Exxon scores record profits as energy markets convulse

Bloomberg

Exxon Mobil Corp posted its best-ever profit, reaping the rewards from surging commodity prices as supply disruptions run headlong into rising demand and consumers feel the pinch.
Second-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.14 per share beat the $3.98 forecast by the Bloomberg Consensus. Net income reached $17.9 billion, surpassing the previous record set in 2008. The biggest North American oil explorer followed European giants Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE in disclosing unprecedented results. Exxon’s sky-high profits come at a dicey political time for the oil industry, which has been accused of profiteering from the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and failing to invest enough in new drilling. Still, the recent retreat in crude and gasoline prices may provide executives with some cover from the political backlash they faced in June, when President Joe Biden accused Exxon of making “more money than God.”
With recession fears gathering pace, the second quarter may end up marking the high point for Big Oil this year. International crude prices jumped above $120 a barrel during the April-to-June period — a 14-year high — but have since fallen by about 20%. US refining margins also have deflated somewhat since touching all-time highs, though natural gas prices remain elevated around the world.
Exxon stock has climbed more than 50% this year, the third-best performance in the S&P 500 Index. In April, the company tripled its share-buyback program to $30 billion through the end of 2023.
Oil executives including Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods have made a series of public appearances and statements in recent weeks defending the industry’s profit surge. Woods has pointed out that Exxon incurred a record loss of more than $20 billion in 2020 and took on vast amounts of debt to finance major projects like deepwater oil production in Guyana and refinery expansions that will increase fuel supplies in the coming years.
In the US, both Exxon and Chevron are ramping up oil output in the Permian Basin by more than 15% this year, but this will mostly offset declining production from wells in other parts of the world.