Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations, as the oil and gas giant was helped by contributions from Pioneer Natural Resources, a recent acquisition.
Exxon earned $8.6 billion, or $1.92 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier the Spring, Texas-based company earned $9.07 billion, or $2.25 per share.
The performance topped Wall Street’s expectations, though Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were calling for earnings of $1.91 per share.
Shares rose nearly 2% before the market open on Friday.
Revenue totaled $90.02 billion, falling short of Wall Street’s estimate of $93.51 billion.
Exxon’s net production reached 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day during the third quarter, an increase of 5% compared with the previous quarter.
Oil prices have been falling recently after a retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran targeted military sites rather than the oilfields of the world’s seventh largest producer of crude. The long-term expectation is for oil prices to move lower, not higher. That’s because the balance between supply and demand has tilted toward supply, a dynamic that typically deflates oil prices.
Exxon announced in July 2023 that it would pay $4.9 billion for Denbury Resources, an oil and gas producer that has entered the business of capturing and storing carbon and stands to benefit from changes in U.S. climate policy.
Three months later it said it would spend $60 billion on shale operator Pioneer Natural Resources. That deal received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission in May.
Exxon raised its quarterly dividend by 4%.