US energy giant Chevron (CVX) outshone its bigger rival ExxonMobil (XOM) in the second quarter, handily beating earnings estimates as the war in Iran sent refinery margins surging. Chevron, the second-largest US energy company by market capitalization, reported adjusted earnings of $6.06 per share, well above consensus estimates of $5.57 per share. The company's earnings marked its largest quarterly net income since 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused energy prices to soar to multiyear highs. "Distillate cracks in both the US and Europe have surged toward record highs — an indication that the shock is increasingly becoming a refining story rather than simply a crude supply story." Results were not so rosy at ExxonMobil, the country's largest energy company by market capitalization, where second quarter adjusted earnings per share were $3.52, falling below analyst estimates of $3.63.