Stock Market News – Exxon Mobil next in line with earnings season in full swing
July 26, 2018 4:26 pm
Exxon Mobil will release its earnings report for the second quarter of 2018 before Wall Street’s opening bell on Friday. The consensus recommendation for the energy titan is “hold”, in contrast to the “buy” average consensus for the Oil & Gas Refining and Marketing peer group.
The largest US energy company by market capitalization is projected to have made $1.27 in earnings per share (EPS) in Q2, according to the consensus of analysts submitting their estimates to Thomson Reuters’ estimate system (the Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System – I/B/E/S). The EPS estimates, provided by sixteen analysts in total, range between $1.14 and $1.36. These numbers represent an upward revision from four weeks ago. Back then, the EPS consensus was $1.26, with the lowest estimate being $1.05 and the highest $1.38.
Should the corporation’s bottom line match the consensus for $1.27, this would represent an increase of 63.2% from the same quarter in the previous year, when the firm earned $0.78 per share. Over the preceding four quarters, the company reported earnings below consensus three times, while it managed to outperform expectations once.
Beyond earnings, investors will also look at other details of the firm’s quarterly report, and most notably the revenue figure, which is estimated at $72.58bn. Another major consideration may be the company’s “upstream” operations and the revenue collected from those – with upstream referring to the part of the firm responsible for the exploration and development of new oil and gas fields. The company is currently engaged in several such projects, most notably in Guyana, the US Permian Basin, Brazil, and Mozambique.
Better-than-projected results by Exxon are likely to bring the stock under renewed buying interest. A potential break above the July 10 high of $84.10 could open the way for the round figure of $86.00, defined by the inside swing low on January 10 as well as the peak of February 2. In case of even stronger bullish movement, advances could encounter resistance near the $89.30 zone, marked by the peak of January 29.
Conversely, a broadly soft earnings report could bring the stock under selling interest. A first line of support to declines could come around the crossroads of the $81.18 level and the uptrend line drawn from the lows of April 3. A downside break could see scope for declines towards the June 25 low of $79.30, before the May 3 trough of $75.40 comes into view.
Technically, the stock price has been posting higher highs and higher lows since early April, and is also trading above both its 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which keeps the outlook positive. In terms of the short-term picture, the RSI remains above its neutral 50 line – detecting positive momentum. Notice, though, that the indicator has flatlined, which suggests that upside speed is fading, and may be an early sign of a pullback.
Returning to tomorrow’s report, another area of interest for investors will probably be the guidance by management and the subsequent conference call with analysts, both of which could influence movements in the share’s price, particularly if any major announcements transpire. In particular, it would be interesting to see how the executives are viewing the recent trade tensions between the US and other nations, considering that the recently-enacted steel tariffs could well affect the costs of a capital-heavy firm like Exxon. Not to mention the threat of potential future tariffs, or the impact such tensions are having on actual oil and gas prices.
Exxon is a constituent stock of the S&P 500, and is also one of the thirty blue chip companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Year-to-date, the energy giant’s stock price is down, but only by a fractional 0.10%. It is underperforming both the S&P and the Dow, which are up by 6.45% and 3.40% respectively so far in 2018.
Exxon Mobil will release its earnings report for the second quarter of 2018 before Wall Street’s opening bell on Friday. The consensus recommendation for the energy titan is “hold”, in contrast to the “buy” average consensus for the Oil & Gas Refining and Marketing peer group.
The largest US energy company by market capitalization is projected to have made $1.27 in earnings per share (EPS) in Q2, according to the consensus of analysts submitting their estimates to Thomson Reuters’ estimate system (the Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System – I/B/E/S). The EPS estimates, provided by sixteen analysts in total, range between $1.14 and $1.36. These numbers represent an upward revision from four weeks ago. Back then, the EPS consensus was $1.26, with the lowest estimate being $1.05 and the highest $1.38.
Should the corporation’s bottom line match the consensus for $1.27, this would represent an increase of 63.2% from the same quarter in the previous year, when the firm earned $0.78 per share. Over the preceding four quarters, the company reported earnings below consensus three times, while it managed to outperform expectations once.
Beyond earnings, investors will also look at other details of the firm’s quarterly report, and most notably the revenue figure, which is estimated at $72.58bn. Another major consideration may be the company’s “upstream” operations and the revenue collected from those – with upstream referring to the part of the firm responsible for the exploration and development of new oil and gas fields. The company is currently engaged in several such projects, most notably in Guyana, the US Permian Basin, Brazil, and Mozambique.
Better-than-projected results by Exxon are likely to bring the stock under renewed buying interest. A potential break above the July 10 high of $84.10 could open the way for the round figure of $86.00, defined by the inside swing low on January 10 as well as the peak of February 2. In case of even stronger bullish movement, advances could encounter resistance near the $89.30 zone, marked by the peak of January 29.
Conversely, a broadly soft earnings report could bring the stock under selling interest. A first line of support to declines could come around the crossroads of the $81.18 level and the uptrend line drawn from the lows of April 3. A downside break could see scope for declines towards the June 25 low of $79.30, before the May 3 trough of $75.40 comes into view.
Technically, the stock price has been posting higher highs and higher lows since early April, and is also trading above both its 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which keeps the outlook positive. In terms of the short-term picture, the RSI remains above its neutral 50 line – detecting positive momentum. Notice, though, that the indicator has flatlined, which suggests that upside speed is fading, and may be an early sign of a pullback.
Returning to tomorrow’s report, another area of interest for investors will probably be the guidance by management and the subsequent conference call with analysts, both of which could influence movements in the share’s price, particularly if any major announcements transpire. In particular, it would be interesting to see how the executives are viewing the recent trade tensions between the US and other nations, considering that the recently-enacted steel tariffs could well affect the costs of a capital-heavy firm like Exxon. Not to mention the threat of potential future tariffs, or the impact such tensions are having on actual oil and gas prices.
Exxon is a constituent stock of the S&P 500, and is also one of the thirty blue chip companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Year-to-date, the energy giant’s stock price is down, but only by a fractional 0.10%. It is underperforming both the S&P and the Dow, which are up by 6.45% and 3.40% respectively so far in 2018.
Related Posts: