The Hidden Gold Mine in ExxonMobil's Q2 2017 Earnings

You'd never think that anything about oil industry giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) would be overlooked. As an oil major, and a Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 component, the company has its finances and reports scrutinized by armies of analysts from around the world. No fewer than 18 analysts sat in on the company's most recent Q2 2017 earnings call.

A lot of the earnings coverage was focused on the fact that the company missed those analysts' earnings expectations, unlike fellow oil major BP (NYSE: BP), which beat its earnings projections. In fact, coverage was so focused on Exxon's earnings miss that it virtually ignored a potentially game-changing situation that was revealed on the call.

ExxonMobil has many offshore operations, but none may turn out to be as profitable as its new Guyana fields. Image source: Getty Images.

Source: Fool.com