Earnings for Exxon Mobil and Chevron tumbled in the second quarter even as the Texas-based companies reached record oil production levels.
Exxon reported $7.1 billion in quarterly net income Friday, while Chevron announced a profit of $2.5 billion. Both figures were down roughly $2 billion from the same period last year.
London-based Shell also saw its profitability decline, saying Thursday that second-quarter adjusted earnings fell 32 percent to $4.26 billion. The industry had signaled that results would be lower in the second quarter, although earnings from the three oil majors turned out better than what some Wall Street analysts had expected.
Even though Shell, Exxon and Chevron made less money, their performance in the second quarter seemed relatively stable, according to Aditya Ravi of Rystad Energy. He pointed to share repurchases and dividend programs and the fact that the companies haven’t delayed final investment decisions on major projects.
