Today Chevron has slipped hard, as the drop in oil prices combined with its own ambitious expansion have weighed heavily on its earnings. The company’s stock price has underperformed Exxon and Shell over the past year—during which oil prices fell sharply—after besting its two bigger competitors during the previous five years. Chevron’s stock price, which rose 2.5% on Monday to $85.89, is down 32% for the past year, compared with a 20% drop at Exxon. Chevron’s $571 million profit in the second quarter was just 10% of its haul a year earlier. Had Chevron not booked a gain for selling a stake in an Australian refiner, the company would have posted a quarterly loss for the first time in almost 20 years. Excluding asset sales and noncash impairments, Chevron earned $1.8 billion, or 97 cents a share. Exxon and other oil powerhouses have struggled to tame costs and deliver […]