In 2019, Chevron reported net income of $2.8 billion, $4.0 billion of which was income recognized on investments in affiliate companies accounted for under the equity method. In other words, without the equity income, Chevron would have reported a loss for 2019 of about $ 1.2 billion. In that same year, Chevron received only $1.9 billion in dividends from its affiliates, much less than the $4 billion of reported affiliate income. Some accountants have argued that in cases like this the net income amount reported by the equity method is distorted because the company received much less cash on its investment than the amount of income reported on the income statement.