Exxon, Shell Post Record Profits to Please Shareholders
The earnings season is on and the energy sector is expected to dominate again after a massive spike in oil and gas prices in 2022 helped companies deliver record profits. Oil majors are expected to generate almost $200 billion in 2022 profits.
Exxon Mobil (XOM:US) said it posted a $56 billion profit for 2022. Excluding some charges, the profit was $59.1 billion, the company said. According to CFO Kathryn Mikells, the historic set of results came from “a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production and really good cost control.”
Similarly, Shell (SHEL:US) also posted its highest-ever annual profit - up to $40 billion. This is easily above the $28.4 billion the company recorded in 2008 when oil was trading at over $140 a barrel. As a result, Shell announced a $4 billion share buyback program as well as a 15% dividend share increase for the fourth quarter.
These results from Exxon and Shell are likely to please their shareholders, including those that are Congress Representatives and Senators.
Rep. Michael McCaul was consistently buying Shell shares throughout 2022. Most recently, he invested in SHEL stock in October 2022, when US-listed shares were trading at around $53 a share.
Similarly, several Representatives were accumulating shares of Exxon in 2021 and 2022, although Congress members like Virginia Foxx, and Ro Khanna, as well as Senator Tommy Tuberville, did use last year’s rally to book some profits in the closing months of 2022.
