Better Buy: ExxonMobil vs. BP
Oil prices are suffering from a massive supply/demand disruption driven by the global economic closures used to slow the spread of COVID-19. It has been a devastating blow to the industry, with the price of black gold actually falling below zero at one point in early 2020. The implications for integrated energy giants like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and BP (NYSE: BP) have not been very good.
But these two industry giants are not equal. Here's why Exxon stands out.
Exxon has long prided itself on taking a conservative approach to the management of its balance sheet. It entered the year with a debt to equity ratio of around 0.25 times. That strong financial position provided the company with ample room to add debt to help raise the cash it needed to muddle through a difficult period. By the end of the first quarter, debt to equity was up to roughly 0.33 times. It will probably go higher than that before this rough patch is over. But this puts Exxon in a much better position than BP.
Source Fool.com
