Donald Trump said ExxonMobil and Chevron made too much money during the Iran war and should return part of their combined $26.5 billion second quarter profit to drivers.
Key Points:
- Chevron earned $12 billion in the second quarter, up from $2.5 billion a year earlier, while ExxonMobil posted $14.5 billion.
- The president urged both companies to cut retail gasoline prices, which averaged about $4.10 a gallon nationwide on Monday.
- US crude has climbed roughly 20% since the Feb. 28 strikes on Iran choked tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump Attacks Chevron And ExxonMobil Profits
The president spoke to reporters at the White House on Monday while signing an executive order, and he named both oil majors directly. He said the companies are making too much money based on a shortage, and he told the room plainly that he did not like it.
Trump then added that he should be the last person complaining, since he calls himself a defender of free enterprise.
Chevron reported $12 billion in second quarter earnings on Friday, against $2.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, its strongest three months in at least six years. ExxonMobil roughly doubled its profit to $14.5 billion from $7.1 billion, and both companies steered the cash toward paying down debt rather than buying back stock.
Trump pressed the two to hand some of that money back to the public and to cut the retail price at the pump, and he said plainly that the earnings did not sit well with him.
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Oil Stocks Slip As Poll Numbers Sour
Chevron stock slipped nearly 2% after the remarks and ExxonMobil edged lower, though both had already been sliding earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5.34% on Monday to $80.15 a barrel as traders weighed the odds of talks between Washington and Tehran.
Gasoline averaged about $4.10 a gallon nationwide on Monday, close to 40% above the $2.98 drivers paid on Feb. 27, one day before the fighting began. Quinnipiac University polling released last week showed 54% of voters blame Trump a lot for the increase, while another 19% blame him some. Separate polling found 74% of respondents doubt the president has a clear plan for the conflict, up from 67% in March.
The complaint fits a pattern, since Trump said last month that he had ordered the Justice Department to examine oil companies for gouging consumers, though he stopped short of naming any of them.
Crude Prices Since The Feb. 28 Strikes
US crude has gained about 20% since American and Israeli forces struck Iran on Feb. 28, and Tehran answered by choking exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Futures closed near $92 a barrel on average from April through June, roughly 27% above the first quarter average. Stocks in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell again last week to 304.8 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983.
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