Chevron Beats Street 3Q Forecasts

Chevron reported better-than-expected profits for the third quarter thanks to higher oil and gas prices.

The oil company posted net income of $1.95 billion, compared with last quarter's $1.28 billion. Included in the latest quarter was a gain on an asset sale of $675 million and an asset write-off of $220 million.

The San Ramon, California-based company said Friday it earned $1.03 per share, compared to 68 cents per share for the same period last year.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations, which typically strip out the impact of one-time items. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 99 cents per share.

The oil company posted revenue of $36.21 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $33.67 billion. Chevron reported revenue of $30.1 billion in the same quarter last year.

Chevron Corp. shares fell about 3.5 percent in early trading. The company's shares have risen more than 14 percent in the past 12 months, but are down 3 percent since the beginning of the year.