ExxonMobil posts another record profit as oil prices remain high

America’s largest oil company ExxonMobil set a profit record for the second-straight quarter as oil and gas prices remained high. No. 2 US oil company Chevron also posted much-better-than-expected results.

ExxonMobil earned $18.7 billion, excluding special items, up 6% from the second quarter results which had been the record and up 177% from a year ago. Earnings per share of $4.45 soared past the $3.79 forecast by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Chevron (CVX), the nation’s second largest oil company, also reported a huge jump in income that easily topped forecasts. Adjusted earnings of $10.8 billion were nearly double the $5.7 billion it made a year ago. But it was slightly lower than the $11.4 billion it earned on that basis in the second quarter. Earnings per share of $5.56 easily topped the forecast of $4.81.

The oil companies have been posting staggering profits since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gasoline prices soaring worldwide early this year. Over the course of six months from April through September, ExxonMobil has had an adjusted profit of about $2,300 a second, while Chevron earned $1,400 a second.