Chevron Vs. Exxon: Oil Giants Limp Into Q1 Earnings With Engines Stalling

Chevron Corp CVX and Exxon Mobil Corp XOM are gearing up to report first-quarter earnings on Friday morning – and let's just say neither has been lighting up the charts lately.

With both stocks stuck in the red this year and crude oil prices trading sideways, investors are wondering: is this just a detour, or are we watching a slow-motion stall?

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Chevron enters the earnings ring bruised – down nearly 20% in just a month and down 7.46% year to date. Wall Street expects earnings per share of $2.18 on revenue of $48.09 billion. But the technicals are less than inspiring: CVX stock trades below its eight, 20, 50 and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs), and at $135.77, it's flashing a series of bearish signals.

Moreover, the 50-day SMA has just crossed below the 200-day SMA, making the dreaded Death Cross – validating the overall bearish setup.

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Exxon Mobil isn't exactly doing cartwheels, either. Shares are down over 11% this month and 1.58% year to date. Analysts are penciling in EPS of $1.70 on a much beefier $86.09 billion in revenue. But just like its rival, XOM stock is trading below every major moving average – eight-day, 20-day, 50-day and 200-day – putting it squarely in the "strongly bearish" camp.

Both companies are facing earnings pressure due to crude oil volatility, questions about global demand, and green-energy headwinds in the backdrop. But one key difference? Exxon's revenue base is nearly double Chevron's for the quarter, meaning it has more room to absorb macro pressure – or disappoint spectacularly.

With both giants fighting technical gravity and no near-term catalyst in sight, Friday's earnings aren't just about profit – they're about direction. Can either name buck the trend and give investors a reason to come off the sidelines? Or will they both get drilled?

Either way, the market's about to find out which of Big Oil's two biggest names still has gas in the tank.

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