Key Upstream Assets Fueling ExxonMobil's Long-Term Outlook

Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM has a strong footprint in the Permian, the most prolific oil and gas play in the United States, and offshore Guyana. In the Permian, the integrated giant has been employing lightweight proppant technology and has been capable of boosting its well recoveries by up to as much as 20%.

In Guyana, XOM has made several oil and gas discoveries, further highlighting its solid production outlook. Record production from both resources has been aiding its top and bottom lines. In both resources, the breakeven costs are low, thereby aiding XOM in continuing its upstream business even during a low crude pricing environment.  

In its recent corporate plan update, ExxonMobil projects its total production from upstream operations to increase to 5.5 million oil equivalent barrels per day by the end of this decade. The energy behemoth added that its advantageous assets, which include the Permian, Guyana and LNG, will be responsible for 65% of the total volumes.

FANG & COP Also Have a Strong Upstream Presence

Diamondback Energy Inc. FANG and ConocoPhillips COP also have a strong presence in the Permian. FANG is a Permian pure-play player with sufficient drilling inventory to sustain its production for more than 10 years.

ConocoPhillips’ assets in the Lower 48 comprise resources in the prolific Delaware and Midland basins. The Delaware Basin contributes considerably to COP’s Lower 48 production. Thus, both FANG and COP have a solid production outlook.

XOM’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

ExxonMobil’s shares have gained 38.3% over the past year compared with the 29.6% improvement of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

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From a valuation standpoint, XOM trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 9.72X. This is above the broader industry average of 5.94X.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XOM’s 2026 earnings has seen downward revisions over the past 30 days.

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ExxonMobil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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