Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) released its earnings numbers for the three months through September this morning after the market closed on Wall Street. The oil company showed earnings of $2.57, well below the expectations of analysts. The company’s stock was flat in pre-market trading after the release of this morning’s report.
In the run up to the quarterly release, Wall Street was expecting Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) to show earnings per share of $2.71 for the third quarter of the year. The 14 cent miss was not taken all that seriously by the market this morning it seemed, but stock was down a fraction at time of writing.
Chevron earnings
Revenue for the three months came in at $58.5 billion, below consensus estimates of $59.3 billion. In the same quarter of 2012 Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) managed to earn $2.37 per share on revenue totaling $58 billion. The oil company has a recent history of coming in below expectations on earnings. Including this morning’s showing, four of the last five reports have been below expectations.
Chevron said that it produced 2.59 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, up from 2.52 million in the same quarter of 2012. Chevron earnings are expected to come in below last year’s total’s when it shows its full year results in January 2014.
Chevron performance
The poor performance on the earnings front has depressed gains in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) stock so far in 2013. The company’s shares have gained just over 10% since January 1 2013. In the same period the S&P 500 has gained more than 23%. Chevron’s underperformance is a matter for concern, but it was not the only oil company to face problems in the third quarter.
Regional instability coupled with much lower refining margins drove down margins everywhere. Chevron is particularly invested in natural gas, a business that has not quite come into its own yet. If and when that business starts to work for the company investors will hope to be repaid for their faith.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) executives will host a conference call to discuss this earnings report at 11 AM EDT. The company’s shareholders will be anxious to hear about the firm’s guidance for the quarter ahead, and their outlook for 2014 as a whole.
