Big Oil Boasts About Iran War Windfall While Working Families Struggle to Fill Up Their Tanks

Big Oil Boasts About Iran War Windfall While Working Families Struggle to Fill Up Their Tanks

As Trump’s war in Iran drives up gas, grocery, and travel prices for Americans, oil executives are celebrating the $23 billion in windfall profits created by the crisis

As President Trump’s war with Iran strains working family budgets, Groundwork Collaborative today released a new analysis exposing how major oil companies are exploiting the crisis to boost profits, reward shareholders, and keep prices high.

Oil prices have surged above $100 per barrel, helping the world’s largest oil and gas companies rake in an estimated $23 billion in excess profits during the first month of the war. Gas prices have climbed to roughly $4.50 per gallon, inflation rose to 3.8% in April, and wholesale prices jumped 6% as higher fuel and transportation costs ripple throughout the economy. Airfare prices also rose nearly 3% in April alone and more than 20% over the past year as jet fuel prices surged.

Yet instead of investing to increase supply or lower prices for consumers, oil executives are boasting to investors about how much money they can make from the instability.

Lindsay Owens, Executive Director of Groundwork Collaborative, reacted to Big Oil’s war profiteering, saying:

“While consumers struggle, Big Oil celebrates. These companies want Americans to believe price spikes are simply the unavoidable result of global events, but their own executives are openly telling investors that volatility, conflict, and supply disruptions are good for business. They are choosing buybacks over production, shareholder payouts over affordability, and corporate profiteering over the economic security of working families.”

On Q1 2026 Earnings Calls, Executives Openly Celebrate War-Driven “Volatility”

• “I think our operational performance, in particular in times of volatility, leveraging our trading, does mean that we are able to create real value and drive cash at times like this, which is something which I think we can do better than, I would argue, anyone else.” — Wael Sawan, CEO, Shell
• “I was very happy that we had established that capability, and it was in place in March when all this broke out.” — Darren Woods, CEO, ExxonMobil
• “We’ve really encouraged the organization to keep on keeping on in that space.” — Darren Woods, CEO, ExxonMobil, referring to trading operations profiting off oil volatility.
• One Morgan Stanley analyst even asked executives at BP whether the company was “becoming a trading company with assets” rather than “an asset company with some trading” as profits tied to supply disruptions surged.

Oil Giants Prioritize Shareholders, Not Production While Consumers Get Squeezed

• ExxonMobil reported $8.8 billion in adjusted first quarter profits and is on pace for $20 billion in stock buybacks this year. CEO Darren Woods said the company’s strategy would remain “grounded in value, not volume.”
• Shell earned $6.9 billion in quarterly profits, more than double the previous quarter, while continuing massive dividend payouts and buybacks. CEO Wael Sawan said the company’s commitment to returning 40% to 50% of cash flow to shareholders is “sacrosanct.”
• Chevron said growing the dividend remains its “first and foremost” priority, continuing its 39-year streak of dividend increases alongside approximately $3 billion in quarterly buybacks.

Working Families Bear the Costs

• Gas prices have surged to roughly $4.50 per gallon, with lower-income households increasing fuel spending by more than 12%.
• Inflation climbed to 3.8% in April while wholesale prices jumped 6%, driven heavily by energy and transportation costs.
• Airfare rose nearly 3% in April alone and more than 20% over the past year because of soaring jet fuel prices.