Chevron
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 2/3
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $15.08bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 6.6% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.23x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 2/2
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
| Cash conversion | 2.76x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
| Debt to equity | 0.23x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/1
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
| Return on equity | 6.6% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 2/4
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 6.6% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.23x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 2.76x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 2 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 0/1
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
| Net margin | 6.7% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 1/2
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.15x | median 1.25x | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.23x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 0/3
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.15x | 2.00x published | ✗ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 7.70x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 5 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 1/2
| Measure | CVX | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.23x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | 6.7% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Chevron. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 103.2% | whySwings with the commodity price, not the business. |
| Operating cash flow | 37.6% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 76.9% | whyWhat producers set distributions against. Check for variable or special dividends before reading a trend. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 65.6 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 22 / 100 — Strained. ? Peer standing 8/50Direction 4/30Stability 10/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 76.9% |
| 2024-12-31 | 78.4% |
| 2023-12-31 | 57.3% |
| 2022-12-31 | 29.1% |
| 2021-12-31 | 48.2% |
| 2019-12-31 | 67.9% |
16% of the 31 energy here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $6.84 ÷ diluted EPS $6.63
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $12,751m ÷ operating cash flow $33,939m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $12,751m ÷ (operating cash flow $33,939m − capex $17,347m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-24 · accession 0000093410-26-000078
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- ebitda built from net income (no operating income reported)
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: uncovered on earnings, covered on the basis that applies · rated strained · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Chevron files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.