Exxon Mobil Profit Surges From Tax Law But Misses Estimates

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Exxon Mobil Profit Surges From Tax Law But Misses Estimates

Company recorded a $5.94 billion benefit from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

By Allison Prang

Feb. 2, 2018 9:11 a.m. ET

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a more than $8 billion profit for its latest quarter as it recorded a $5.94 billion benefit from the new tax law.

The company reported a profit of $8.38 billion, or $1.97 a share, up from earnings for the same quarter a year ago of $1.68 billion, or 41 cents a share. But on an adjusted basis, which omits the bump from the new tax law and impairments, earnings fell 2.2% to $3.73 billion, or 88 cents a share.

...

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-mobil-profit-surges-from-tax-law-but-misses-estimates-1517580676

---

But:

Exxon, Chevron Disappoint With Profit and Production Figures

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-02/exxon-disappoints-as-profit-and-production-miss-expectations

By Kevin Crowley

February 2, 2018, 8:06 AM EST Updated on February 2, 2018, 9:35 AM EST

--> Companies follows rival Shell as shares fall in early trading

--> CEOs push to boost growth not yet a factor as output dwindles

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the two biggest U.S. oil explorers, both missed Wall Street’s profit and production estimates, spurring a stock selloff for both as wary investors hit the lifeboats.

Exxon fell 15 cents short of fourth-quarter earnings estimates by analysts, while Chevron was 55 cents shy. While both have moved to boost growth with a series of discoveries announced in the last year, the latest results show the effort hasn’t yet kicked in.

The production misses by the two U.S.-based drillers reflect their dependence on output from outside the country, which lagged during the final three months of 2017. Both companies are now pushing to overcome that gap with an aggressive push into America’s fertile shale plays and, in Exxon’s case, into Latin America. With oil prices rallying, investors were unimpressed.

“One word: disappointing,” is how Brian Youngberg, a St. Louis-based analyst at Edward Jones & co., described the results. “Chevron was close on production but Exxon was a significant miss," he said. “The company continues to be challenged on that side.”

[modrepub]

1. I've Seen Analyses

that say that over the years Exxon's oil reserves have actually shrunk. To maintain viability, an extraction company must continuously replace its reserves by at least one to one. In the long run, oil only works if the price continues to rise. If oil keeps rising there's a good chance it will be substituted with something else less expensive; kerosene replacing whale oil, electric street lights replacing gas lights, et cetera.