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ExxonMobil's (XOM) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss

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Exxon Mobil Corporation's (XOM - Free Report) first-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $2.83, excluding identified items, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.65 and improved from the year-ago profit of $2.07.

Total quarterly revenues of $86,564 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $96,036 million and declined from the year-ago quarter’s $90,500 million.

The strong earnings resulted from solid contributions from the Energy Products business line. This was offset partially by lower earnings from upstream operations.

Exxon Mobil Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Exxon Mobil Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Exxon Mobil Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Exxon Mobil Corporation Quote

Operational Performance

Upstream

The segment reported quarterly earnings (excluding identified items) of $6,615 million, declining from $7,743 million in the year-ago quarter. Lower crude prices primarily led to the fall.

Operations in the United States recorded a profit of $1,632 million, which decreased from $2,376 million in the March quarter of 2022. The company reported a profit of $4,983 million from non-U.S. operations, deteriorating from $5,367 million in the year-ago quarter.

Production: ExxonMobil’s total production averaged 3,831 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), higher than 3,675 MBoe/d a year ago.

Liquid production increased to 2,495 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d) from 2,266 MBbls/d in the prior-year quarter. The outperformance was owing to higher production, primarily in the United States and Canada. Yet, natural gas production was 8,016 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d), down from 8,452 Mmcf/d a year ago, primarily due to lower output from the United States and Canada.

Price Realization: In the United States, ExxonMobil recorded crude price realization of $73.95 per barrel, significantly lower than the year-ago quarter’s $93.51. The same metric for non-U.S. operations declined to $67.93 per barrel from $89.71.

Natural gas prices in the United States were $3.20 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), lower than the year-ago quarter’s $4.80. But, in the non-U.S. section, the metric improved to $17.39 per Mcf from $16.42.

Energy Products

The segment recorded a profit (excluding identified items) of $4,213 million, reversing from a loss of $196 million a year ago primarily due to the Beaumont refinery expansion start-up.

Chemical Products

This unit of ExxonMobil recorded a $371 million profit (excluding identified items), down from $1,405 million in the year-ago quarter on lower industry margins.

Specialty Products

This unit of ExxonMobil recorded a $774 million profit (excluding identified items), up from earnings of $476 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to increased volumes, thanks to demand recovery in China.

Financials

In the quarter under review, ExxonMobil generated a cash flow of $17,195 million from operations and asset divestments. The company’s capital and exploration spending was $6,380 million.

At the end of first-quarter 2023, ExxonMobil’s total cash and cash equivalents were $32,651 million, and long-term debt amounted to $39,150 million.

Guidance

For this year, XOM expects to meet its guidance for capital and exploration expenditures of $23 billion to $25 billion.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, ExxonMobil carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked players in the energy space include Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC - Free Report) , Sunoco LP (SUN - Free Report) and Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD - Free Report) . While Marathon Petroleum and Sunoco sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Enterprise Products carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Marathon Petroleum operates the largest refining system in the nation. In the past seven days, MPC has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2023.

Sunoco has a stable business model while distributing motor fuel to approximately 10,000 convenience stores. For this year, SUN has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions in the past seven days.

Enterprise Products has a stable business model and is not significantly exposed to the volatility in oil and gas prices. It generates stable fee-based revenues from its extensive pipeline network that spreads across more than 50,000 miles, transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil petrochemicals and refined products.

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