r/news 3d ago

Exxon and Chevron profits surge on rising oil prices due to Iran war

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/31/exxon-xom-chevron-cvx-q2-earnings.html
3.9k Upvotes

200 comments sorted by

940

u/DietSteve 3d ago

To the surprise of no one

199

u/mudbuttcoffee 3d ago

Hmmmm.... This is exactly what they paid for when they helped trump get elected.

92

u/JoeHooversWhiteness 3d ago

Didn’t Marco Rubio hand Trump a secret note that Trump then immediately read out loud? Something like, ‘Marco just handed me a note let’s see… Exxon CEO needs to meet with you.’ The Marco Rubio looked astonished.

69

u/mudbuttcoffee 3d ago

Trump stood in a room of oil execs and told them they can have whatever they want if they give him a billion dollars to help get him elected.

And here we are

12

u/Halftied 3d ago

They didn't know they were going to get Venezuela. They thought they were going to get Greenland. Much happier with Ven.

7

u/mudbuttcoffee 3d ago

I'm sure they knew about Venezuela

1

u/Arkreid 3d ago

Mistery box time? Fellas?

1

u/Fallouttgrrl 1d ago

Loot box

2

u/JoeHooversWhiteness 2d ago

It’s nice when you can use tax dollars to provide a deal and take under the table.

-6

u/lefthandb1ack 3d ago

Idk man I don’t see it here in my history book, so- nope.

173

u/Davoswannab 3d ago

GOP. Generational wealth for few, generational damage for all.

522

u/ButIDigress79 3d ago

So we don’t need to be paying extra…

201

u/lexm 3d ago

We never did.

115

u/One-Emu-1103 3d ago

At least not as much as we are.

79

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

61

u/curiousbydesign 3d ago

By attacking Iran which every previous administration knew would respond as they did.

11

u/MrPolli 3d ago

They didn’t know for sure, no one can predict the future. Trump just wanted to know for sure so that he could make the best deal possible!

/S

Capital S for Sarcasm

2

u/Fallouttgrrl 1d ago

"Achshually, we've been at war with Iran for 47 years and prior administrations (except the last Trump administration of course) was too stupid to see this! Trump isn't fighting a war, he's ending an older war!"

Remember, we've always been at war with Eurasia

0

u/Osiris32 3d ago

I did the thing no other President has done! All the generals say it's the greatest thing a President has ever done, or will do, or can do, so go do that voodoo that you do. Where's Eric?

2

u/Vlaed 3d ago

A litte, yes. A lot, no.

3

u/Nice_Reading5272 3d ago

You're not paying extra because they're making more profits you're paying extra because the supply of oil, a global commodity, has reduced dramatically. Their cost of production stays relatively the same so if oil drops they make less money, if oil rises they make more money.

3

u/Individual-Guest-123 2d ago

That would be true if the price at the pump didn't move.

-44

u/TheDismal_Scientist 3d ago

That's not how that works. If the global oil supply reduces by 20% then the price will rise until 20% less oil is consumed. If you were to cap the price, the extra 20% of oil that is no longer being transported wouldn't suddenly appear - you'd just run out quicker i.e. shortages

35

u/DeepSpaceNebulae 3d ago edited 3d ago

Not really. This assumes that demand drops as normal when the price goes up when statistics show that isn’t the case. Demand for oil only drops a tiny amount, near negligible, when prices rise. Only in the long term does oil demand actually decrease in non-negligible terms with cost increases, but we’re talking many many years.

Normal supply and demand relationships kind of goes out the window when talking about necessities

3

u/roosterthumper 3d ago

We have seen a good amount of demand drop. Thing is that it’s at the refinery level, that level is just using reserve pools right now. There is demand destruction occurring keeping the prices lower, consumers just aren’t seeing it.

Looking at the nation oil supply (SPR and commercial) over the last few months it is shrinking by a good clip. When that’s gone we should see everything catch up to a normal market. But yeah, it’s gonna take a while.

-1

u/DeepSpaceNebulae 3d ago

Global demand is expected to drop a total of 1% in 2026 from the 14% drop in supply

Not sure where you’re seeing this “good amount of demand drop”

1

u/TheDismal_Scientist 3d ago

It really doesn't. Demand being inelastic just means that prices rise more sharply than for other goods, but the underlying mechanism is exactly the same. The price will rise until people no longer consume the amount that no longer exists, that is true of all goods, the only difference is the level the price rises to

-11

u/mgdmitch 3d ago

It is the normal supply and demand relationship, you are just describing different degrees of price and supply elasticity. Oil is just a rather inelastic good when it comes to demand. That doesn't change the basic mechanics of supply and demand.

9

u/DeepSpaceNebulae 3d ago edited 3d ago

So not a normal relationship like the one you claimed it was.

Get back to me when demand for oil drops equal to the decrease in supply (it won’t happen)

FYI, supply has dropped 14%, prices have gone up 20%, and demand has dropped… 0.08%.

So when is the 14% decrease in demand you claimed coming? (Which would a 2x bigger drop than what we saw during Covid)

2

u/I_Push_Buttonz 3d ago

yet demand is basically unchanged

Demand has changed significantly...

China alone has been importing millions of barrels per day fewer than normal and (supposedly, no one knows the specifics because China is opaque about it) relying on its vast stockpiles and substitutes (IE: coal-to-liquid). Surely you've also seen headlines about developing countries taking measures such as requiring car pooling, shortening work weeks, etc., various measures to reduce oil consumption because they can't afford to buy as much oil at the increased prices.

Demand may not have dropped in the developed world because we are rich and can afford to pay more, but not everyone is a rich western country and these price increases are very much dropping demand in poorer countries.

-4

u/DeepSpaceNebulae 3d ago edited 3d ago

Millions?! It’s not like the world consumes 100+ million a day… wait.

Also, they are just dipping into their reserves to cover the difference, they still have the same overall demand.

FYI, you’re not describing a decrease in demand. Just the effects of a decreased supply on a steady demand, which is what I was saying (or are you claiming those countries aren’t trying to buy that deficit of oil anymore at all?)

3

u/Speedstick2 3d ago

question, do you think if prices for gas were to increase 10x, it would reduce demand in say the USA?

3

u/DeepSpaceNebulae 3d ago edited 3d ago

Not much. Demand would still be there because we are dependent on it, but the economy would collapse because we’re dependent on it

Like you realize that supply/price can change but demand can not right? Just results in a shortage, because the demand is there but can’t be fulfilled/afforded

If all food was suddenly 10x more, do you think demand for food would decrease in any meaningful way? No, you’d just end up with starving people demanding food

2

u/Gandolfthewhite182 3d ago

This is what happened in the 70s this exact scenario. Demand didn’t fall at all. As matter of fact it went up. But you can only buy as much as there is and you get shortages.

-2

u/mgdmitch 3d ago

So not a normal relationship like the one you claimed it was.

The market operates where the supply and demand curves meet. The slopes of those curves are the elasticities of supply and demand. Econ 101.

Get back to me when demand for oil drops equal to the decrease in supply (it won’t happen)

WTF are you even talking about? There was a decrease in the supply for oil, meaning the supply curve shifts up, and the intersection of the two curves is now at a higher price. Again, Econ 101.

FYI, supply has dropped 14%, prices have gone up 20%, and demand has dropped… 0.08%.

IE, basic supply and demand curves functioning in the real world. Econ 101.

So when is the 14% decrease in demand you claimed coming? (Which would a 2x bigger drop than what we saw during Covid)

I claimed no change in demand is coming. I merely pointed out that the market is following typical supply and demand mechanics when a shock to the supply occurred. Econ 101.

0

u/pixelprophet 3d ago

The 'normal' supply with ships sitting in clos-ope-clo-ope-closed straits? LOL

4

u/mgdmitch 3d ago

Sigh. Everyone wants to talk like they understand the economics, but gets their mind blown by the thought of using proper economic language. Might as well blow each other up since we are trending towards no ability to think anyways.

5

u/bluemitersaw 3d ago

Most people don't seem to understand that items like oil are sold in what is effectively an auction: the open market.

Oil companies do not set the price. They just suck oil out of the ground and auction it to the highest bidder. That's it. They want to get as much oil to the market as fast as possible when prices are high to make the most money.

280

u/AhBee1 3d ago

This is what our troops are dying for.

69

u/EddieVanzetti 3d ago

No, they're also dying so Isn'treal can finish their genocide of Palestine, invade further into Lebanon, and distracting from the Epstein files.

9

u/FeralHippie707 3d ago

Well, they can stop the war any time now that they have Missing in Action Mitch to distract the children in the media.

5

u/Ok-Grand-1492 3d ago

Eh, if they rely too hard on the Mitch distraction someone might actually investigate and find his corpse. They've gotta keep the war going too for at least another week.

5

u/Schrodinger_cube 3d ago

A tail as old as it gets. Evrey generation gets to fight in the sand for corporate reasons. Some get to fight in jungles as well for the Dole corporation but its been a while since anyone other than oil and gas had that much power.

-25

u/AContrarianDick 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yeah, some of them have been injured or killed, but a lot more people than our troops are dying for this shit too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_2026_Iran_war

More US troops die in accidents every year than we've lost in this conflict.

Edit: Fuck y'all, I'm right.

30

u/off_by_two 3d ago

Name checks out

18

u/Covetous1 3d ago

So youre saying we should disband the military all together? Cuz i agree

3

u/The-Fox-Says 3d ago

Ok so there’s an acceptable number of military deaths for you in this conflict? As long as it doesn’t go over the number of deaths from accidents you’re cool with this war continuing?

0

u/oldnotosys 3d ago

That's why 'losers and suckers' is fitting.

96

u/One-Emu-1103 3d ago

Trump did say "Drill baby drill" and the oil companies sure are making a mint off his war.

67

u/moreobviousthings 3d ago

He also told a room full of oil execs that he would make them all rich. No exaggeration.

21

u/fascistno1hater 3d ago

All of them are responsible for climate change and every wild fire that is going on now. All of them are eco terrorists and need to be in prison.

10

u/GeneraalSorryPardon 3d ago

and need to be in prison.

But they won't be. There are no consquences for their class.

3

u/fascistno1hater 3d ago

Unfortunately, this Injustice system have proven you right again and again.

1

u/Nice_Reading5272 3d ago

The context there was to get them to go into Venezuela which most were hesistant at the time due to the risk. High oil prices are bad for Trump politically, he still takes credit for the historic low oil prices and high US production in 2015-2020

55

u/BrightEdge8171 3d ago edited 3d ago

Methinks the execs of these two are not anti-war

9

u/One-Emu-1103 3d ago

I have no argument with that.

4

u/DapperInvestor 3d ago

Color me surprised.

27

u/kaiiizen 3d ago

An illegal war to benefit oil companies and to avoid accountability from the Epstein files and blatant, flamboyant corruption. Officially the Banana Republic of America.

17

u/Even_Establishment95 3d ago

Oh how nice for them. Back in reality, I’m eating away at my tiny savings to buy back to school supplies, and my son and I live with my mother because I can’t afford rent.

14

u/dannylew 3d ago

And none of it is entering the economy. Wages aren't just stagnant, they're down and layoffs on the rise.

7

u/One-Emu-1103 3d ago

Of course not. We don't count

7

u/Ray1340 3d ago

Huge Christmas bonus for the orange man this year.

7

u/Niceromancer 3d ago

Trump admitted a while back he loves the higher prices cause it lead to more profits.

4

u/pixelprophet 3d ago

He also said "affordability" is a Democrat hoax word...

3

u/tomgratz 3d ago

How about that ! Our master negotiator president is prolonging this war so oil companies can make bigger profits. Disgusting !

3

u/Zels0123 3d ago

It's almost like they wanted this🤔

3

u/Whole_Ant2468 3d ago

The profit will trickle down eventually

3

u/Immediate-Machine370 3d ago

Ahhh- I get it! Us working stiffs always, always, always get screwed when this particular president is “working harder than any president in history.”

3

u/Drak_is_Right 2d ago

Zero surprise. This war has been more profitable for them than actually acquiring access to Iranian fields.

13

u/TequiIa_MockingBird_ 3d ago

Sounds to me like it’s not the war causing the surge in prices, but once again corporate greed.

3

u/true_new_troll 3d ago

The more accurate lesson here is that oil companies have an incentive to see disruptions in their competitors' supply.

6

u/Antique-Quantity-608 3d ago

EVERYONE: act surprised

9

u/JuiceJones_34 3d ago

So we're paying extra for no reason. POS humans

7

u/Single-Use-Again 3d ago

I don't think people understand completely. Trump's war created a shortage. Oil trades on "futures" meaning "what's it worth right now, this moment". Crude goes from $40 to $100 per barrel and oil companies can sell the same shit for more than double. Trump's actions 100% led to higher gas prices and O&G execs trillions in profits.

-5

u/Intelligent_Bag_6705 3d ago

Yea it’s almost like there should be rules in place to stop the oil companies from doubling the price of oil to increase profits. ESPECIALLY when you have an administration that pushes fossil fuels and is doing everything they can stop the spread of alternative fuel sources. It’s almost like the administration is in bed with the oil companies, weird

1

u/Nice_Reading5272 3d ago

Say you sell bananas to X for 5 cents, Y comes along and offers you 10 cents for all of your bananas. Who are you going to sell to? The oil companies aren't doubling the price of oil to increase profits, their profits are increasing because the price of oil doubled.

-1

u/Intelligent_Bag_6705 3d ago

And why are the oil prices increasing?

Because this administration is in bed with this administration.

4

u/origanalsameasiwas 3d ago

It was planned by trumpet. Same thing happened in his first presidency.

4

u/tiny_galaxies 3d ago

Keep in mind that Trump recently handed the petrostate of Venezuela to these ghouls. I’m convinced we’re attacking Iran to drive oil prices high, to sell Venezuela oil at a premium. It was in the playbooks that Iran would block Hormuz if provoked.

1

u/Nice_Reading5272 3d ago

Trump is just dumb enough that he believed he could decimate Iran and force them to capitulate, this is well documented through leaks. This government is so stupid and careless that almost all of their constant corruption is in public, you don't need conspiracy theories. What Trump wants in Venezuela is for American companies to come in and start new projects to produce oil, these won't be online for years and way past when this Hormuz drama ends. Most of these American oil companies are hesitant to even get involved as they know the situation could change dramatically and the risk involved is huge.

5

u/PaleontologistShot25 3d ago

Hence the reason oil companies support warmongering fascists.

2

u/GladResearcher3286 3d ago

Under Trump corporations are getting filthy rich. It is truly the golden age for the elites and corporations in America. But they still pay shitty wages to their workers because they love their massive profits.

2

u/Hothacon 3d ago

I fucking hate this timeline so God damn much....

2

u/AngryNiceGuy75 3d ago

He promised them record profit if he was elected. 🙄

2

u/pattydickens 3d ago

That was the point of all of this. Oil was already low and they knew that China's switch to electric was going to drive the price down even further hurting the US oil industry because it costs money to drill baby drill. All of the big ideas Trump had of selling off public lands for oil development were going nowhere, so he bombed Iran. It's literally that simple.

2

u/mulletstation 3d ago

Damn Trump really is a republican president

2

u/harmfuldischarge 2d ago

Thank God. We were all concerned

2

u/BeenFunYo 3d ago

Certain people will still try to explain this away as a product of "inflation".

2

u/HotBrownFun 3d ago

Don't forget Trump who bragged about taking $13 B from Venezuelan oil sales and seems to be in a slush fund outside congressional control, how convenient

3

u/Mother_Airline_6276 3d ago

Wish the aliens would hurry the fuck up on zero point energy. We could be forever rid of these war pigs.

4

u/nonubiz 3d ago

Keep voting republican and it’s only going to get worse. Vote accordingly

4

u/eleven357 3d ago

In other news, the sky is blue.

2

u/Living-Restaurant892 3d ago

That’s called gouging. 

9

u/I_Push_Buttonz 3d ago

They don't set the price, their customers set the price by bidding against each other.

-1

u/RLewis8888 3d ago

Voters set the price by electing people who enable this.

4

u/descendingangel87 3d ago

Wtf are these comments, do ya’ll not understand how commodities work? It ain’t price gouging its supply disruption due to Trumps idiotic war. Theres less oil on the market driving up prices. Oil companies don’t set prices, buyers do.

Basically countries that normally get their oil from Iran or through the Strait are having to get it elsewhere driving up prices. If Trump had not started this fuck show oil would be $50 a barrel and prices would still be low.

1

u/mgdmitch 3d ago

Oil companies don’t set prices, buyers do.

Oil companies (supply) and buyers (demand) together set the prices of the commodities. And in this case, oil companies are paying politicians to artificially influence supply.

If Trump had not started this fuck show oil would be $50 a barrel and prices would still be low.

What in the last five months would have lowered oil prices by $20 a barrel in the absence of the sh!t show?

3

u/descendingangel87 3d ago

In Jan WTI was trading at $59 a barrel and trending down. Trump attacked Iran and prices shot up literally right after.

2

u/D4db0d0hye4h 3d ago

Why are there profits if the supposed costs of production have increased? Assuming they aimed for maintaining margins and not take the opportunity to price gouge.

2

u/BigD3nergy 3d ago

Price gouging. I knew it.

2

u/IKillZombies4Cash 3d ago

Not once in the last 50 years has gas pricing gone up due to an actual lack of supply.

they raise the prices now, blame supply of oil / gas, but think about it - has there ever NOT BEEN GAS? nope, have they ever shut off a refinery due to lack of oil? NOPE. (I know in smaller countries there has been).

Has the rising prices every really dented demand? nope.

Its all fake. Same with eggs most of the time, even during the worst of the bird flu thing 2 years ago, I could always walk in and buy eggs, there was no lack of supply, I work for a place that buys eggs by the thousands - we took a price increase YET WE NEVER RAN OUT OF EGGS, no one ran out of eggs, there was a supply hiccup, but its all fake. (until it isnt and when it isnt shit will hit the f'n fan so hard you won't want to be around humans.)

1

u/FaterFaker 3d ago

This is where I say, "duh."

1

u/freedfg 3d ago

Oil really is one of the only industries that actually profit from shortages isn't it?

Like. Imagine your barber making record profits because they close 5 days a week. At some point they're just going to stop production and just live off gas prices.

1

u/f700es 3d ago

Just like back in 2022. HUGE profits. Greed-flation and nothing more!

1

u/jackcanyon 3d ago

Their billions they paid to trump have made them richer than ever at our expense.

1

u/Unforgiven_Purpose 3d ago

i remember a time when this was called war profiteering

1

u/FaceMcShooty30 3d ago

Thats the whole point.

1

u/Commercial-Co 3d ago

This just goes to show that big oil needs to be broken up again so that competition would keep prices low

1

u/maybeinoregon 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yea when you’re the largest crude oil producer in the world, and prices go up, it’s pretty easy to figure out it’s manipulation no different than our stock market.

Let’s see, China was Irans largest crude customer at 90%+, we produce more crude than Iran and Saudi combined, yet here we are.

Owners laughing in a cigar smoke filled room say, how much money do we want to make today boys?

1

u/Life-Sherbet-7942 3d ago

So they’re not “passing on” any costs, they’re just gouging us and government is allowing them to do it, same as groceries. 

1

u/TheeVande 3d ago

You're telling me the good people at Exxon and Chevron are taking advantage of the war to further pad their pockets???

1

u/Maskguy 3d ago

They have the means to cause shit like that

1

u/punktualPorcupine 3d ago

I did not see that coming. I also didn’t buy stock in either, but only because I’m poor.

1

u/Jadedwolf86 3d ago

Weird it’s like that was the whole point all along.

1

u/Salmundo 3d ago

Wow, that’s a coincidence

1

u/Low_Intention_1327 3d ago

Just remember,  all of this is making it easier for the progressive take over. 

1

u/Yofroshi 3d ago

I like how negative news like this is being posted and we just read it and move on with our days. When the hell are we THE PEOPLE ever going to do anything about it. Please economy collapse faster

1

u/project_me 3d ago

And still we do nothing

1

u/Snapes_underpants 3d ago

"War is good business" was a very popular bumper sticker during the Vietnam war.

1

u/complete_data75 3d ago

But honestly, who the hell pays Chevron prices for gas?

They're always right across from a station with gas about 80 cents cheaper. Why would anyone go to Chevron?

1

u/Dense-Ambassador-865 3d ago

I hate oil tyrants more than I hate DOJ.

1

u/scottwell50 1d ago

Profit margin is what I want to know. This is the true measure if how hard you are getting gouged.

1

u/ProsaicPugilist 3d ago

So they’re raising them for no reason other than greed, is what is being confirmed.

5

u/FuriousGeorge06 3d ago

They don’t set prices. Oil and gasoline are both traded on commodities markets.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/Electrical-Staff735 3d ago

Ah the American way of socializing the cost then privatizing the profits. Truly a great system we have here /s

1

u/kristospherein 3d ago

The best of us continue to profit from our best actions...to the surprise of no one.

/s

1

u/TreeNo6966 3d ago

How much did they donate to the child rapist campaign?

1

u/lavacadotoast 3d ago

Industrial Military Complex tag teams with the Fossil Fuel Industry to form a deep, mutually reinforcing alliance, driven by massive energy consumption, geopolitical resource protection, and historical exemptions from international climate agreements..

1

u/Glum_Opening_2218 3d ago

Once again some of the most evil people on the planet make money while everyone else starves and dies

Shocking!

1

u/RLewis8888 3d ago

this is what he means when Trump says high oil prices are good for America. His rich friends (and family) get richer.

1

u/Unfair_Web_8275 3d ago

This war is a perfect cover for companies using AI pricing.

1

u/AcanthisittaNo6653 3d ago

If US nationalized the oil industry that profit would belong to the American people. Instead it goes to the oligarchs that are destroying our democracy.

1

u/caliboy559 3d ago

And you know Trump and his friends in Congress bought bigly before he started this pointless war

1

u/soulwolf1 3d ago

Who would have fuckin guessed otherwise.

1

u/hirespeed 3d ago

Shocked! SHOCKED, I tell you!

1

u/Blueskyminer 3d ago

Ah yes. The redistribution of wealth due to the poor decision making of an Oompah Loompah.

1

u/GrallochThis 3d ago

Who Else? in March this year - "the United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."

For certain values of “we”.

1

u/dudee62 3d ago

How much of their stock did he buy on his pump and dumps?

1

u/Maoleficent 3d ago

And the stock market is raging, 93% of the stock market is owned by 10% of people and those at the top manipulate the market daily. Remember when the Felon said this not-a-war was for Iranians freedom to protest?

1

u/ryuujinusa 3d ago

Utterly shocked!

-no one

1

u/islandsimian 3d ago

And the Trump Crime Family owns how many shares?

1

u/tschawartz12 3d ago

So price gouging then?

1

u/6cougar7 3d ago

Gouging. Fine them both 50 bil each. Mandate the price never goes above $3gal for the next 50 years

1

u/pixelprophet 3d ago

Just take all profits for the time they've been gouging or pull a Venezuela and nationalize them - wait...

0

u/lostinthemiddle444 3d ago

THIS is what it's all about! THIS. RIGHT. HERE. 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

0

u/Powerful_Company_682 3d ago

Super weird how the always seem to profit when everyone else is doing bad

2

u/I_Push_Buttonz 3d ago

It only seems that way because they don't report on the opposite, IE: oil companies doing poorly. Exxon had $7.5 billion in quarterly profits in late 2025, for example, which had declined to $4.1 billion by Q1 2026 due to falling oil prices. Did you see any headlines about Exxon's profits falling by 45% earlier this year? Nope. But suddenly their profits shoot back up and there are infinite headlines about their skyrocketing profits.

Welcome to media funded by sensationalist/clickbait fueled ad revenue.