Big Oil Companies Continue to Post Banner Profits as Fighting in Iran Drives Costs Higher
Exxon Mobil’s profit doubled and Chevron’s nearly quadrupled as refinery margins widened and U.S. lawmakers proposed taxing war windfalls.
- On Friday, ExxonMobil and Chevron reported record quarterly profits, with Chevron earning $12bn and ExxonMobil $14.53 billion, as supply constraints in the Strait of Hormuz sent energy prices soaring.
- Global shortages for jet fuel and diesel drive higher prices as companies with ample refinery capacity capitalize on market conditions. "If you're a company that owns a bunch of refinery capacity, things look pretty good," Timothy Fitzgerald, University of Tennessee professor of business economics, said.
- Consumers continue to feel the strain at the petrol pump, with U.S. petrol prices averaging $4.09 a gallon, down slightly from $4.11 last week but remaining above $4 across the country, according to the American Automobile Association.
- Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse criticized the earnings as a "windfall we get from our cartel pricing scheme," while President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he does not like the "blockbuster" profits, noting his war on Iran keeps oil prices high.
- Lawmakers in Congress have introduced bills to tax major oil producers for 2026 profits, though Exxon CEO Darren Woods warned that penalizing businesses is "very short-sighted," citing canceled planned investments following previous windfall tax measures.
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108 Articles
The sharply increased profits of the oil giants raise questions. Are the major oil companies playthings of fluctuating oil prices, or can they do more to protect consumers against high energy prices? And: what about the climate crisis?
Bezos' Post blasts Trump for turning on Big Oil
President Donald Trump has recently started blaming Big Oil rather than his war against Iran for rising oil prices — and the editorial page of The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is having none of it.“Prices are set by supply and demand,” wrote The Washington Post’s Editorial Board on Wednesday. “That economic law is as fundamental as they come, but not for the first time, President Donald Trump is acting like he’s above the la…
Oil Refiners Are Quietly Printing Money. This Company’s Earnings Jumped 975%
Gasoline prices are punishing drivers at the pump while a handful of companies are posting the most profitable quarters in their histories, and the structural reason this keeps happening has nothing to do with luck or crude oil prices.
Eight of the largest oil companies almost doubled their profits in the spring quarter compared to the previous year. The new figures fuel the debate about an over-profit tax.
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