Shares of Chevron Corp. CVX gained 0.3% in premarket trading Friday after the oil and gas giant reported first-quarter profit that rose above expectations, and revenue that declined due to lower commodity prices but still beat forecasts. Net income rose to $6.57 billion, or $3.46 a share, from $6.26 billion, or $3.22 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $3.55 beat the FactSet consensus of $3.40. Total revenue fell 6.6% to $50.79 billion, while sales and other operating revenue declined 6.6% to $48.84 billion to top the FactSet sales consensus of $48.60 billion. Net oil-equivalent production fell 3%, as international production declined with the end of the Erawan concession in Thailand. The company returned $6.6 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $2.9 billion through dividends and $3.75 billion through share repurchases. For the second quarter, the company expects to buy back $4.375 billion worth of its shares. The stock has shed 7.0% year to date through Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has gained 2.1%.
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