Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported much larger third-quarter profits on October 30, CNBC said, after a quarter of high crude prices. Exxon’s profit doubled to $15.4 billion, from $7.5 billion a year earlier. Chevron’s net income surged nearly 200%, to $9.9 billion. CNBC said both stocks hit records that day.
The earnings are not a new retail fuel price. In the EIA survey for the week ending October 26, U.S. gasoline fell 1.5 cents and diesel rose 7.6 cents. Producer profits can rise when crude and refining margins are high. Drivers, truckers and farms pay those fuels unless a contract delays the cost. Neither oil company announced a rebate or a pump-price cut in the reports used here.
The split is the point. A bigger quarterly profit shows who is receiving the high-price period. It does not show that a U.S. household’s latest fill-up became cheaper.
Do these oil profits mean U.S. fuel bills fell? No price cut was announced. Exxon reported a $15.4 billion quarterly profit and Chevron $9.9 billion, while the latest national diesel average rose.