Key Takeaways
- First-quarter adjusted earnings per share reached $1.16, surpassing analyst projections of $0.98
- Total revenue increased 2.4% annually to $85.1 billion, exceeding Wall Street’s $81.1 billion forecast
- Ongoing Middle East conflict reduced quarterly production by 6% and resulted in $700 million in undelivered cargo write-offs
- Reported net earnings declined to $4.2 billion from $7.7 billion year-over-year — the weakest performance since Q1 2021
- CEO Darren Woods emphasized the company’s enhanced resilience and ability to navigate market volatility
Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) climbed 0.6% to $155.23 during Friday’s premarket session following the energy giant’s stronger-than-anticipated first-quarter performance.
The energy major’s shares had previously reached all-time peaks near $176 earlier in the year before retreating to approximately $154. Friday’s quarterly report provided investors with renewed optimism.
Adjusted profit per share totaled $1.16, comfortably surpassing the Street’s consensus forecast of $0.98. Top-line revenue grew 2.4% year-over-year to $85.1 billion, outpacing analyst expectations of $81.1 billion.
However, looking beyond the adjusted metrics reveals a more complex narrative.
Reported net profit tumbled to $4.2 billion, a significant decline from the $7.7 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2025. This marks the company’s weakest bottom-line performance since early 2021.
The shortfall stems primarily from escalating tensions in the Middle East, which have affected Exxon more severely than many competitors. Approximately one-fifth of the company’s total oil and gas output originates from this volatile region — representing one of the highest geographical concentrations among major oil producers. By contrast, Chevron disclosed that less than 5% of its production base is located in the Middle East.
Regional Conflict Impacts Operations
Attacks from Iran damaged two liquefied natural gas production facilities in Qatar where Exxon maintains equity positions. These operational disruptions caused quarterly output to fall 6% compared to the preceding three-month period.
The energy company also absorbed a $700 million charge related to cargo shipments that couldn’t be fulfilled due to the security situation. This substantial loss was not reflected in the adjusted earnings calculations.
Additionally, Exxon reported significant losses connected to financial derivatives — an accounting mechanism that requires recognizing paper losses on hedging instruments before the underlying physical transactions are completed. CFO Neil Hansen noted these timing-related effects generally reverse within several months, although predicting future fluctuations remains challenging.
When stripping out all timing-related impacts and cargo delivery issues, Hansen indicated that core net income actually expanded versus the prior-year period.
Permian Basin and Guyana Drive Growth
While Middle Eastern operations faced headwinds, Exxon’s flagship production assets delivered solid performance.
Output from the Permian Basin maintained its upward trajectory, while operations in Guyana achieved record-breaking production levels during the quarter. These two regions represent the company’s most strategically important upstream holdings.
Operating cash flow after capital investments reached $2.7 billion for the three-month period, compared to $8.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company distributed $4.3 billion to shareholders through dividends and repurchased $4.9 billion worth of shares during this timeframe.
Capital spending totaled $6.2 billion, consistent with management’s full-year investment plan.
CEO Darren Woods characterized the results as evidence that Exxon has become “a fundamentally stronger company than it was just a few years ago, built to perform through disruption and across market cycles.”
Industry observers are expected to focus their questions on the repair schedule for damaged Middle Eastern facilities when company executives host their quarterly analyst conference call Friday.
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