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鈥檚 net production reached 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day during the third quarter, an increase of 5% compared with the previous quarter.
have been falling recently after a retaliatory strike by on Iran targeted military sites rather than the oilfields of the world鈥檚 seventh largest producer of crude. The long-term expectation is for oil prices to move lower, not higher. That鈥檚 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 .
Three months later it said it would spend $60 billion on shale operator . That deal from the Federal Trade Commission in May.
Exxon raised its quarterly dividend by 4%.
Also on Friday, Chevron Corp. reported an adjusted profit of $2.51 per share on revenue of $50.67 billion. Wall Street was looking for a profit of $2.47 per share on revenue of $49.88 billion. Similar to Exxon, Chevron does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales.
Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press
