Chevron Shares Jump After Profit Beats Estimates

Chevron Corp. shares rose 2.2% in premarket trade Friday, after the oil major beat first-quarter profit expectations. Chevron said it had net income of $2.7 billion, or $1.41 a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $725 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The net number includes a $600 million gain from the sale of an upstream asset. Revenue rose to $33.4 billion from $23.6 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 86 cents and revenue of $34.9 billion. Chief Executive John Watson said the company is making progress on cutting spending, with operating costs down abut 14% from the year earlier and capex down more than 30%. "Overall net oil-equivalent production in the first quarter increased 3 percent compared to the 2016 full year and we are on track to meet the 4-9 percent growth goal for 2017 before the effect of asset sales," Watson said. Shares are down 10.4% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.