Quick Read – XOM beat Q1 EPS by 15% and CVX by 45%, but Chevron’s free cash flow turned negative $1.55 billion amid Israeli field curtailments. – Exxon’s $20 billion buyback and 47% one-year return make it the stronger Iran-war trade over Chevron’s income-focused 39-year…
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Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) both reported Q1 2026 results on May 1, 2026, right as the war with Iran reshaped global crude flows. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and Brent recently near $90 per barrel, the two American majors are running the same playbook with very different exposure maps. How the Quarter Landed for Each Business Exxon posted adjusted EPS of $1.16 versus $1.01 expected on revenue of $85.14 billion, a solid beat despite $706 million in direct Middle East losses and a $3.88 billion mark-to-market drag on unsettled derivatives.
Upstream volumes hit 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, and CEO Darren Woods framed the quarter bluntly: “Events in the Middle East tested that strength with the safety of our people remaining our top priority.” Chevron’s beat was larger but messier. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.41 versus $0.97 expected, though revenue of $47.56 billion missed by 9.76% and free cash flow flipped to negative $1.55 billion. Curtailments hit its Tamar and Leviathan operations in Israel, and Mike Wirth leaned on the Hess integration and record U.S. throughput to carry the story.