Chevron Earnings as Predicted, but Still Disappointing

Chevron Corp. (CVX) reported third-quarter 2013 results before markets opened Friday morning. The oil and gas supermajor posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.57 on revenues of $58.5 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $2.69 on revenues of $55.66 billion. Third-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $2.71 and $58.41 billion in revenues.

Chevron warned in early October that its earnings in the third quarter would be lower sequentially due to "significantly lower" downstream earnings. Refining margins did in fact get the blame today, with U.S. refining earnings down from $456 million in the year-ago quarter to $249 million. For the first nine months of 2013, downstream earnings are off by more than two-thirds. Read more.