ConocoPhillips Q2 2026 Earnings: Profit Jumps on Higher Oil Prices as CEO Ryan Lance Retires
ConocoPhillips topped profit and revenue estimates for Q2 2026 as oil prices jumped, record Permian output continued, and the company named a new CEO.
| Q2 2026 | Reported | Expected | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | $3.24 | $2.91 | +11.3% |
| Revenue | $19.52B | $18.98B | +2.8% |
Key takeaways
- The earnings beat was driven mainly by much higher oil prices, not by pumping more barrels: ConocoPhillips’ average realized price per barrel of oil equivalent jumped about 36%, to $62.33 from $45.77 a year earlier.
- Production came in above the top end of the company’s own guidance range, at 2.248 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with the Permian Basin (West Texas/New Mexico shale) setting a company record above 900,000 barrels per day.
- The company generated $4.2 billion in free cash flow (cash left over after running the business and funding drilling) and returned $3.0 billion to shareholders — $2.0 billion in stock buybacks and $1.0 billion in dividends — in line with its policy of returning 45% of operating cash flow to investors.
- Management raised full-year 2026 production guidance to 2.295–2.325 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and set third-quarter guidance at 2.29–2.32 million, signaling confidence the higher output pace will continue.
- The trailing-year profit margins in the data table (net margin near 12.6%, return on equity near 11.3%) reflect a full year that included weaker-price quarters; the sharp swing from a 25% year-over-year drop in trailing EPS to this quarter’s beat illustrates how quickly oil-and-gas profits move with crude prices rather than with any change in the company’s underlying operations.
- ConocoPhillips announced a leadership transition alongside earnings: longtime CEO Ryan Lance will retire on September 1 after 14 years in the role and move into an executive chairman position, with CFO Andy O’Brien stepping up to CEO and Konnie Haynes-Welsh named the new CFO.
- Coverage noted the results and outlook were strong enough to lift the stock in the immediate reaction, as both profit and revenue cleared Wall Street estimates for the quarter.
Q2 2026 in context
| Metric | Jun 2026 | Jun 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $18.1B | $12.6B | +43.3% |
| Net income | $3.9B | $2.0B | +99.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $3.23 | $1.56 | +107.1% |
| Gross margin | 62.9% | 59.7% | +3.2 pts |
| Net margin | 21.7% | 15.6% | +6.1 pts |
Figures for the quarter ended Jun 2026 and the quarter ended Jun 2025, as reported to the SEC.
How the stock took it
ConocoPhillips closed at $115.04 on Aug 5, 2026, the last session before the report, and at $117.61 on Aug 7, 2026, the first session after it — +2.2% across the report.
| Earlier report | Close before | Close after | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2026 | $128.25 | $123.19 | -4.0% |
| Nov 6, 2025 | $87.70 | $86.83 | -1.0% |
Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.
Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 44.1% | Trailing 12 months |
| Operating margin | 19.2% | Trailing 12 months |
| Net profit margin | 12.6% | Trailing 12 months |
| Pretax margin | 19.9% | Trailing 12 months |
| EPS | $5.90 | Trailing 12 months |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 1.4% | Trailing 12 months |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -25.3% | Trailing 12 months |
| Return on equity | 11.3% | Trailing 12 months |
Sources: company report · Bloomberg · LevelFields