Exxon Mobil reported a 49% decline in third-quarter earnings on lower oil prices and higher costs. The results, however, did slightly top Wall Street expectations and the shares were a bit higher in early trading.
Exxon earned $3.2 billion in the third quarter, down from $6.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
Here’s how the energy giant’s results fared relative to Wall Street expectations:
- Adjusted earnings: 75 cents per share vs. 67 cents expected by Refinitiv
- Revenue: $65.05 billion vs. $64.79 billion expected expected by Refinitiv
- Upstream income: $2.17 billion vs. $2.36 billion expected from FactSet estimates.
- Downstream income: $1.23 billion vs. $1 billion expected from FactSet estimates.
- Chemicals income: $241 million vs. $223.6 million expected from FactSet estimates.
For the year, Exxon stock is down 1% through Thursday’s close, lagging both the S&P 500 and the energy sector. The S&P 500 is up 21% in 2019 while the energy sector is up 1%.
Last quarter, Exxon beat top and bottom line estimates, as strength in the company’s upstream business offset weakness in the refining and chemical divisions. Profit did decline by 21%, however.
Falling oil prices, oversupply concerns and high production are among the factors that have hit the energy sector hard. It’s also especially vulnerable to any signs of a global growth slowdown.
