Chevron Profits Nearly Triple to $9.9 Billion

Chevron's third-quarter profit nearly tripled to $9.9 billion, with its refineries doing much of the heavy lifting despite processing just 3% more crude than a year earlier. The company reported earnings of $5.06 per share Friday, up from $1.82 a year ago. Adjusted earnings reached $10.4 billion, or $5.28 per share, comfortably beating Wall Street's estimate of $4.89. Chevron's downstream operations earned $4.93 billion, more than four times the $1.14 billion reported a year earlier. U.S. refining profits were particularly impressive, jumping to…