Chevron earnings, revenue beat expectations

Technicians prepare oil drilling equipment to be used at Vaca Muerta Shale oil reservoir in Loma Campana. YPF has an agreement with US Chevron to exploit Vaca Muerta.

Juan Mabromata | AFP | Getty Images

Chevron reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations on Friday.

Shares of the oil giant moved higher in premarket trading following the announcement. (Get the latest quote here.)

The second-largest American oil company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.85 per share. Revenue came in at $46.09 billion.

Wall Street had expected Chevron to report earnings of $1.63 per share on $30.65 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

The stock has slipped about 11 percent in the last year, compared to an approximately 10 percent gain for the entire Dow. The energy producer has suffered through a roughly 50 percent drop in global oil prices during that span.

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Chevron made a flurry of moves leading up to its fourth-quarter results. It announced on Wednesday that 3M CEO Inge Thulin has joined its board of directors.

"Mr. Thulin's well-established business leadership and his extensive international experience will be an asset to the board," Chevron CEO John Watson said.

The oil giant, along with BP, will start exploring 24 offshore lease sites in the Gulf of Mexico for potential development, it also announced on Wednesday. Chevron said it will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.07 per share in March.

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