Chevron beats quarterly profit estimates, raises dividend

Investing.com -- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has posted fourth-quarter income that topped average analyst estimates due to a spike in production, leading the energy supermajor to bump up its quarterly dividend.

Worldwide and U.S. net oil-equivalent production jumped by 12% during the three months ended on Dec. 31. Annually, output surged by 4%, with a key portion of this stemming from the key Permian Basin. This stretch of land between Texas and New Mexico has become a focal point of a U.S. production increase throughout 2023.

Chevron has also bolstered its shale oil and gas holdings through the acquisitions of U.S. rivals PDC Energy (NASDAQ:PDCE) and Noble Energy (NASDAQ:NBL). It has signed an agreement to purchase Hess (NYSE:HES) and buy a stake in peer ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM)'s crucial oil discovery in Guyana as well.

The strategy has helped to mitigate the impact of a drop in oil prices from the soaring heights reached in 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This decline has tempered the record profits booked by oil companies that year.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.45 in the fourth quarter, slipping from $4.09 versus the year-ago period, but above Bloomberg consensus estimates of $3.22. Annually, net income of $21.37 billion was the largest since 2013 despite dropping from $35.5 billion in 2022.

Meanwhile, California-based Chevron raised its quarterly dividend by 8% to $1.63 per share.