Chevron Corp.’s board declared a 6% increase to its quarterly dividend and a $75 billion buyback of shares a day ahead of its earnings report, the company said on Jan. 26.
Chevron said it would pay a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, an $0.09 per share increase on March 10. The increase puts Chevron on track to make 2023 the 36th consecutive year to increase the annual dividend payout per share.
Chevron’s board also authorized the repurchase of the company’s shares of common stock. The $75 billion authorization — triple its last authorization — takes effect on April 1 and does not have a fixed expiration date. The buyback replaces the company’s previous repurchase authorization of $25 billion from January 2019, which ends on March 31 after the completion of the company’s repurchases in first-quarter 2023.
Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. analyst Matt Murphy said the dividend was in-line with expectations, while the $75 billion buyback “may suggest upside to the high-end of the company’s previously guided $5 billion-$15 billion through-the-cycle range, albeit having been noted as without expiration.”
Murphy wrote in a Jan. 26 report that the company’s prior $25 billion authorization had been open for approximately four years, with the high-end of the company’s prior $5 billion to $15 billion range suggesting a five-year authorization completion.
“We’ll look for further color on the outlook with results tomorrow, with our earnings ($4.51/share vs. Street $4.26/share) and cash flow ($6.31/share vs. Street $6.11/share) projections both slightly ahead of consensus.