Exxon and Chevron reported robust earnings and large payouts to investors as they continued to expand their fossil-fuel production.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the largest U.S. energy companies, on Friday reported sizable profits for the final quarter of last year, showing that the oil and gas industry remained robust at a time of doubts because of climate change concerns.
The companies’ earnings were down from the bonanza year of 2022, when a surge in prices pushed up profits, but were otherwise the strongest in recent history.
Exxon earned $7.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 40 percent fall from the same period in 2022. For all of 2023, the company reported $36 billion in earnings, compared with $55.7 billion in 2022. Before that, the last time Exxon made more than $30 billion in a year was in 2014.
Chevron reported earnings of $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter, down from $6.3 billion a year earlier. The change was because of lower commodity prices and write-downs, especially in the company’s home state, California. For the year, the company made $21.4 billion, down from $35.4 billion in 2022 but, like Exxon, otherwise its biggest annual profit in a decade.
The companies generated enough cash to fund big dividends and share buybacks. Such payouts are what investors now look for in the industry, analysts say.
“In 2023, we returned more cash to shareholders and produced more oil and natural gas than any year in the company’s history, “ Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chief executive, said in a statement.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
