Proactive Investors - Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) posted mixed fourth-quarter financial results, beating earnings estimates but missing on revenue expectations. It still came out on top as one of America’s most profitable companies.
Despite the mixed 4Q, the Irving, Texas-based oil giant rode surging oil prices to report record annual earnings of $55.7 billion for 2022, erasing billions of dollars of losses incurred during the pandemic. The energy major generated $76.8 billion of cash flow from operating activities in 2022 by leveraging an advantaged portfolio and delivering strong operational performance.
Among companies that have reported 4Q earnings, only Apple Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) have surpassed Exxon’s profit in fiscal 2022 so far, and only Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). is projected to post a higher return, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
An oil-market collapse in 2020 led to Exxon’s first annual loss in at least four decades, of more than $22 billion. However, things changed last year as oil and gas prices worldwide surged as Russian forces stormed into Ukraine and demand surged as global economies rebounded.
"While our results clearly benefited from a favorable market, the counter-cyclical investments we made before and during the pandemic provided the energy and products people needed as economies began recovering and supplies became tight,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in an earnings statement.
“We leaned in when others leaned out,” he added, while indicating that Exxon will continue to invest in our “advantaged projects” to deliver profitable growth.
Woods also noted that the oil major’s investments in Guyana and the Permian Basin, the prolific US oil field that straddles West Texas and New Mexico paid off. Exxon increased year-over-year Guyana and Permian production by over 30%, as well as a recent 250,000 barrel-per-day capacity expansion at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery.
For the 4Q ended, Exxon made about $12.8 billion in profit, up from $8.9 billion in the same period the year before. The company’s 4Q earnings-per-share came in below Wall Street’s expectations, at $3.09 a share, compared with an anticipated $3.28 a share, according to FactSet.
Exxon shares which fell about 2% directly after the earnings announcement, soon reversed course to gain 1.6% to trade at $115.40 by 10.30 am on the New York Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, Exxon said it achieved its best-ever annual refining throughput in North America and the highest globally since 2012.
In a positive step for the environment, Exxon started up one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America, capable of processing more than 80 million pounds of plastic waste per year.