AP – ExxonMobil’s third-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations, as the oil and gas giant was helped by contributions from Pioneer Natural Resources, a recent acquisition.
Exxon earned USD8.6 billion, or USD1.92 per share, for the three months ended on September 30. A year earlier the Spring, Texas-based company earned USD9.07 billion, or USD2.25 per share.
The performance topped Wall Street’s expectations, though Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were calling for earnings of USD1.91 per share.
Revenue totalled USD90.02 billion, falling short of Wall Street’s estimate of USD93.51 billion.
Exxon’s net production reached 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day during the third quarter, an increase of five per cent compared with the previous quarter.
Oil prices have been falling recently. The long-term expectation is for oil prices to move lower, not higher. That’s because the balance between supply and demand has tilted toward supply, a dynamic that typically deflates oil prices.
Exxon announced in July 2023 that it would pay USD4.9 billion for Denbury Resources, an oil and gas producer that has entered the business of capturing and storing carbon and stands to benefit from changes in United States (US) climate policy. Three months later it said it would spend USD60 billion on shale operator Pioneer Natural Resources. That deal received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission in May.
Exxon said its board approved a four per cent increase in its quarterly dividend, 99 cents per share.
