ExxonMobil earnings: The big oil stock reports disappointing Q1 financial results

Today, on April 26th, energy company ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) reported its Q1 2024 financial results before US markets opened.

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Exxon follows fellow big oil stock TotalEnergies, which reported its earnings earlier this morning, and is soon to be followed by Chevron Corp and Philips 66 in what is easily the biggest day for oil this earnings season.

The company reported earnings of $8.2 billion in Q1, up from Q4’s disappointing results but nevertheless down year-on-year from the $11.4 billion earned in Q1 of 2023.

Earnings per share

Earnings per common share were at $2.06, again down from the previous Q1’s EPS of $2.79.

However, they were an improvement on Q4’s EPS of $1.91.

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The company also reported cash flow from operations of $14.7 billion and free cash flow of $10.1 billion in the first quarter.

Dividends

ExxonMobil also declared a second-quarter dividend of $0.95 per share, payable on June 10, 2024, to shareholders of record of Common Stock.

This will be payable at the close of business on May 15th, 2024.

Headwinds affecting profits

In a press release announcing the results, the company had the following to say about the results:

Earnings decreased as industry refining margins and natural gas prices came down from last year’s highs to trade within the ten-year historical range. Timing effects from unsettled derivative mark-to-market impacts and other primarily non-cash impacts from tax and inventory adjustments as well as divestments contributed to the lower earnings. Strong advantaged volume growth primarily from Guyana and the Beaumont refinery expansion, and structural cost savings helped to offset lower base volumes from divestments, unfavorable entitlements and government-mandated curtailments, and higher expenses from scheduled maintenance.”

Expectations ahead of earnings

Invezz analyst Ritesh A was cautious ahead of Exxon’s publishing of their financial results today, saying the following:

Analysts have estimated that Exxon Mobil will bring in around $81 billion in revenue for the January to March period. However, this estimate suggests a drop of more than 5% compared to the same time last year. Past performance can often give us clues about what to expect. Over the last 12 quarters, Exxon Mobil has exceeded revenue estimates on eight occasions. But for Q1, the consensus earnings per share estimate is $2.17, marking a significant 23% decrease from last year’s numbers.”

Read Ritesh A’s full ExxonMobil analysis

Previous earnings

ExxonMobil had a negative set of Q4 financial results, with earnings down severely year-on-year, dropping over $5 billion to $7.63 billion in Q4 2023.

EPS per common share also slid dramatically, almost halving from $3.09 in Q4 2022 to $1.91 per share in Q4 2023.