Two oil giants just posted numbers that look like typos.
Chevron's profit: $12 billion. Up almost 400% from last year.
Exxon's profit: $14.5 billion. More than double last year.
And the reason isn't some genius new strategy.
It's a war.
About 20% of the world's oil passes through that strait.
Iran's war with Israel and the U.S. has turned it into a war zone.
Tankers attacked. Supply chains rattled. The IEA is calling it the largest oil supply disruption in market history.
Crude averaged $92.45 a barrel last quarter — up 27% from the quarter before.
That spike didn't hurt Big Oil.
It made Big Oil rich.
Both companies weren't just pumping more oil.
They were turning it into gasoline and diesel at exactly the moment prices for both went vertical.
Chevron beat estimates. Exxon didn't.
Chevron's CEO Mike Wirth put it bluntly:
"We're kind of firing on all cylinders, which is good, because the world needs it."
Exxon's revenue still crushed forecasts — $116 billion against an expected $97.8 billion.
But its earnings-per-share came in 8 cents short.
Result? Chevron stock ticked up. Exxon stock slipped nearly 2%.
Same war. Same windfall. Different Friday.
By July 30, oil prices had already started sliding — Brent down to around $89, WTI near $83.
Saudi Arabia is now pushing a naval coalition to protect ships from further attacks.
If that calms the Strait of Hormuz, this quarter's blowout numbers may be the peak, not the new normal.
For now though, war has been very, very good for oil.
That's all for now!
