ExxonMobil Stock Rose 4% after Its Q4 Earnings

ExxonMobil (XOM) announced its fourth-quarter earnings on February 1. ExxonMobil stock opened at $74.9 per share on February 1—higher than the previous close of $73.3. ExxonMobil’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectation. ExxonMobil stock saw a high of $76.5 and a low of $74.3 during the day. Eventually, the stock closed at $75.9, which was ~3.6% higher than the previous day’s close. Oil prices rose on the same day. ExxonMobil’s peers also rose on February 1.

On February 1, WTI crude oil prices rose 2.7%. Chevron (CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), and BP (BP) increased 3.2%, 1.8%, and 0.5%, respectively, on February 1. However, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), the broader market indicator, closed almost flat on February 1.

ExxonMobil continued its growth and maintenance spending in the fourth quarter. ExxonMobil (XOM) incurred a capex of $7.8 billion—compared to $9.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017. Among the fourth-quarter capex, $6.3 billion was incurred towards the Upstream segment, while $0.8 billion and $0.7 billion were towards the Downstream and Chemical segments, respectively.

In the fourth quarter, ExxonMobil’s Permian Basin production rose 12% sequentially. The company continues to ramp up its production in the Midland and Delaware basins.

ExxonMobil progressed well on its long-term growth portfolios. ExxonMobil had it tenth discovery offshore Guyana in the promising Stabroek block. The block’s resource estimate has risen to more than 5.0 billion barrels of oil equivalent. ExxonMobil and its partners have secured LNG offtake commitments for the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique.

Next, we’ll discuss analysts’ recommendations for ExxonMobil after its fourth-quarter earnings.