-- Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) reported year-over-year declines in their first-quarter earnings on Friday amid supply disruptions due to the Middle East war, but the figures came in ahead of Wall Street's estimates.
Exxon Mobil's adjusted earnings dropped to $1.16 a share for the March quarter from $1.76 the year before, but topped the consensus on FactSet of $0.98. The result excluded a loss of about $700 million on settled financial hedges that weren't offset by physical shipments due to supply disruptions in the Middle East, according to the oil giant.
The company also said it incurred unfavorable timing effects of $3.9 billion due to unsettled derivatives, which are required to be marked to current period-end prices. The related physical shipments were not yet reflected in earnings.
The US-Israel war with Iran, which began at the end of February, curtailed shipments through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, driving up energy prices. The conflict paused following a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran last month, but a framework for a permanent truce is yet to be reached.
"The underlying business delivered strong results, reflecting the benefits of the strategy we have consistently executed since 2018," Chief Executive Darren Woods said in a statement. "We have grown advantaged volumes, optimized our operations, reduced structural costs, and strengthened our earnings power."
Exxon Mobil's total revenue increased to $85.14 billion from $83.13 billion in the 2025 quarter, ahead of the Street's view for $81.13 billion.
Upstream production reached nearly 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, up from 4.55 million barrels a year ago, but missed the average analyst estimate on FactSet of 4.63 million barrels a day. Production was also down on a sequential basis. The segment's adjusted earnings fell to $5.74 billion from $6.76 billion, amid lower base volumes from divestments and operational disruptions in Kazakhstan, among other factors, according to the company.
Separately, Chevron posted adjusted EPS of $1.41 for the first quarter, down from $2.18 a year ago, but surpassed the Street's expectations for $0.97. The company incurred $2.9 billion of unfavorable timing effects related to derivatives and inventory accounting.
Total revenue rose to $48.61 billion from $47.61 billion, but fell short of Wall Street's estimate of $51.86 billion.
"Despite heightened geopolitical volatility and related supply disruptions, Chevron delivered solid first quarter performance," according to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth. "Our US refineries operated at record crude throughput in March, capital spending remains within guidance, and our structural cost reductions are firmly on track."
Chevron's global oil-equivalent production in the quarter increased to 3.86 million barrels per day from 3.35 million barrels in the prior-year period, just ahead of the market's 3.85 million-barrel view. In the prior quarter, output came in at 4.05 million barrels a day.
US upstream production rose to 2.02 million barrels a day from 1.64 million barrels. International output gained 117,000 barrels per day on an annual basis.