As drivers across the country grimace at gas prices, the U.S.’s leading oil companies posted huge profits.
The nation’s top 50 oil companies have combined for more than $130 billion in profit since the start of the war, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
Chevron and ExxonMobil alone combined for more than $25 billion in earnings from July to August, the companies announced in Thursday statements.
“The higher fuel prices clearly put real pressure on families and businesses, and the most meaningful response that we can make to higher global commodity prices is to pull every lever available to us to increase supply,” Exxon CFO Neil Hansen told The Wall Street Journal Thursday.
Since the start of the Iran war, U.S. drivers have paid a staggering $147.7 billion extra for fuel as of Friday morning, according to Brown University’s Iran war energy cost tracker. Consumers have paid $81.5 billion extra for gas, and $66.2 billion extra for diesel.
Brown University estimates that the average U.S. household has paid $1,127.65 more for gas during the war than in the same period in 2025.
A gallon of gas was priced at $4.20 Friday, marking the third straight month that the average price has stayed above $4, according to motor club AAA.
There have been more days with average gas prices above $4 in 2026 than any other year on record, Patrick De Haan, head petroleum analyst at price-tracking site GasBuddy, posted on X earlier this month.
Gas prices soared after President Donald Trump started the Iran war on February 28. Oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on Iran’s southern coast- which provides 20 percent of the world’s oil supply - came to a near standstill, causing the world’s oil supply to shrink.
Consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated with how the Trump administration has handled gas prices.
Roughly 76 percent of voters disapprove of how Trump has handled gas prices, according to a survey of 1,004 U.S. voters published Tuesday by pollster Navigator.
That could have disastrous consequences for the Republican Party in next week’s midterm elections. Voters have viewed Democrats more favorably since the start of the war, in part, because of soaring gas prices.
“Strong majorities disapprove of Trump’s handling of everyday costs, and Democrats are viewed more favorably than their Republican counterparts - a lead since the beginning of the Iran war,” the survey said.
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