This morning, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) became the latest of the big oil companies to report disappointing earnings. Shares of the oil company have slid a little over 1% in premarket trading following its third quarter earnings report this morning.The main reason for Chevron's weak earnings can be attributed to weak refining margins during the quarter. This is not the first time we have heard this story. Yesterday, the world's largest oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), also posted weak earnings as a result of tighter refining margins, and last week ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) also fell victim to refining weakness.
For Chevron, the third quarter saw a 26% decline in net income from the same period last year. On a per share basis, the company reported earnings of $1.94, while analysts had been expecting to see the oil giant post earnings of $2.07 per share for its third quarter.
The downstream portion of the company's business had the most dramatic declines, with earnings falling dramatically to $377 million from $1.44 billion.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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