** Chevron CVX.N said on Wednesday it expects to boost free cash flow $(FCF)$ by more than 10% annually through 2030 and ramp up oil and gas production while cutting costs and capital spending** The new guidance, unveiled at Chevron’s investor day, caps efforts by the U.S. oil major to streamline operations after a restructuring earlier this year that included layoffs of up to 20% of its workforce

NOT A REVOLUTION

** RBC Capital Markets ("outperform," PT: $175) says, for a company that has been consistent in its strategic approach, it should be no surprise that the investor day was "straight down the fairway," with tweaks to the plan rather than wholesale changes ** Sees CVX moving to a period of structurally reducing capital intensity and lowering execution risk, which sets the FCF growth story up well

** J.P.Morgan says that "while the overall numbers were better than our expectations, we suspect investors would have liked to see a bit more detail on how the 'sausage is made' in terms of the annual build-out of their key operating and financial metrics by year from 2026-30"

** Piper Sandler ("overweight," PT: $168) says CVX's outlook feels very achievable, if not outright conservative, partially for the degree to which it is already de-risked

** Evercore ISI ("outperform," PT: $180) says they "come away with a sense this is a more upstream focused portfolio that is executing very well with a clear sense of priorities and trajectory"

(Reporting by Joel Jose in Bengaluru)

((joeljose@thomsonreuters.com))