Exxon Mobil reported first-quarter earnings Friday that beat Wall Street expectations, but declined from the prior year as crude oil prices have fallen sharply on fears that President Donald Trump‘s tariffs will hit global demand.
The oil major said volume growth in the Permian Basin and Guyana combined with cost-cutting measures largely offset lower earnings from weak oil prices. U.S. crude prices have fallen 18% this year as Trump’s tariffs raise fears of a recession at the same time producers in OPEC+ plan to increase supply.
CEO Darren Woods described the market as “choppy” in an interview with CNBC. Woods said demand was strong in the first quarter but higher supply depressed prices. Trump’s tariffs have raised uncertainty about how demand will hold up for the rest of the year, he said.
“We’ve built a company that basically is prepared and ready to handle the kind of turbulence that we’re seeing in the markets today,” Wood’s told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Exxon shares were up less than 1% in morning trading after the results.
Here is what Exxon reported for the first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.76 vs. $1.73 per share expected
- Revenue: $83.13 billion, vs. $86.72 billion expected
Exxon said its profits declined 6% to $7.71 billion, or $1.76 per share, from $8.22 billion, or $2.06 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue came in at $83.13 billion, slightly higher than $83.08 billion a year ago.
The oil major’s global production business posted earnings of $6.76 billion in the quarter, an increase of about 19% from $5.66 billion in the same period a year ago. Profits in the segment rose due to growth in the Permian and Guyana as well as cost savings.
Earnings in Exxon’s U.S. production segment soared more than 70% to $1.87 billion from $1.05 billion in the same quarter in 2024.
Exxon’s global production came in at 4.55 million barrels per day, an increase of 20% compared with 3.78 million bpd in the year-ago period.
Its refining business posted a profit of $827 million, down 40% from $1.38 billion in the first quarter of 2024 due to lower refining margins.
Exxon said first-quarter capital expenditures of $5.9 billion were consistent with its guidance of $27 billion to $29 billion for 2025.
The company said it returned $9.1 billion to shareholders in the quarter, or $4.3 billion in dividends and $4.8 billion in share purchases.