Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has announced second-quarter 2022 net income of $17.9 billion, or $4.21 per share, the largest quarterly profit in the company's history, and an almost 300% increase over the $4.69 billion, or $1.10 per share, it earned during the same period a year ago.
Its profit for the period also included a $300 million, one-time gain related to the sale of the Barnett Shale upstream asset.
As well, the biggest US oil producer noted that it maintained its capital investments at $9.5 billion in the first half of the year, in line with the company’s full-year guidance.
Oil and natural gas prices have hit multi-year highs this year as Western sanctions against Russia put upward pressure on an under-supplied global energy market.
Margins on the production of gasoline and diesel also increased, which further boosted the profits of big oil companies such as Exxon.
Exxon’s 1Q results prompted US President Joe Biden to say last month that the company was making “more money than God”, as it and other oil giants were capitalizing on a global supply shortage to fatten profits, according to Reuters.
Exxon said it has been using the additional cash generated to pay down debt and raise shareholder distributions, although the company maintained its $0.88 per share dividend for the third quarter.
Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil also more than doubled its projected stock buyback program to $30 billion through 2022 and 2023.