Key Points:
- ConocoPhillips earnings report: Q3 revenue $15.5B, EPS $1.61.
- Production Rises: 2.399M barrels/day.
- Costs Pressure Earnings: Lower prices, higher expenses; 2026 costs expected to be lower.
ConocoPhillips reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.61, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.40 but falling from $1.78 a year earlier. The company’s revenue rose to $15.5 billion from $13.6 billion in the prior-year period, also beating projections of $14.6 billion.
The Houston-based energy producer attributed the stronger-than-expected results in its ConocoPhillips earnings report to higher oil-equivalent production volumes. However, lower realized prices and higher expenses offset some of the gains.
Production volumes increase
Total production averaged 2.399 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/D), up from 1.917 million a year earlier. The figure surpassed expectations of 2.343 million MBOE/D. Crude oil accounted for 47.8% of the total output.
Production increases were primarily driven by stronger volumes from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. Crude oil production rose to 1.146 million barrels per day from 957,000 a year ago. Natural gas liquids production reached 436,000 barrels per day, compared with 310,000 in the prior-year period.
Bitumen output totaled 123,000 barrels per day, up from 87,000, while natural gas production increased to 4.167 billion cubic feet per day from 3.381 billion cubic feet, as detailed in the ConocoPhillips earnings report.
Prices, costs impact earnings
Despite the rise in output, average realized oil-equivalent prices fell to $46.44 per barrel from $54.18 in the same quarter last year. The average crude oil price dropped to $66.13 per barrel from $76.77. Natural gas averaged $4.28 per thousand cubic feet, slightly down from $4.42, and natural gas liquids prices declined to $19.20 per barrel from $21.93.
Expenses climbed to $12.6 billion from $10.4 billion in the prior-year quarter, exceeding expectations of $11.5 billion. The cost of purchased commodities rose to $5.9 billion from $4.8 billion. Exploration costs were slightly higher at $71 million, compared with $70 million a year earlier, according to the ConocoPhillips earnings report.
As of Sept. 30, ConocoPhillips held $5.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The company reported total long-term debt of $22.5 billion and short-term debt of $1.02 billion. Capital spending and investments for the quarter totaled $2.87 billion, while net cash from operating activities reached $5.9 billion.
Outlook for next quarter
For the fourth quarter of 2025, ConocoPhillips expects production between 2.30 and 2.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company maintained its full-year production forecast at about 2.375 million MBOE/D, higher than its earlier range of 2.35 to 2.37 million.
ConocoPhillips also lowered its full-year adjusted operating cost guidance to $10.6 billion, down from the previous range of $10.7 to $10.9 billion.
Looking ahead to 2026, the company anticipates capital expenditures of about $12 billion, roughly $0.5 billion lower than the midpoint of its 2025 guidance. Adjusted operating costs are projected to decrease to $10.2 billion, while underlying production is expected to remain flat or rise by up to 2%.
The company, one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas producers, continues to focus on managing expenses and maintaining production growth amid fluctuating energy prices and evolving market conditions, according to the ConocoPhillips earnings report.
Visit more of our news! Oil Gas Energy Magazine
