News · Chevron Corporation (CVX) · Energy

Chevron rises 1.8% after third-quarter results beat estimates and strong refining margins

Session of October 30, 2026 · Published October 31, 2026 · 3 min read

What happened

Chevron (CVX) rose 1.8% on October 30, 2026, because its third-quarter results beat expectations and refining margins were strong. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.28, 8.4% above the $4.87 consensus, and said cash flow from operations excluding working capital was $16.6 billion. Reuters and CNBC cited the results and noted record U.S. refinery crude throughput as a key driver.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 30, 2026, CVX closed at $235.52, up 1.8% on the day and 15.6% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $235.52, rising 1.8% on the day and rose 1.0% over the last five sessions. Trading volume was 1.5 times its 20-day average, and the session move measured 1.3 times a typical daily move for this stock. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% on the day, while the Energy sector median fell 0.1%, making the stock 1.9 percentage points better than the sector median. The stock has a beta of 0.06, indicating it tends to move less than the market.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 30, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 1.5%, so the latest move equals 1.2 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 3.0%) are unusual.

The technical picture

The stock traded 6.2% above its 20-day moving average and 10.5% above its 50-day moving average, with the 50-day average above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend. The stock has spent 83 consecutive trading days above its 200-day average and was 0.4% below its 52-week high at the close. The 14-day Relative Strength Index was 73, a level often called overbought. Over one month the stock rose 13.7% and over three months it rose 21.9%.

Closing price over the past year. CVX ends the period at its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($213.15) and above its 200-day average ($193.34).

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, Chevron reported revenue of $225.78 billion, up 20.8% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $13.67, which rose 92.3% year over year. Gross margin was 34.7%, compared with 29.3% a year earlier, while operating margin improved to 17.8% from 8.1%. Free-cash-flow margin stood at 15.1% and return on invested capital was 7.8%.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $65.2B, 35.4% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

The balance sheet showed net debt of 0.3 times EBITDA and share count increased by 0.9% over one year. At the close, the stock traded at 17.2 times trailing earnings and 13.4 times forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 7.4%. Its price to trailing earnings was higher than 62% of its own readings over the past five years, where the five-year median is 15.8 times earnings. PromtFinance scores ranked the company strongly on Growth and Momentum at 87 and 88 respectively, and showed Stability of 98 (Exceptional).

Earnings and analyst expectations

Chevron reported third-quarter 2026 GAAP earnings of $9.9 billion, or $5.06 per diluted share, and adjusted earnings of $10.4 billion, or $5.28 per share. The adjusted EPS beat the $4.87 consensus by 8.4% and marked the seventh consecutive quarter beating estimates. Average surprise over the last four reports was 16.6% above estimates, and the stock's typical two-day reaction after recent reports was to rise 0.7%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $5.06, against $1.82 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Among 53 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is Buy, with 62% assigning a Buy or Strong Buy. The consensus price target is $214.08, which is 9.1% below the closing price. The next report is due January 29, 2027.

The company said foreign currency effects decreased earnings by $143 million and the quarter included a $160 million legal reserve, a $110 million impairment and $24 million of pension settlement costs. Media coverage also noted that higher diesel prices and disruptions to global fuel supplies helped boost refining margins, contributing to the earnings beat, according to CNBC and Zacks Investment Research.

What to watch

October 30, 2026: Chevron reported adjusted EPS of $5.28, 8.4% above estimates, with cash flow from operations excluding working capital of $16.6 billion.
Company guidance: planned turnarounds and downtime are expected to reduce upstream production in Q4 by 175,000 to 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Valuation and sentiment: price to trailing earnings 17.2 times, price to forward earnings 13.4 times, and consensus price target $214.08.
Market context: S&P 500 fell 1.8% on the day while Chevron rose 1.8%, with trading volume 1.5 times its 20-day average.
Technicals: 83 consecutive trading days above the 200-day average and RSI (14 days) at 73.

Full CVX analysis: scores, chart and financials →