Executives at major U.S. fossil fuel companies sold approximately $1.4 billion in stock during the first quarter of the year as oil prices surged following the Trump administration’s military escalation against Iran, according to an analysis of insider transaction disclosures conducted by VerityData and reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The increase in share sales coincided with a sharp rise in global crude prices after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28. Iran responded by restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade route for oil and liquefied natural gas. The disruption affected a significant portion of global energy supply flows and contributed to rapid price increases across oil markets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, insider selling activity reached its highest level in more than a decade. “The sales hit a 15-year peak, with nearly six executives selling for every one that bought shares in the first quarter—well over double the usual ratio,” the newspaper reported. Insiders purchased only $29.5 million in shares during the same period, highlighting the imbalance between buying and selling activity across the energy sector.
Executives at companies spanning oil production, refining, natural gas export, and oil field services participated in the transactions. Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth sold approximately $104 million worth of shares between January and March. The sales included a January 5 transaction triggered by a trading plan established in November 2024. According to securities filings cited in the reporting, the sale generated $52.3 million and represented nearly 44 percent of Wirth’s career pretax proceeds from stock sales. An additional $51.6 million in shares were sold in March, including $17.2 million not linked to a trading plan.
ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance sold approximately $54.3 million in shares in March as the company’s stock price approached a near-record high of about $132. Baker Hughes chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli sold about $33 million worth of stock that same month as part of a predetermined trade established in November 2025. Travis Stice, executive chairman of Permian Basin producer Diamondback Energy, sold $18.1 million in shares on March 6, the largest single sale of his career according to VerityData. Cheniere Energy Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin sold $11.8 million worth of stock in late March, marking only his third sale since joining the company in 2014.
VerityData found that insider selling activity reached or surpassed 10-year records at nearly a dozen companies. Some transactions were executed under Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, which allow executives to prearrange stock sales at predetermined times or price thresholds. Such plans are designed to reduce legal exposure to allegations of improper trading because they remove the need for executives to make decisions based on nonpublic information at the time of the transaction.
Still, analysts noted that the pace and scale of selling activity reflected unusual market conditions. VerityData head of research Ben Silverman said the transactions reflected broader expectations regarding the sustainability of elevated stock prices. “It speaks to the opportunistic behavior of everyone involved—it could be opportunistic set months earlier, it could be opportunistic in the moment,” Silverman said.
Market volatility intensified after Iran restricted energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which affects roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas flows. Brent crude prices rose from roughly $60 per barrel prior to the bombing campaign to nearly $120 within weeks, reflecting concerns that regional escalation could disrupt supply chains across multiple producing countries.
The conflict’s economic impact extended beyond energy markets. The climate advocacy organization 350.org estimated that war-related price increases in oil and gas have already cost consumers and businesses between $104.2 billion and $111.6 billion globally. An analysis from Democratic members of the congressional Joint Economic Committee found that Americans spent an additional $8.4 billion on fuel during the first month of the war.
Andreas Sieber, head of political strategy at 350.org, said that elevated prices may persist even if geopolitical tensions ease. “Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens and the ceasefire holds, oil and gas prices will stay above pre-war levels, and consumers will pay,” Sieber said. “Volatility remains high, and supply will stay tight due to infrastructure damage and inventory rebuilding.”
A two-week ceasefire negotiated by Pakistan contributed to a short-term drop in oil prices as traders anticipated a potential stabilization in supply conditions. However, tensions remained high after Israel escalated attacks on Lebanon shortly after the ceasefire announcement. Janet Abou-Elias, a researcher with the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told Common Dreams that Israel’s assault “appeared to be a direct attempt to blow up the ceasefire, and it worked.”
Historical comparisons suggest that conflict-related price spikes have previously coincided with elevated levels of insider stock sales in the fossil fuel sector. In her Heated newsletter, climate journalist Emily Atkin referenced a similar pattern following warnings that Russia would invade Ukraine in 2022. According to an analysis by Friends of the Earth and BailoutWatch cited by Atkin, oil executives sold approximately $99 million worth of shares during the weeks following those warnings.
Atkin wrote that “this isn’t the first time a small group of extraordinarily wealthy oil CEOs used a war to make themselves richer.”
Atkin also described how energy price volatility affects households that rely on fuel for transportation and heating. “When America goes to war, the costs are distributed broadly, onto every American who drives a car or heats a home. The benefits are distributed narrowly, flowing to a small group of men whose compensation is designed to capture exactly this kind of windfall.”
Federal forecasters at the U.S. Energy Information Administration expect Brent crude prices to average approximately $70 per barrel by the end of the year even after accounting for conflict-related price fluctuations. Analysts expect energy markets to remain sensitive to geopolitical developments as supply disruptions continue to influence pricing expectations.
Kevin MacCurdy, director of research at financial-services firm Pickering Energy Partners, said market conditions may continue to fluctuate in response to political developments affecting oil supply. “Oil stocks and oil prices could be down on headlines,” MacCurdy said. “But fundamentally, it is a strong picture looking six months, a year out.”
Silverman said insider selling activity reflected a perception among executives that elevated valuations may not persist indefinitely. “There was a breathlessness to the selling, and the message they sent was to cash in now because the ride won’t last forever.”
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