Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) shares are moving lower in premarket Thursday after the oil and gas giant said it expects its Q2 earnings to be lower by roughly $4 billion due to lower natural gas prices and refining margins.
The provided update points towards Q2 EPS at around $1.94, a large miss compared to the consensus of $2.24.
“This screens 3% above our prior estimate of $1.88 but below consensus of $2.27 noting our prior estimate was the low on the ‘Street’, leading us to assume Street consensus is stale,” BofA analysts said in a client note.
Still, they remain bullish on XOM stock as the inflection in free cash capacity is “intact.”
“With multiple additional projects at or near start up, we see XOM as the only sustainable growth stock of the major oils to support expanding free cash returns that we believe will support outsize dividend growth as the most tangible driver of market recognition of value. Our rating is Buy,” the analysts added.
Goldman Sachs analysts added:
“Outside of the quarter and more broadly for XOM, we remain constructive on the company’s advantaged portfolio depth and strong execution (Upstream volume outlook, increased trading capabilities, and further anticipated cost reductions), but ultimately remain Neutral following our prior downgrade in May after multi-year outperformance.”
Exxon shares are down 3.2% year-to-date.