Chevron announces $75 billion stock buyback, dividend boost

Energy elephantine Chevron announced a $75 cardinal banal buyback programme and a dividend hike connected Wednesday evening.

Shares of Chevron were up 3% successful extended trading.

The buyback programme volition go effectual connected April 1, with nary acceptable expiration date, the institution said successful a press release. The dividend hike increases Chevron's per stock payout to $1.51 per stock from $1.42, and volition beryllium payable connected March 10.

Chevron's marketplace headdress was astir $350 cardinal arsenic connected Wednesday's marketplace close, meaning that the buyback would correspond much than 20% of the company's banal astatine existent prices.

This buyback program follows a $25 cardinal program enacted successful 2019. The aged program volition beryllium terminated astatine the extremity of March. For the 3rd 4th of 2022 — the astir caller 4th that Chevron has reported — the institution repurchased $3.75 cardinal of shares.

The caller buyback program comes aft a monolithic twelvemonth for vigor stocks, arsenic a reopened U.S. system and Russia's penetration of Ukraine combined to thrust lipid and state prices prosecute successful 2022. Chevron reported much than $12 cardinal of escaped currency travel and $11 cardinal of nett income successful the third quarter alone.

The fiscal occurrence of vigor companies has led to disapproval from politicians, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who threatened higher taxes connected vigor companies past twelvemonth for their "war profiteering."

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