$1,000,000,000 in profit every day! As consumers paid more for fuel amid US-Iran conflict, here’s who cashed in
You know big oil is taking us for a ride when one of their biggest allies, Donald Trump, is telling them to rein in their profiteering. The numbers explain why. The world’s eight largest listed oil companies amassed nearly $93 billion in profits in just three months—more than $1 billion a day— as the Iran conflict sent energy prices soaring.
The data, collected by The Guardian, suggests the eight oil companies – Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and ExxonMobil – made more than $700,000 of profit every minute over the spring quarter.
The record earnings drew so much scrutiny that President Donald Trump publicly rebuked ExxonMobil and Chevron, saying the biggest US oil companies were “making too much money.”
What sparked the $93 billion windfall?
The sudden surge in profit came after the US-Iran conflict sent shockwaves through global energy markets. As fighting intensified and US President Donald Trump weighed military action against Iran, fears grew that Tehran might retaliate by disrupting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil trade. Owing to this, crude prices went up to $126 per barrel, allowing oil companies to earn far more per barrel they produce and sell.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the height of the Iran conflict, Brent crude briefly surged to around $126 a barrel; however, prices eased later in June as supply concerns subsided.
How the 8 companies profited from the US-Iran conflict
- The biggest oil profits in the spring quarter were raked in by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, which reported a 34% increase in its quarterly net income to more than $33bn
- ExxonMobil reported a profit of $14.5bn, double what it made in the same period a year ago and its highest quarterly profit since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- Chevron reported net income of $12.2bn for the second quarter, a more than fivefold increase on the same period last year.
- Shell reported last week its second-highest quarterly profits ever, with net income jumping to $9.84bn.
- TotalEnergies reported $6.03 billion in adjusted net income for Q2 2026, up about 68% year-on-year
- BP in its results reported a quarterly profit of $5.73bn for the April to June period
- Equinor’s profits climbed to $3.2bn in the same period, up from $1.8bn in the spring quarter last year.
- Eni reported $2.16 billion (€1.85 billion) in adjusted net profit for the April–June quarter
Big Oil thanks Trump for the industry’s profit windfall
However, the oil industry continues to defend its profits. Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, speaking to Bloomberg Television, said that oil companies do not control prices and argued that strong profits are needed to fund future investments.
“This industry is a price taker, not a price maker,” Sommers said. “Because the Strait of Hormuz has been shut down for basically five months, we are, of course, going to be dealing with higher prices at the pump.”
During the interview, however, he credited Trump with creating conditions that boosted the sector.
