Passive Income Play: Own This Many Chevron Shares for $1,000 a Year

Passive Income Play: Own This Many Chevron Shares for $1,000 a Year

Courtney Carlsen, The Motley Fool

Sat, August 1, 2026 at 5:35 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• CVX +2.35%
• NVDA +2.93%

If you're looking to generate passive income from your investment portfolio, dividend stocks can do a lot of the heavy lifting. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has an extended history of rewarding income investors with dependable cash payments, even while operating in the often unpredictable oil and gas market.

With its stock yielding 3.67%, generating about $1,000 a year in passive income would require roughly 144 shares, or an investment of about $27,248. Here's what makes Chevron worth adding to an income investor's portfolio.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Chevron's track record of growing dividend payouts is stellar

Chevron has increased its payout for 39 straight years, providing shareholders with rising income through recessions, oil downturns, and other challenging market conditions.

That durability comes from a business built to handle volatility. Chevron operates across the energy value chain, from exploration and production to refining and marketing. For investors, that balance can help soften the blow when crude prices fall, because downstream operations may support earnings when upstream profits come under pressure.

Chevron also makes shareholder returns a clear priority. The energy company has recorded 16 consecutive quarters of returning more than $5 billion to investors, including $3.5 billion in dividends in the first quarter of this year. Its disciplined spending and focus on low-cost, high-margin assets in places like the Permian Basin and the Gulf of Mexico help support its stable business model.

Chevron has strengthened its balance sheet and, in 2025, acquired Hess Corp. in an all-stock deal. The deal gave it a 30% stake in Guyana's offshore Stabroek Block, which offers some of the highest cash margins in the industry.

A stable dividend payer that benefits from elevated oil prices

Chevron's disciplined approach enables it to generate enough free cash flow to cover capital spending and dividends even if Brent crude falls below $50 per barrel. Meanwhile, higher oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in Iran directly increase free cash flow, helping fund dividend growth and share buybacks. For income investors, higher oil prices provide upside for this already reliable dividend-paying stock.

Should you buy stock in Chevron right now?

Before you buy stock in Chevron, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Chevron wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $386,727!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,232,139!*

That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2026.

Courtney Carlsen has positions in Chevron. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Passive Income Play: Own This Many Chevron Shares for $1,000 a Year was originally published by The Motley Fool