Exxon Mobil Corp reported a third-quarter profit of $9.1 billion on Friday. This is a significant decrease of about 54% compared to the record earnings they had a year ago. However, it’s an improvement from the previous quarter, thanks to the recovery in oil prices.
The largest U.S. oil producer has seen its earnings go up due to the strong prices of crude oil and increased demand for gasoline and diesel following the pandemic. Earlier this month, Wall Street adjusted its expectations for the third quarter, as Exxon mentioned that chemical profits and refining margins were not as strong as anticipated.
Strong financial performance has led to two significant all-stock agreements: one with a competitor in the shale industry, Pioneer Natural Resources, and another with the carbon pipeline operator Denbury. These deals were made while our shares were trading near their highest value ever.
In the third quarter, our profit per share was $2.25. This is in contrast to $4.68 per share during the same quarter last year when oil and gas prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Our impressive results in the most recent quarter were due to the average global oil prices being at $85.92 per barrel, an increase from $77.73 in the second quarter, according to data from LSEG.
The good results were due to the increase in oil and fuel prices, but the chemical business didn’t do as well because of higher costs for raw materials.
We’ve been steadily increasing our cash reserves, which are now up by 10% compared to the second quarter, totaling $33 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells stated, “We’re quite satisfied with our cash balance. It positions us well to have the flexibility we need for the future when the commodity market isn’t as favorable.”
