage Drives Refining Boom
A global fuel supply crunch propelled ExxonMobil and Chevron to record profit surges in the third quarter, as both American oil giants ran domestic refineries near maximum capacity to meet booming demand for diesel.
ExxonMobil reported Friday that its quarterly profits doubled to $15.4 billion, or $3.72 per share, up from $7.5 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the same quarter in 2025. Adjusted for one-time items, earnings reached $4.23 per share, comfortably beating Wall Street forecasts. Meanwhile, Chevron saw net income surge nearly 200% to $9.9 billion, or $5.06 a share, compared to $3.5 billion, or $1.82 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings of $5.28 per share beat analyst expectations of $4.89.
Following the earnings reports, Chevron shares jumped nearly 2% while Exxon climbed more than 1%, bringing both companies to all-time highs on Friday.
Refineries Max Out Output Amid Global Disruption
The stellar financial results come as attacks on refining infrastructure in Russia and the Middle East by Ukraine, Iran, and Houthi militants cut global refining capacity by millions of barrels per day. International buyers have responded by turning to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners to fill the void.
Exxon’s U.S. Gulf Coast facilities operated at 100% capacity utilization during the quarter, generating record volumes of diesel fuel. Refining earnings reached about $7.2 billion, eclipsing its upstream production division which brought in $7.1 billion. For the first nine months of the year, Exxon’s refining profits have surged nearly 200% to $11.4 billion, up from $4 billion during the same period in 2025.
“Refining capacity is very tight today,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in an interview with CNBC. “Frankly, diesel is the key crunch point here because it’s so critical to economic growth [with] very inelastic demand.”
Chevron posted a similarly strong performance in downstream operations. Profits in its refining segment soared over 300% to $4.9 billion, compared to $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Domestic facilities operated at 98% capacity, processing a record 1 million-plus barrels of crude per day and boosting yields of diesel and jet fuel by more than 10%.
High Prices and Production Pressure
Consumer costs have escalated alongside corporate earnings. According to AAA, the U.S. National average for diesel reached $6.32 per gallon on Friday—a more than 70% jump compared to the same period last year, following record highs set in September.
The price spikes and massive corporate payouts have reignited political scrutiny. President Donald Trump remarked in August that Exxon and Chevron “were making too much money based on a shortage,” referring to supply strains that began in March after U.S. And Israeli strikes on Iran.
Even with refining output at maximum, overall crude production fell slightly for both firms. Chevron reported total production of 3.9 million barrels per day, down from 4 million bpd last year, driven by international declines linked to Middle East conflict. Exxon reported overall year-to-date output of roughly 4.5 million bpd, representing a decline of more than 2% from nearly 4.7 million bpd during the first nine months of 2025.
Warning that market volatility remains high, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC that “the system is under stress” and that the global energy market remains in an environment that’s “fairly fragile.”