Occidental Petroleum stock reaches $10 billion debt milestone

Occidental Petroleum reached a major balance-sheet milestone in the third quarter of 2026, reducing principal debt to 10.0 billion US dollars. In its November 9 earnings release, the Houston-based energy company said it had retired 10.4 billion US dollars of debt since the start of the year.

Occidental Petroleum stock traded at 52.31 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 14:37 CET on Thursday, November 12.

Cash generation supports deleveraging

Operating cash flow from continuing operations reached 4.1 billion US dollars in the quarter. Free cash flow before working capital was 2.8 billion US dollars, while capital expenditures amounted to 1.3 billion US dollars. Occidental identifies the free-cash-flow figure as a non-GAAP measure, so it should be considered alongside the company's reported figures rather than as a replacement for them.

Reported net income attributable to common stockholders was 1.6 billion US dollars, or 1.61 US dollars per diluted share. Adjusted income from continuing operations came to 2.0 billion US dollars, or adjusted diluted earnings of 1.91 US dollars per share. The company said the difference mainly reflected derivatives losses.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Jackson said the stronger balance sheet supports Occidental's plan to add more than 4.0 billion US dollars in annual sustainable cash flow by 2030. That objective gives investors a longer-term framework for assessing whether debt reduction can translate into additional financial flexibility and capital returns.

Production beats guidance midpoint

Global production averaged 1,427 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter, above the midpoint of guidance. Permian and Rockies operations led performance and offset a temporary production curtailment at certain Gulf of America facilities caused by a third-party gas pipeline constraint and maintenance activity.

The operating result came despite weaker realized oil prices. Occidental said average worldwide realized crude prices fell 11 percent from the second quarter to 85.91 US dollars per barrel. Oil and gas pre-tax income consequently declined to 2.6 billion US dollars from 2.8 billion US dollars in the preceding quarter.

Midstream and marketing pre-tax income was 55 million US dollars, down from 1.3 billion US dollars in the previous quarter. Occidental attributed the decline primarily to narrower Waha-to-Gulf Coast gas spreads and lower crude margins related to the timing of crude sales, while stating that adjusted results exceeded the high end of guidance.

Investors will weigh Occidental's progress on debt reduction against commodity-price volatility, lower midstream earnings and the execution risk around its operating and cash-flow targets. The complete third-quarter release is available from MarketScreener.

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