Today, the Groundwork Collaborative released new research showing oil and gas executives bragging on corporate earnings calls about their record-shattering profits. Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, responded with the following statement: 

“The data is in. As Americans hit their breaking point with high prices at the pump, Big Oil CEOs are using the crisis in Ukraine to bring in eye-popping profits. Exxon brought in $2,245 a second in the second quarter – that’s not a strong quarter, it’s a one-way racket.”

View our new report here and visit endcorporateprofiteering.org for the latest findings from Q2 corporate earnings calls. 

Highlights from Big Oil’s second quarter earnings calls: 

Hess Corporation 

• On their earnings calls, Hess executives said they planned to exploit high oil prices “to increase the return of capital to our shareholders through further dividend increases and share repurchases.” 
• Hess Corporation’s CFO said that despite inflation and supply problems increasing costs, “with the higher oil prices, obviously, we’re getting much higher returns in cash flow.” 

Shell 

• Shell executives admitted that high prices weren’t simply because of the war or inflation: “while indeed the war is a driver of a lot of the pricing that we are seeing,” their profits were not merely a “windfall because there happens to be a war on the continent here.” 
• Shell’s CEO said the company’s earnings were up 65% from the last time the average price of oil was $108 and “this quarter our cash distributions were the highest ever.” 
• Shell’s CEO said the company had 21% less production than in 2013 but had almost doubled what it made per barrel: “…yes, energy prices are very high today, but they have been so before. And the real difference is that today we are performing much better in a similar price environment…So we are increasing our shareholder distributions at a $6 billion share buyback program for the next quarter.” 

Chevron

• Chevron emphasized it was not seeking to increase production significantly, but was “focused on generating returns.”
• Chevron downplayed inflation and recession costs, saying the company was focused on “more free cash flow for shareholders.”
• Chevron told analysts it plans to increase stock buybacks to $15 billion per year. 

Phillips 66

• Phillips 66 said that supply constraints were “supporting elevated refining margins,” leading to earnings over $3 billion.
• A Phillips 66 executive said their refining income was $3.1 billion, “up from $140 million in the first quarter” and said, “Realized margins increased by 168% to $28.31 per barrel.”