Shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) dropped on Friday after the company disclosed its earnings report for the fourth quarter. Chevron beat revenue expectations but fell short on profit, despite the increasing costs of energy.
Q4 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
A Mixed Q4
As reported by CNBC, analysts had expected Chevron to earn $3.12 per share in the fourth quarter last year but pulled off $2.56. Still, the firm was expected to hit a revenue of $45.69 billion and managed to accrue a stellar $48.13 billion.
On Friday, Chevron shares dropped by over 4% after soaring to a record on Thursday.
“For the full year, Chevron said it saw record free cash flow of $21.1 billion while reducing debt by $12.9 billion. The oil giant earned $15.6 billion for the year, compared to a loss of $5.5 billion in 2020,” CNBC informs.
Amid the mixed results, Chevron said in a statement that it has increased its shareholders’ payout for the 35th year in a row. The firm added dividends for the quarter by eight cents to $1.42 per share, which accounts for 6%.
Moreover, the company more than doubled its operational cash flow between 2020 and 2021, as it came up to $29.2 billion from $10.6 billion.
Results
CNBC reports that “Chevron’s fourth-quarter results compare to a loss of one cent per share on an adjusted basis during the same quarter one year ago, and $25.25 billion in revenue. During the third quarter of 2021 the company earned $2.96 per share on an adjusted basis, with revenue coming in at $44.71 billion.”
It was in the same period that, according to Chevron, net oil-equivalent production around the globe dropped by 5% year-on-year to 3.12 million daily barrels. The average price of each of the company’s crude oil and gas liquids barrels in the U.S. nearly doubled YoY.
It rose from $33 in the fourth quarter of 2020 to $63 in the same period last year.
Oil is recovering fast after suffering a big pandemic blow, as for the first time in almost eight years, Brent crude reached $90 per barrel. Following a similar trend, West Texas Intermediate crude futures —the U.S. oil benchmark— have recovered to a 7-year record of $88.
