TLDR
- Q1 adjusted earnings per share reached $1.89, surpassing Wall Street’s $1.68 projection
- Company reported net income of $2.18 billion, down from $2.85 billion year-over-year
- Production forecasts now exclude Qatar operations for both Q2 and full-year 2026 amid regional instability
- Annual production forecast reduced to 2.3M–2.33M barrels daily from previous 2.33M–2.36M estimate
- Shares declined approximately 1.8% during premarket hours Thursday following the announcement
ConocoPhillips delivered better-than-expected first-quarter results for 2026, yet investors sent shares lower during premarket trading following the company’s decision to reduce production expectations.
The energy producer reported adjusted earnings of $1.89 per share, easily exceeding the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.68. Reported earnings stood at $1.78 per share.
Quarterly net income totaled $2.18 billion, representing a significant decline from the $2.85 billion recorded during the comparable quarter last year. This decrease stems primarily from weakened natural gas pricing in the Permian Basin alongside diminished production volumes.
The company’s average realized price per barrel of oil equivalent settled at $50.36, marking a 5.6% decline compared to Q1 2025. Daily production averaged 2.31 million barrels of oil-equivalent, representing an 80,000 barrel-per-day reduction versus the previous year.
According to the company, improved cost management helped mitigate some of the earnings pressure.
Qatar Operations Removed From Projections
The most significant development for market participants wasn’t the quarterly results themselves, but rather what the company omitted from forward-looking estimates.
ConocoPhillips removed Qatar completely from both second-quarter and full-year production guidance, pointing to unpredictable conditions related to the continuing Middle East conflict.
Chief Executive Ryan Lance spoke directly about the circumstances. “Our thoughts are with our team, partners and everyone impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he stated.
For the second quarter, management projected output between 2.19 million and 2.22 million barrels of oil-equivalent daily. This represents a notable decrease from the 2.31 million barrels produced in Q1.
Full-year production expectations were trimmed to 2.3 million–2.33 million barrels daily, revised downward from the previous guidance range of 2.33 million–2.36 million barrels daily.
Market Response
Shares of COP declined approximately 1.8% during Thursday’s premarket session, trading near $126.10. This pullback followed a 3.2% advance during the prior trading day.
Oil prices similarly retreated from earlier highs, giving back gains after crude briefly touched a four-year peak.
Through Wednesday’s closing bell, COP had rallied roughly 37% year-to-date before Thursday’s premarket weakness emerged.
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