The Most Important Number From Exxon's Q3 Earnings
Integrated energy giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) recently reported third-quarter results, and the headline figures were lousy, with earnings falling by roughly 50% year over year. Right now, however, that's not the number to watch. If you are looking at Exxon, the most important number in the third-quarter earnings report is a bit deeper in the news release.
Here's why there's still a reason to be positive about Exxon, even though earnings looked terrible.
It should come as no surprise that Exxon's top and bottom lines vary along with the prices of oil and natural gas, two of the biggest contributors to its financial results. Energy prices, however, are highly volatile, a fact that has been on clear display throughout 2019. And while the price of oil is well off the roughly $30 lows it fell to after the mid-2014 oil crash, the roughly $50-to-$60 range in which oil has been trading lately is a tough one in which to make a profit. In other words, nobody was particularly shocked to see Exxon turn in a weak quarter.
Source Fool.com
