What CEOs Are Saying: Big Oil's Windfall

Three earnings calls from ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Valero

Quotes of the week

"While we didn't anticipate the current situation, we were prepared for it. In our markets, disruption is inevitable." —Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil

“There’s a huge temptation all around the world to deflect attention to the bad policies that governments have been implementing over time and scapegoat the industry.” —Woods again

Few corners of the economy have escaped the upheaval in the Middle East that has defined 2026, but the oil industry sits closest to it. With the Strait of Hormuz choked off this quarter, roughly 5 million barrels a day of global refining capacity sat idle, split between the Middle East, a Russia under Ukrainian drone strikes, and a China that stopped exporting fuel. Crude swung from $118 a barrel in late April to $72 in late June, while refining margins reached four-year highs.

That combination produced enormous profits for anyone still pumping oil or running a refinery. ExxonMobil, the largest US oil company, earned $14.5 billion…