FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Chevron Flags Tailwind to Quarterly Upstream Earnings From Higher Commodity Prices

-- Chevron (CVX) expects higher commodity prices driven by the Middle East conflict to boost first-quarter earnings in its upstream segment by up to $2.2 billion, though timing impacts could weigh on the oil giant's bottom line.

Elevated oil prices are projected to benefit upstream segment earnings by $1.6 billion to $2.2 billion in the March quarter, compared with the previous three-month period, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Crude prices resumed their upward trend Thursday amid uncertainty over the two-week ceasefire deal between the US and Iran announced Tuesday. The war started at the end of February, sending energy prices soaring amid the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 4.5% higher intraday at $98.67 a barrel, while Brent increased 1.7% to $96.37, well above pre-war levels.

Chevron said that timing effects linked to hedging and accounting in a rising commodity price environment are "generally negative," potentially impacting first-quarter earnings and cash flow from operations, excluding working capital, by roughly $2.7 billion to $3.7 billion.

"The majority of these effects are in the downstream segment and are expected to unwind in future periods," the company said in the filing.

Chevron shares were down 1.2% intraday, reducing its year-to-date gain to about 26%.

The company expects downstream earnings to include a charge of about $350 million to $400 million tied to a litigation reserve related to ceased operations, according to the filing.

First-quarter upstream oil-equivalent production is forecast to be in a range of 3.8 million barrels per day to 3.9 million barrels, mainly reflecting downtime at Kazakhstan's Tengizchevroil project and reduced production in the Middle East, Chevron said.

The company expects to report first-quarter results by May 1.

On Wednesday, larger rival Exxon Mobil (XOM) flagged that production disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict could lower its global oil-equivalent output by roughly 6% on a sequential basis in the first quarter. The company also said it expected the surge in energy prices to boost upstream earnings.

Price: $191.94, Change: $-0.95, Percent Change: -0.49%

Related Articles

Research

Research Alert: Rs Posts Q1 Sales And Eps Beat, Record Volumes And Major Contract Wins

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:RS reported Q1 2026 adj. EPS of $5.16 vs. $4.66 consensus, exceeding guidance, with net sales of $4.03B beating consensus by $118M on record tons sold of 1.67M (+9.4% Q/Q, +2.7% Y/Y). Gross margin recovered to 29.1% (+180 bps Q/Q), moving within the company's 29%-31% target range as LIFO headwinds moderated. RS outperformed industry shipments by ~8%-pts, marking the 13th consecutive of outpacing industry growth, with broad-based performance across carbon steel, aluminum, and stainless steel categories. Management guided for Q2 2026 adj. EPS of $5.15-$5.35, reflecting confidence in sustained pricing momentum across key end markets. RS secured $2.9B in government contracts, including a $2.24B border wall contract and a $654M Joint Strike Fighter renewal. We believe the aluminum recovery is particularly meaningful given 2025's tariff-related compression, and disciplined capital allocation with $301M returned to shareholders demonstrates balance sheet strength at 1.0x net debt-to-EBITDA.

$RS
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Lowers Opinion On Shares Of Expedia Group Inc. From Hold To Sell

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We lower our 12-month price target by $3 to $240, representing 13x our 2026 EPS estimate (unchanged multiple), a significant discount to EXPE's 21x five-year average forward multiple. We lower our 2026 EPS estimate to $18.51 from $18.55 and 2027's to $20.38 from $20.42, reflecting modestly lower gross bookings growth expectations. We downgrade EXPE from Hold to Sell as we believe shares are overvalued given heightened macroeconomic risks and the company's concentrated U.S. exposure. Elevated oil prices are pressuring U.S. consumer discretionary budgets, which would disproportionately impact EXPE relative to peers given approximately 60% of its business is U.S.-based. Consensus revenue estimates have been revised up 6% on recent bookings momentum but have been slow to reflect recent macroeconomic volatility, suggesting potential downside risk. Additionally, AI-driven search and booking tools represent a longer-term disintermediation threat to EXPE's traditional online travel agency model.

$EXPE
Asia

Huaqin Nets HK$4.5 Billion From Hong Kong IPO Ahead of Debut

Huaqin (HKG:3296, SHA:603296) raised HK$4.46 billion in net proceeds from its initial public offering in Hong Kong.The final offer price was set at HK$77.70 per H-share, according to a Wednesday after-market filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.The China-based smart hardware products manufacturer offered 58.5 million H-shares in the global offering.The Hong Kong public offer was 531.33 times subscribed, with a final allocation of 5.9 million shares, representing 10% of the total offering.The international offering was 13.34 times subscribed, with a final allocation of 52.7 million shares, or 90% of the total offering.An over-allocation of 8.8 million shares was made under the global offering.Cornerstone investors, including JPMAMAPL, UBS Asset Management (Singapore), Shanghai Gaoyi, Perseverance Asset Management, Cloud Map, Taikang Life, and Aurora SF, were allotted a combined 29.3 million shares, according to the filing.Huaqin is scheduled to debut on the Hong Kong bourse on Thursday, April 23.

$HKG:3296$SHA:603296