Oil companies have certainly had their share of big moments recently, but ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was a downer of a stock on Thursday. The energy giant's shares fell by almost 4% following a business update from the sprawling company. That tumble was notably more drastic than the 0.8% fall of the S&P 500 index on the day. 

Traders' reaction was understandable, as ExxonMobil said in a regulatory document filed late on Monday that it anticipated reporting lower-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, which ended June 30.

In that rather terse document, the bellwether energy company said that a number of headwinds had pushed its profitability below its previous forecasts. In Q2, it forecast its net profit could end up being as low as $6.2 billion; in the first quarter, that figure, according to GAAP standards, was $11.4 billion. 

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Source Fool.com