Exxon, Chevron earnings preview: Oil giants underneath the microscope as revenue booms

As a tailwind, nonetheless, Exxon
XOM,
+2.16%,
Chevron
CVX,
+1.32%
and different vitality firms are having fun with commodity costs that stay wholesome, which may offset greater prices, analysts at Goldman Sachs mentioned in a current observe.

Second-quarter outcomes for each firms are more likely to be “extraordinarily robust” in comparison with second quarter of 2021, mentioned Stewart Glickman at CFRA Analysis.

“They’ve the wind at their backs on two fronts,” he mentioned. Their “upstream” enterprise, oil and fuel exploration and manufacturing, loved a lot better pricing with the U.S. benchmark crude oil up about 65% within the yr, and “pure fuel comparisons are even higher.”

Their downstream enterprise, largely refining, loved improved volumes, “a lot better” margins, and different positives, Glickman mentioned.

“The large query is the place all the surplus money stream goes to go,” he mentioned. Elevated returns to shareholders are “probably,” with dividends first and buybacks in all probability second, Glickman mentioned.

Exxon and Chevron are slated to carry calls with analysts following their outcomes.

Right here’s what to anticipate:

Earnings: Analysts polled by FactSet count on Exxon to report adjusted earnings of $3.84 a share within the second quarter, which might evaluate with adjusted earnings of $1.10 a share within the second quarter of 2021.

Estimize, a crowdsourcing platform that gathers estimates from Wall Road analysts in addition to buy-side analysts, fund managers, firm executives, teachers and others, is anticipating an adjusted revenue of $3.75 a share for Exxon.

For Chevron, the FactSet analysts name for adjusted earnings of $5.08 a share, which might evaluate with earnings of $1.71 a share within the second quarter of 2021. The Estimize name for Chevron earnings is $5.09 a share.

Income: The analysts surveyed by FactSet are calling for gross sales of $111.3 billion for Exxon, which might be a 64% enhance from $67.7 billion within the second quarter of 2021. Estimize is anticipating $110 billion in income for the quarter.

Revenues round expectations can be Exxon’s largest quarterly gross sales because the third quarter of 2011, when the oil big posted income of $112 billion.

Exxon posted a document income within the second quarter of 2008 of $124.24 billion, and a document internet revenue within the second quarter of 2012 of $15.91 billion {dollars}.

For Chevron, the analysts polled by FactSet count on income of $58.7 billion, which might evaluate with income of $37.6 billion within the year-ago interval, a 56% enhance. Estimize sees Chevron’s income at $58.5 billion.

A income round expectations can be Chevron’s highest quarterly income because the second quarter of 2012, when gross sales hit $59.5 billion.

Chevron’s reported a document income of $81 billion additionally within the second quarter of 2008. Chevron hit a document internet revenue the next quarter that yr of $7.89 billion.

Inventory worth: Exxon and Chevron shares have been the uncommon spot of inexperienced on inventory tables this yr. Exxon has gained about 46% thus far this yr, and Chevron is up 25%. That contrasts with losses of round 18% for the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+2.62%
in the identical interval.

What else to count on: Exxon mentioned earlier this month it anticipated a boost of at least $2.5 billion to its bottom line in the second quarter from rising prices for oil and gas, with billions more coming from greater margins for gasoline and different vitality merchandise.

Exxon’s assertion “factors to earnings round 50% above market consensus on the mid-point of steering,” with refining a “key driver,” analysts at Citi mentioned in an earlier observe.

“Nearly all of the uplift comes from the seize of document refining margins within the quarter,” they mentioned. They pegged Exxon’s free money stream at a “document” $17 billion, with a few of it going to fund dividend and share buybacks within the quarter.

“Past these shareholder distributions we see deleverage because the principal use of extra funds, strengthening the stability sheet with a view to benefiting from alternatives that will current within the subsequent cycle,” the Citi analysts mentioned.

For Chevron, the Citi analysts predict “document quarterly earnings, buoyed by oil and fuel costs, document refining and an unwind of a few of the downstream timing results that impacted on 1Q.”

They known as for an unchanged 2022 capital expenditure steering of $15 billion, with inflation within the Permian, about 20% of the general price range, “being absorbed elsewhere within the enterprise,” they mentioned.

Each firms have weathered criticism from the White Home amid rising gas costs. President Joe Biden has criticized oil firms together with Exxon and Chevron instantly.

In June, he said that Exxon “made more money than God this year.” The president additionally mentioned that Chevron Chief Govt Michael Wirth was “mildly delicate” after the chief penned a letter to the White Home saying that oil firms have been vilified.