(Bloomberg) -- In the latest chapter in Big Oil versus Tech, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM). posted $24.4 billion in operating cash flow for the third quarter thanks to booming commodity prices, pushing the oil giant to the top of the S&P 500 Index, just edging out Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Exxon’s record profit in the period comes after America’s tech giants spent much of the past decade supplanting the oil industry at the top off the index. More than half of S&P 500 companies have reported so far this earnings season.
Read more: Exxon to top combined 2022 earnings of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), P&G, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)
In Europe, a continent-wide scramble to stash natural gas ahead of winter swelled the prices Exxon received for the fuel by 22%, more than offsetting the pain from a 12% drop in what the company fetched for crude. Shareholders for Big Oil have been demanding higher returns and an end to costly exploration programs, adding to commodity-price pressures.
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