Exxon Mobil on Friday reported first-quarter earnings that missed expectations as the industry came under pressure from eroding refining margins and collapsing natural gas prices.
Exxon’s stock was down less than 1% in early trading.
Here is what Exxon reported for the first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: $2.06 vs. $2.20 expected Revenue: $83.08 billion vs. $78.35 billion expected.
Natural gas prices have plummeted 37% this year, and refining margins are lower than they were a year ago.
Revenue beat expectations, coming in at $83.08 billion, but was lower than a year ago, when the company reported $86.56 billion.
Exxon’s fuel business saw earnings plummet 67% to $1.38 billion, compared with $4.18 billion in the prior year, due to refining margins coming down from last year’s highs.
The company’s chemical products segment saw profits more than double to $785 million compared with $371 million in the same quarter last year.
Chevron said Friday that it expects the Hess deal to close in 2024.
The industry was under pressure from declining refining margins and plunging natural gas prices when Exxon Mobil released first-quarter earnings on Friday that fell short of analysts’ projections.
In early trading, Exxon’s stock had a decrease of less than 1%.
Based on an LSEG survey of analysts, here is how Exxon’s first-quarter results compared to what Wall Street was expecting:.
$2.06 in earnings per share as compared to. $2 point twenty is anticipated.
Revenue: 83.08 billion USD in comparison. Expected to be $78.35 billion.
The biggest oil company in the country reported net income of $8.22 billion, or $2.06 per share, down 28% from $11.43 billion, or $2.79 per share, earned during the same period last year.
Although the price of oil has increased by more than 16 percent this year and the price of gasoline futures has increased by nearly 32 percent, Exxon’s profit has not significantly increased as a result of challenges facing the industry as a whole. Refining margins are lower than they were a year ago, and natural gas prices have fallen by 37 percent this year. This quarter Chevron had similar problems.
While revenue was less than a year ago, when the company reported $86.56 billion, it still exceeded expectations, coming in at $83.08 billion.
Due to declining refining margins from previous year’s highs, Exxon’s fuel division saw a 67 percent decline in earnings to $1.38 billion from $4.18 billion.
Profits for the company’s chemical products division more than doubled to $785 million from $371 million in the same quarter previous year.
Chevron and Exxon are at odds right now over Chevron’s planned acquisition of Hess Corp. Under the terms of a joint operating agreement, Exxon has sued Chevron in arbitration to defend its rights to Hess’s assets in Guyana.
It is expected that the Hess deal will close in 2024, Chevron stated on Friday.
