By Mackenzie Tatananni and Alex Kozul-Wright
Occidental Petroleum stock surged Thursday after the energy giant posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped expectations. But those numbers weren't the only things lifting the shares.
Occidental posted its latest earnings after the bell Wednesday. Gains continued into Thursday as the stock climbed 7.9% to $50.84, putting it on track for the highest close since Feb. 20, 2025, and the largest single-day percentage increase since an 11% jump last April.
Peer stocks were also rising, albeit by a smaller amount, as ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran drove oil prices higher. ConocoPhillips gained 1.1% while Chevron and Exxon were up 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
Although the company logged lower revenue in its latest quarter, Occidental's 2026 guidance appeared to give shares a lift. The company said it expects capital expenditure in the range of $5.5 and $5.9 billion. Wall Street was looking for capex of $6.4 billion.
TD Cowen analyst Robert Hodges noted Thursday that the guidance was "the standout," implying operational expenditure savings as well as "a significant reduction to capex towards $5.7 billion, which is over 10% below consensus."
The reduction was driven largely by savings from efficiency gains, lower activity in U.S. unconventional oil and lower exploration spend, he added.
Fourth-quarter results were otherwise mixed. Occidental posted adjusted earnings of 31 cents a share, which blew past the 17 cents analysts had anticipated. However, revenue fell to $5.11 billion in the quarter from $5.64 billion last year, missing the $5.55 billion Wall Street had forecast.
Although revenue increased for the company's midstream and marketing division, Occidental's oil and gas segment, which accounts for the bulk of revenue, brought in $4.81 billion -- down from $5.62 billion last year.
Separately, Occidental boosted its quarterly dividend by more than 8% to 26 cents a share, payable April 15, to stockholders of record as of March 10. The company noted that its quarterly dividend per share "has doubled in the last four years."
The oil and gas producer has enjoyed a strong start to the year. Counting Thursday's gains, shares have risen more than 24% in 2026. The main U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, has rallied 15% over the same period.
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com and Alex Kozul-Wright at alexander.kozul-wright@barrons.com
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February 19, 2026 12:40 ET (17:40 GMT)
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