XOM

ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation XOM paired sharply higher second-quarter revenues with record production marks, but adjusted earnings still missed expectations. The mix shows how volume growth and tighter product markets can lift results while costs and regional disruption remain material earnings variables. Advantaged Permian and Guyana assets support future volumes and cash generation. Refining, chemicals and Middle East exposure, however, leave results sensitive to market conditions outside the company’s control. Adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.68 by 4.3%. Revenues of $116 billion beat the consensus mark by 21.1% and increased 42.3% year over year. Higher scheduled-maintenance expenses and increased depreciation weighed on earnings, while Middle East conditions disrupted production. The revenue beat therefore did not fully offset operating and cost pressures. Upstream production totaled 4.514 million oil-equivalent barrels per day in the second quarter. ExxonMobil’s broader plan shows production rising from 4.3 million oil-equivalent barrels per day (Moebd) in 2024 to 4.6 million year to date in 2026 and about 5.5 million by 2030. Advantaged assets increased from 52% of upstream production in 2024 to 59% year to date in 2026 and are planned at about 65% by 2030. Image Source: ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation Permian output exceeded a record 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, with management targeting a 9% production compound annual growth rate through 2030. The fifth Guyana floating production, storage and offloading vessel is slated to start in the fourth quarter, adding 250,000 barrels per day of capacity. Chevron Corporation CVX also reported record U.S. upstream production of nearly 2.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day in the second quarter. Energy Products generated $4.10 billion of adjusted earnings as stronger refining conditions, optimization and structural savings supported results. Chemical Products adjusted earnings rose to $1.21 billion from $110 million in the first quarter. The sequential gains also highlight cyclicality. Refining and chemical earnings remain exposed to margins, feedstock costs, trading results and supply conditions, leaving room for sharp swings as markets change. Middle East assets represent about 20% of ExxonMobil’s global oil-equivalent production. The conflict temporarily removed about 10% of total upstream production during the second quarter, making regional conditions an important near-term volume variable. A full-quarter Strait of Hormuz closure in the third quarter could reduce Middle East production by about 750,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day versus 2025. Shell plc SHEL reported Integrated Gas production of 631,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day in the second quarter, down from 909,000 in the first quarter as Qatar-related disruptions reduced volumes. ExxonMobil generated $17.2 billion of free cash flow while cash capital expenditures totaled $6.8 billion in the second quarter. That capacity supports continued investment in the Permian, Guyana and liquefied natural gas projects through volatile conditions. Shareholder distributions reached $9.4 billion, including $4.3 billion of dividends and $5.1 billion of share repurchases. Net debt fell by more than $7 billion during the quarter, preserving financial flexibility for growth and capital returns. ExxonMobil exits the quarter with a clear trade-off. Advantaged production growth and stronger Product Solutions earnings support cash generation, but commodity sensitivity and Middle East disruption can still reduce earnings visibility. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which points to a neutral short-term stance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Its Value Score of A, Growth Score of A, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of A indicate favorable characteristics across all three styles, but the Style Scores complement rather than override the Zacks Rank. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Management's own scorecard still leads with dollars, but the return measure that used to sit beside it was absent again, and that changes what a holder is actually betting on. ExxonMobil (XOM) has returned 46% over the past year against roughly 20.5% for the S&P 500, and it earned $14.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Set what management foregrounds now beside what it led with two years ago, and one measure has slipped out of the lead: what its capital actually earns. The Latest Results Leave Out The 13% Return on Capital Reporting on 2024, management led with full-year earnings of $34 billion and cited a return measure alongside them: "return on capital employed of 13%." What it foregrounds in the second quarter of 2026 is levels and running totals instead: $14.5 billion of earnings and $16.3 billion of cumulative structural cost savings since 2019. Neither says what the capital base earns. That savings program's latest step came in July 2026, when upstream operations were folded into one global operations organization of roughly 31,000 employees. A Fifth Vessel In Guyana And A Record In The Permian Much of the cash behind those totals goes back into a capital base that keeps growing: cash capital expenditures ran roughly $7 billion in the second quarter of 2026. The Guyana venture has recovered the $55 billion it invested there, nearly two years earlier than anticipated, and its fifth production vessel, Errea Wittu, sailed in June 2026 and, management said in July, remained on track for start-up by the end of 2026. Permian volumes set a record above 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels a day, produced from acreage that supports extended reach laterals. Over the same three months, more than $9 billion went back to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, and net debt fell by more than $7 billion. A balance sheet that strengthens through an investment phase this heavy is the kind of property the Trefis High Quality Portfolio favors. Revenue Accelerated To 9.6% While The Margin Slipped That growing base is why the missing ratio matters. Revenue over the past twelve months is about $361 billion, up 9.6% year over year against a three-year average growth rate of 0.0%. Profitability went the other way: the trailing operating margin is 10.7% against a three-year average of 11.7%. Management called the quarter exceptional despite a Middle East disruption that temporarily cost roughly 10% of upstream production; that same disruption also pushed chemical product margins up about 180% from the first quarter of 2026. The trailing year, which still absorbs that one exceptional quarter, is closer to the run rate than Q2 alone; a return figure would tell a holder how close. Reassuring On Cash, Silent On Return None of this is evasion, and the quiet is not in itself a warning. Guyana's cost recovery genuinely converts entitlement volume into free cash flow, and management's stated focus is value rather than volume. But a holder who bought a compounding-returns story now owns a company reporting bigger dollar totals on a thinner trailing margin, and the measure that would settle it has left the front of the results. Watch whether the corporate plan update due at the end of 2026 puts a return-on-capital figure back beside that savings total. Meanwhile, the question worth asking is not how much cash the business threw off, but which companies actually earn a rising return on the capital they keep spending. Unanswered Questions Cost The Biggest Holders The Most When management leaves questions open, the uncertainty weighs heaviest on whoever owns the most of the stock. Concentration tends to arrive by accident rather than by decision. What your largest position would do to your net worth is exactly what the Trefis Wealth team computes, with the same rules-based systematic discipline that runs our High Quality Portfolio. Request a free vulnerability audit of your biggest positions.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras PBR delivered a second-quarter 2026 earnings beat as record production, higher exports and a sharp rise in Brent prices lifted results. Earnings per ADS reached $1.72 versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52, while revenues rose 59.8% year over year to $33.61 billion. The question now is durability. Production still has room to ramp and refining is operating at record utilization, but a less favorable crude-price backdrop could test how much of the earnings step-up can persist. Petrobras beat the earnings estimate by 13.2%, while revenues topped the $30.83 billion consensus mark by 9%. Adjusted EBITDA excluding one-off events reached $19.96 billion, up 95.1% year over year. Exploration and Production revenues climbed 58.2% to $22.79 billion. Higher production and Brent prices lifted segment gross profit 72.2% to $13.44 billion. Brazil oil and natural gas liquids production rose 15.2% year over year to 2.689 million barrels per day. P-79 started three months ahead of the 2026-2030 Business Plan, while P-78 and Alexandre de Gusmão continued ramping. Image Source: Petrobras Petrobras identified about 270,000 barrels per day of remaining ramp-up capacity for the second half of 2026. Chevron Corporation CVX also posted record U.S. upstream output of nearly 2.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day in the second quarter. Refinery utilization reached a record 101.2%, while oil-products output rose 10.9% year over year to 1.918 million barrels per day. Oil-products imports fell to 67,000 barrels per day, the lowest quarterly volume on record. Refining, Transportation and Marketing revenues advanced 63.4% to $32.35 billion. Segment adjusted EBITDA increased to $3.56 billion from $1.08 billion a year earlier. Operating cash flow reached $12.25 billion, while capital expenditures totaled $5.29 billion. About 82% of quarterly capital spending went to Exploration and Production projects. Gross debt ended June at $70.81 billion and net debt at $60.39 billion, while net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA improved to 1.14 times from 1.43 times. Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM reported $23.6 billion of second-quarter cash flow from operating activities, providing another large-cap reference point for sector cash generation. Image Source: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Brent averaged $104.52 per barrel in the second quarter, up from $80.61 in the first. That 29.7% sequential increase amplified the benefit from higher production and exports. Management expects Brent to move back toward the assumptions used in Petrobras' strategic plan. If that occurs, higher output and refining efficiency will need to offset some lost price support, making future quarters a clearer test of earnings durability. Petrobras has an operational path to carry some second-quarter gains forward through platform ramp-ups and record refining activity. Still, the current earnings level also reflects an oil-price environment that management does not expect to persist. PBR currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). It also has a Value Score of A, Growth Score of A, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of A. Those Style Scores indicate favorable characteristics across the four measures, but they complement the Zacks Rank rather than override it. With a #4 Rank, the near-term estimate-revision signal remains the more cautious indicator. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (PBR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) picked a good week to hand over the keys. On August 6, the company said that CEO Ryan Lance will retire after 14 years, with CFO Andy O'Brien stepping in on September 1, right when ConocoPhillips had its best quarterly results since 2022. Adjusted profit came in at $3.24 a share, well ahead of the $2.88 Wall Street expected, and revenue jumped 32.4% to $19.5 billion. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) pulled off that strong quarter even as production slipped nearly 6% to 2.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, leaning instead on a 36% jump in realized prices to carry the results. O'Brien, a nearly 30-year company veteran, inherits a $7 billion free cash flow growth pledge through 2029 that depends heavily on finishing the pricey Willow oil project in Alaska. It is a project whose price tag has already climbed to $9 billion. One of the company's rivals, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) told a different story the week before. On July 31, the firm posted its biggest quarterly profit in four years at $14.7 billion, up 67% from the first quarter. It still came up short of the $3.60-per-share estimate with adjusted earnings of $3.52. Its shares fell 1% on the news. So why did ConocoPhillips's win move the stock while Exxon's four-year-high profit left investors cold? Oil platform This was the company's best quarter in years. Handing over the CEO job to a 30-year insider, O'Brien, removes a lot of the uncertainty that usually comes with leadership changes, right as the company chases its $7 billion cash flow target. Nonetheless, on August 7, Barclays analyst Betty Jiang notes that Willow alone underpins nearly 75% of that free cash flow growth plan, and its rising cost is a real threat. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) shares have also lagged Exxon and Chevron over the past three years due to heavy spending, analysts note. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)'s $14.7 billion profit was its best in four years. Permian output hit a record above 1.8 million barrels a day. The company recovered its Guyana development costs roughly two years ahead of schedule, which frees up more cash down the road. However, Exxon still missed the Street's per-share number, production dipped from the prior quarter, and roughly 450,000 barrels a day remain offline in Qatar because of the Iran war, with no clear end in sight. Insider Monkey's hedge fund database shows Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) losing a bit of favor, with 94 holders as of Q1 2026, down from 98 the quarter before. ConocoPhillips saw real momentum build with 74 holders, up from 65, and the dollar value hedge funds held in the stock jumped from about $5.47 billion to $7.51 billion. Another rival, Chevron, moved the other way, up to 103 holders from 86. ConocoPhillips enters the rest of the year in a great position, with a smooth leadership transition and its strongest quarter in years behind it. Exxon posted a four-year high in profit and still couldn't clear Wall Street's bar. The takeaway for both companies is the same, i.e., doing better than you did in the past isn't always enough to satisfy investors today. While we acknowledge the potential of COP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: Baker Hughes Company (BKR) Posted Record Orders, so Why is it Warning About 2026 Spending? and ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) vs. Chevron Corporation (CVX): Trump Attacks the Oil Giants for Making "Too Much Money" Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., or Petrobras PBR, reported second-quarter 2026 earnings per ADS of $1.72, up 168.8% from 64 cents a year ago and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52. The 13.2% earnings surprise reflected stronger production, exports and Brent pricing. Revenues jumped 59.8% year over year to $33,607 million and beat the $30,831 million consensus estimate by 9%. Total oil, NGL and natural gas production reached a record 3,336 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d). Exploration & Production revenues surged 58.2% year over year to $22,785 million. Segment net income attributable to Petrobras shareholders more than doubled to $8,250 million from $3,974 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 77% to $15,874 million. Brazil oil and NGL production climbed 15.2% to 2,689 MBOE/d. Growth reflected higher operational efficiency, the ramp-up of Maria Quitéria, Alexandre de Gusmão and P-78, and the start-up of P-79.  The strong upstream backdrop was also evident across major integrated peers. Chevron CVX reported second-quarter production growth of more than 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day sequentially, while ExxonMobil Holdings XOM achieved record Permian production of more than 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Quote Refining, Transportation and Marketing revenues advanced 63.4% year over year to $32,351 million. Net income attributable to shareholders rose to $1,920 million from $217 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased to $3,562 million from $1,080 million. Oil products output increased 10.9% to 1,918 thousand barrels per day, while refinery utilization reached a record 101.2%. Oil products imports fell to 67 thousand barrels per day, the lowest quarterly volume on record. Refining strength extended beyond Petrobras. Chevron recorded more than 1 million barrels per day of U.S. refinery throughput, while ExxonMobil posted record second-quarter diesel production as constrained global refining capacity supported margins. Gas and Low Carbon Energies revenues increased 10.6% year over year to $2,406 million. Segment net income attributable to Petrobras shareholders rose to $190 million from $88 million, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 77.5% to $419 million. Natural gas sales volume increased 7.1% to 45 million cubic meters per day. Petrobras also introduced a Brent-linked price band mechanism for natural gas contracts, setting minimum and maximum limits to reduce exposure to international price volatility. Consolidated net income attributable to shareholders rose 120.3% year over year to $10,428 million. Net income excluding one-off events increased 170% to $11,073 million, while adjusted EBITDA excluding one-off events advanced 95.1% to $19,959 million. The reported income statement showed quarterly gross profit of $19,493 million. Operating expenses increased to $5,240 million. Higher taxes related to crude oil exports and lower foreign-exchange gains partly offset stronger operating performance. Cost discipline remained an industry theme as well. Chevron reached $3 billion of structural cost reductions six months early, while ExxonMobil lifted cumulative structural cost savings since 2019 to $16.3 billion. Petrobras generated $12,250 million of operating cash flow in the quarter as higher production and sales strengthened cash generation. Capital expenditures totaled $5,291 million, with 82% directed toward Exploration & Production projects. The Rank #4 (Sell) company ended June with gross debt of $70,806 million and net debt of $60,388 million. Petrobras continues to prioritize production growth and capital discipline while advancing major projects. For comparison, Chevron generated $15,433 million of adjusted free cash flow in the quarter, while ExxonMobil reported $23,555 million of cash flow from operations, highlighting the strong cash-generation environment across large integrated energy producers. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (PBR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. ExxonMobil Holdings has delivered a very strong run for shareholders over the past five years, yet valuation checks still suggest the stock trades at a discount to its intrinsic value estimate based on a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) approach and on earnings multiples. The stock has returned 247.7% over the past five years, which puts current buyers in the position of weighing recent gains against what still screens as a discount to estimated intrinsic value. Record production and continued capital returns can support expectations for future cash flows, while exposure to geopolitical disruptions and refining capacity constraints may affect how durable those cash flows prove to be. On Simply Wall St's broader valuation checks, ExxonMobil Holdings screens as a mixed picture rather than a clear bargain or clear overvaluation, with 3 of 6 checks suggesting the stock is cheap on traditional metrics. The issue now is whether the current share price around US$159.75 still leaves enough margin between market value and intrinsic value to compensate investors for the risks around future cash flows. ExxonMobil Holdings delivered 53.2% returns over the last year. See how this stacks up to the rest of the Oil and Gas industry. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model here uses projected free cash flows to estimate what ExxonMobil Holdings might be worth today. On this model, the latest twelve month free cash flow is about $32.8b, and the projections assume broadly steady to slightly growing cash generation over time rather than aggressive expansion. Feeding those cash flows into a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity framework produces an estimated intrinsic value of about $213.54 per share. Against the recent share price around $159.75, that intrinsic value implies ExxonMobil Holdings screens as roughly 25.2% undervalued. Because the recent Q2 2026 report highlighted strong earnings, record production, and sizeable buybacks, while the market price still sits below the cash flow based estimate, the stock appears to reflect some caution around future energy markets and project risks. Overall, the DCF work suggests ExxonMobil Holdings stock looks undervalued relative to what its current and projected cash flows would support. Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests ExxonMobil Holdings is undervalued by 25.2%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 49 more high quality undervalued stocks. Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for ExxonMobil Holdings. The P/E ratio is a useful cross check for ExxonMobil Holdings because earnings remain a key driver of how investors value large integrated oil and gas groups. ExxonMobil Holdings currently trades on a P/E of about 20.1x, which is higher than the oil and gas industry average of roughly 12.7x and also above the peer group average of about 16.0x. On Simply Wall St's fair P/E estimate of 28.8x, which reflects the company’s specific mix of size, profitability profile and risk, the current multiple sits well below what that tailored benchmark implies. That gap indicates that the market is pricing ExxonMobil Holdings at a discount to where this model would place it, even after a period of strong reported earnings and sizeable capital returns. On the P/E multiple alone, ExxonMobil Holdings stock appears undervalued relative to the earnings level that the fair value framework would imply. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives for ExxonMobil Holdings sit between the valuation work above and the day to day news flow. They explain which assumptions about ExxonMobil Holdings' future growth, margins and earnings would need to occur for the stock to be worth materially more or less than today’s price. Where a single ratio or model gives one figure, they unpack the future that figure relies on so you can follow how it develops over time on the Community page. One of the top community narratives on ExxonMobil Holdings: 6% undervalued Read one of the top narratives on ExxonMobil Holdings Do you think there's more to the story for ExxonMobil Holdings? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! ExxonMobil Holdings screens as undervalued on both the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) intrinsic value estimate and on the earnings multiple work, even though the broader checklist is mixed rather than a clean value signal. The core question is whether the cash flows that underpin that intrinsic value and the current P/E can be sustained given project execution risks and exposure to geopolitical and refining constraints. For investors, the real debate is whether the current discount reflects a genuine opportunity in ExxonMobil Holdings or whether the market is correctly pricing the possibility that future cash flows prove less durable than the models assume. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include XOM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) handed its shareholders $9.4 billion during the second quarter -- $4.3 billion of dividends and $5.1 billion of share repurchases. For an income-focused investor, the more important number is what the oil giant produced to pay for it all. The second quarter produced plenty. Exxon earned $14.5 billion -- $3.48 per share, or $3.52 on an adjusted basis -- and cash flow from operations came to $23.6 billion. And free cash flow (what's left after capital spending) was $17.2 billion, covering the quarter's distributions nearly twice over. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » Zoom out to the full first half, though, and the coverage looks much tighter. The difference matters for anyone counting on the pace to continue. Second-quarter earnings of $14.5 billion nearly matched the $14.8 billion Exxon earned in all of last year's first half. The company said Permian output topped 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels per day during the quarter, a record, and first-half earnings of $18.7 billion were up about 26% year over year. The distributions that cash supported are enormous in absolute terms. The $4.3 billion quarterly dividend outlay reflects a payout of $1.03 per share, and the company has already declared the same $1.03 for the third quarter, payable Sept. 10. At Friday's closing price of about $153, the annualized $4.12 payout gives the dividend stock a 2.7% yield. The buybacks are the bigger line item. Exxon bought back $5.1 billion of its shares in the second quarter, following $4.9 billion in the first. That keeps it on pace, as management put it in its first-quarter release, "with plans to repurchase $20 billion of shares in 2026, assuming reasonable market conditions." Add roughly $17 billion of annualized dividends to a $20 billion buyback program, and Exxon's shareholder-return commitment runs near $37 billion a year. Covering that pace takes more than one good quarter, and the first half shows why. Exxon generated $19.9 billion of free cash flow over the six months while distributing $18.6 billion. The payout was covered, but with only about $1.3 billion to spare. The reason is the first quarter. Exxon reported net income of $4.2 billion for the period ($8.8 billion excluding identified items and timing effects), and free cash flow of just $2.7 billion -- less than a third of the $9.2 billion it distributed in those three months. The company leaned on its balance sheet to hold the pace, which is exactly what the balance sheet is for. Its debt-to-capital ratio stood at 15.4% at the end of that quarter, a level the company describes as industry-leading. So free cash flow swinging from a first-quarter $2.7 billion to a second-quarter $17.2 billion is really how commodity businesses fund steady payouts out of unsteady earnings. The dividend and the annual buyback plan don't move with the quarter. The cash that pays for them does. And quarters like the first one can happen again -- when crude prices soften, or when derivative margin postings tie up cash the way they did then. Two things work in Exxon's favor. The first is costs. The company says it has achieved $16.3 billion of cumulative structural cost savings since 2019 (more, it says, than BP, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies combined), including $1.2 billion added in the first six months of 2026. None of that has come at the expense of investment, either. Exxon spent about $13 billion on capital projects in the first half. The second is growth in low-cost barrels. Beyond the record Permian output, Exxon plans to start production at its fifth Guyana development in the fourth quarter, adding 250,000 barrels per day of capacity. Cheaper barrels should mean the payout stays covered at lower commodity prices. To me, that's what a dividend investor here should care about most, since it's the weak quarters that put a payout at risk. At about 20 times earnings, the stock arguably isn't priced for a boom either -- though with an oil major, that ratio has as much to do with where crude prices sit as with the company itself. The second quarter showed what full coverage looks like: $17.2 billion of free cash flow against $9.4 billion handed out. The first quarter showed the opposite, and the half-year ledger nets out to coverage with little margin. The payout commitments are enormous. For now, the cash is showing up. Before you buy stock in ExxonMobil, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and ExxonMobil wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $399,832!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,374,595!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 9, 2026. Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Exxon Handed Shareholders $9.4 Billion in One Quarter. Here's What It Earned to Cover It. was originally published by The Motley Fool

Chevron Corporation CVX has entered the second half of 2026 with considerable operating momentum. The company recently delivered an impressive quarterly beat, reporting adjusted earnings of $12 billion for the second quarter of 2026. The strong performance was supported by solid operational execution, higher crude oil price realizations, robust refining margins and increased production following the Hess acquisition. Results were further underpinned by stronger cash flow, a resilient upstream portfolio and disciplined shareholder returns. Yet with shares lagging both ExxonMobil XOM and Shell SHEL, and valuation sitting at a premium, the bigger question is whether this momentum can translate into meaningful upside for investors. Chevron’s second-quarter operating performance was impressive. Worldwide net oil-equivalent production reached 4.07 million barrels per day, up 20% year over year, driven largely by legacy Hess assets and growth in the Permian Basin and Gulf of America. U.S. production reached a record 2.07 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Refining operations were similarly strong, with U.S. crude unit throughput reaching a record 1.07 million barrels per day and utilization exceeding 97%. Higher commodity prices amplified those operating gains. Chevron reported second-quarter earnings of $12.1 billion, or $6.11 per share, while adjusted earnings totaled roughly $12 billion, or $6.06 per share. Cash flow from operations excluding working capital was $19.7 billion, while adjusted free cash flow reached $15.4 billion. That cash generation has provided significant financial flexibility. Chevron reduced debt by a record $8.4 billion during the quarter, while its net debt-to-CFFO ratio improved to 0.6X. At the same time, the company continued returning capital, paying $3.5 billion of dividends and repurchasing $3 billion of shares during the quarter. Image Source: Chevron Corporation The Hess acquisition is also showing tangible benefits. One year after closing, Chevron had captured $1.5 billion of annual run-rate synergies — 50% above its initial target and six months ahead of schedule. Management said the acquired assets are generating free cash flow at roughly twice the incremental dividend burden, while Guyana provides exposure to high-margin production growth extending into the 2030s. Cost discipline offers another lever. Chevron achieved $3 billion of annual run-rate structural cost reductions six months early, with more than 70% of the savings stemming from efficiency improvements. Meanwhile, management expects 2026 shale and tight capital spending per barrel of oil equivalent to be 25% below last year, indicating that production growth is becoming more capital efficient. Chevron is also broadening its opportunity set beyond conventional oil and gas. Project Kilby in West Texas includes a 20-year take-or-pay agreement to supply Microsoft with 2.67 gigawatts of behind-the-meter power. Management expects the project to generate mid-teens returns and long-duration cash flows that are less correlated with commodity cycles, although the project remains subject to final investment decision and execution. Commodity exposure remains the biggest swing factor. Chevron estimates that every $1 change in Brent affects full-year after-tax earnings and cash flow by roughly $600 million. Second-quarter Brent averaged nearly $104 per barrel, providing a substantial earnings tailwind that may not persist. Image Source: Chevron Corporation Near-term operations also face maintenance headwinds. Chevron expects third-quarter upstream turnarounds and downtime to reduce production by 150,000-200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while downstream maintenance could reduce after-tax earnings by $175-$225 million. Geopolitical exposure, particularly around Kazakhstan’s CPC export route and the Middle East, adds another layer of uncertainty. The company itself identifies commodity prices, OPEC+ actions, geopolitical conflicts and operational disruptions among material risks. Chevron’s shares have gained 1% over the past three months compared with the sub-industry’s 0.3% growth. However, the company underperformed its peers, as ExxonMobil and Shell have risen 2.2% and 3.7%, respectively, during the same time period. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Chevron’s premium valuation also leaves less room for error. The stock trades at roughly a 12.61X forward price-to-earnings multiple, notably higher than Shell’s 9.44X but below ExxonMobil’s 13.32X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Chevron’s underlying picture is constructive: record production, accelerating Hess synergies, structural cost reductions, robust cash generation and a stronger balance sheet provide a solid foundation. The Microsoft power agreement also introduces an intriguing source of contracted, commodity-diversified growth. However, elevated commodity sensitivity and upcoming maintenance could create earnings volatility after an exceptionally strong second quarter. For now, Chevron, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), appears well positioned operationally, but investors may want clearer evidence that recent earnings strength can endure through a less supportive commodity environment before taking a more bullish stance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Imperial Oil recently reported second‑quarter 2026 results showing sales of CA$16,062 million and net income of CA$2,190 million, alongside a maintained quarterly dividend of CA$0.87 per share and a board change bringing in ExxonMobil executive Steven Abrahams as director. The combination of stronger earnings compared with last year and closer governance alignment with majority owner ExxonMobil gives fresh context to Imperial Oil’s focus on capital discipline, refinery performance and emissions management. Next, we will examine how Imperial Oil’s stronger quarterly earnings, despite lower production volumes, may influence its existing investment narrative. Find 11 companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. To own Imperial Oil, you need to believe that its oil sands, refining and emerging low carbon projects can collectively justify today’s earnings power despite transition and policy headwinds. The latest quarter’s higher net income on slightly lower production, together with steady dividends and an ExxonMobil-linked board refresh, does not materially change the key near term story: execution on refinery reliability and capital discipline versus the ongoing risk of tightening decarbonization policy around oil sands. Among the recent announcements, the maintained CA$0.87 quarterly dividend stands out. In the context of strong Q2 2026 earnings and a new buyback authorization that has not yet been used, the unchanged dividend underlines Imperial’s current priority on balance sheet strength and operating performance. For investors watching catalysts such as refinery throughput and renewable diesel ramp up, the stable payout can be read as a signal that management is focusing first on sustaining cash generation before adjusting shareholder returns. Yet, against this backdrop, investors should still be aware of how tightening carbon regulation could affect Imperial’s long lived oil sands projects and... Read the full narrative on Imperial Oil (it's free!) Imperial Oil's narrative projects CA$53.9 billion revenue and CA$4.7 billion earnings by 2029. Uncover how Imperial Oil's forecasts yield a CA$153.19 fair value, a 13% downside to its current price. While consensus focuses on Q2 strength and operational efficiency, the lowest analysts paint a far gloomier picture, assuming revenue might fall to about CA$35.6 billion by 2029 and still question valuation. Their view highlights how differently you might weigh today’s earnings beat versus long term transition risks, and why it is worth comparing several sets of expectations before deciding what Imperial’s latest results and governance changes really mean for you. Explore 4 other fair value estimates on Imperial Oil - why the stock might be worth as much as 28% more than the current price! Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own. A great starting point for your Imperial Oil research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision. Our free Imperial Oil research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Imperial Oil's overall financial health at a glance. Our daily scans reveal stocks with breakout potential. Don't miss this chance: Uncover the next big thing with 14 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. Invest in the nuclear renaissance through our list of 89 elite nuclear energy infrastructure plays powering the global AI revolution. The latest GPUs need a type of rare earth metal called Dysprosium and there are only 28 companies in the world exploring or producing it. Find the list for free. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include IMO.TO. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

SM Energy SM reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.19 per share, up 46.0% from $1.50 a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.93 by 13.47%. Total revenues of $2.50 billion surged 215.3% year over year and topped the consensus mark of roughly $2 billion by 24.54%. The strong quarterly results were backed by impressive oil equivalent production and pricing. Two other energy giants that have reported results are ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation XOM and Chevron Corporation CVX. While XOM missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings, CVX surpassed it. Both CVX and XOM have a strong presence in upstream activities. Second-quarter production totaled 40 million barrels of oil equivalent, up from 19 million a year earlier. Oil volumes were 20.9 million barrels, while gas production was 86.8 billion cubic feet and NGL volumes were 4.6 million barrels. The average realized price before derivatives was $53.86 per Boe, up 30.5% year over year. Oil realizations rose to $96.85 per barrel from $62.04, while natural gas realizations fell to 17 cents per Mcf from $2.15. Lease operating expense was $6.71 per Boe, up 21.6% from the prior-year quarter. Transportation costs declined 13.6% to $3.57 per Boe, while G&A expense per Boe fell 10.4% to $1.98. SM reported $1.4 billion of adjusted EBITDAX and $526 million of adjusted net income. Capital expenditures before changes in accruals were $717 million, below the company’s second-quarter guidance of $815 to $855 million, mainly due to drilling and completion timing. Operating cash flow was $1.1 billion, while adjusted free cash flow reached $467 million. SM returned $137 million to stockholders, comprising $84 million of share repurchases and $53 million of dividends. SM cut net debt by roughly $1.1 billion during the quarter, bringing the balance down to about $6.25 billion. Proceeds from the $950 million South Texas asset sale helped fund the retirement of $819 million of notes due in 2026. After quarter-end, the company also moved to redeem the remaining $417 million of 2027 notes, pushing its next senior-note maturity out to mid-2028. SM raised second-half 2026 total production guidance to 435 to 440 MBoe/D from 430 MBoe/D, with oil output expected at approximately 238 thousand barrels per day. Full-year production guidance was narrowed to 418 to 423 MBoe/D, including oil volumes of 223 to 225 thousand barrels per day. For the third quarter, total production is projected at 430 to 440 MBoe/D and oil production at 230 to 240 thousand barrels per day. SM maintained full-year capital guidance of $2.65 to $2.85 billion. Currently, SM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SM Energy Company (SM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation XOM used its second-quarter 2026 earnings call to stress portfolio resilience through Middle East disruption and stronger downstream margins. Management centered its message on Guyana cash flow, Permian growth and structural cost savings. Adjusted EPS of $3.52 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.68. Revenues of $116.01 billion topped the $Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95.80 billion. ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation Quote Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said temporary Middle East disruptions reduced upstream production by about 10%, yet ExxonMobil generated $14.5 billion of earnings and $23.6 billion of operating cash flow. Woods said the integrated portfolio helped keep facilities running and avoid roughly $750 million of annual disruption costs through modeling, fleet reallocations, reformulation and alternate supply. The company also generated $17.2 billion of free cash flow and returned $9.4 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Woods said Guyana recovered invested capital and operating costs nearly two years earlier than expected. Gross production reached roughly 900,000 barrels per day in the quarter. Senior vice president and CFO Neil Hansen told a Wolfe Research analyst that the project has fully recovered $55 billion of investment and costs. Hansen characterized the production-entitlement change as an inflection toward higher free cash flow. Woods said ExxonMobil is evaluating a ninth FPSO and sees four new exploration prospects identified with AI tools. The fifth FPSO remains on track to start production by year-end. Woods told a Goldman Sachs analyst that he expects a robust refining market as regional disruptions, lower Chinese exports and Russian refinery outages constrain available capacity. Management stated that ExxonMobil has high-graded its refining portfolio toward lower supply costs and higher-value products. The company reported record second-quarter diesel production, while U.S. Gulf Coast refinery reliability exceeded 95%. Hansen added Energy Products has grown from about 9% to roughly 23% of business-line earnings over five years, reflecting refining investments, portfolio high-grading and stronger trading capability. Woods said Permian production exceeded 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, another record. He added that more than 40 technology developments are aimed at improving recovery and capital efficiency. Hansen highlighted 83 four-mile wells drilled year to date and about 1,200 producing wells of at least three miles since 2020. Woods told a Morgan Stanley analyst that successful technologies can be combined to improve recovery while reducing the number of wells required. Woods said cumulative structural cost savings have reached $16.3 billion since 2019, supported by centralized organizations and tighter value-chain accountability. Management also added that said ExxonMobil combined upstream operations with its global operations organization on July 1, creating a roughly 31,000-person group across more than 150 sites in 48 countries. Larger process and data platform rollouts are planned for 2027. Hansen told a Wells Fargo analyst that ExxonMobil still targets $20 billion of cumulative structural savings by 2030. He said annualized 2026 cash operating expenses would be roughly even with 2019 despite inflation and growth. Woods closed with a value-over-volume posture focused on advantaged investments, integration, technology and resilience through disruption. Hansen and Woods kept execution tied to reliable production, higher-value products, lower structural costs and disciplined shareholder returns. XOM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Its Value Score and Growth Score are A, Momentum Score is B and VGM Score is A, producing broadly favorable Style Scores. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Under the Zacks Style Scores framework, A and B are the stronger grades, while the Zacks Rank reflects earnings-estimate revision trends over one to three months. The Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates after the just-reported results. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 06, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) delivered a strong first half of 2026, with directional revenue increasing to $4.9 billion and directional EBITDA reaching $1.3 billion, nearly doubling year-over-year. The company secured significant new contracts, including the FPSO SEAP 1 and SEAP 2 awards from Petrobras and a feed contract for ExxonMobil Guyana's long-tail development, boosting its record backlog to $35.6 billion. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) raised its full-year 2026 guidance, increasing directional revenue to around $7.6 billion and directional EBITDA to around $1.9 billion, reflecting strong execution and commercial momentum. The company's fleet continues to perform exceptionally well, with uptime around 99% across 16 operating units, and it has successfully delivered around 140,000 barrels of additional oil production above initial nameplate capacity through debottlenecking. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) is on track to deliver a minimum of $2.1 billion in shareholder returns for 2026-2031, with a 7.2% cash yield based on the end-June share price, and has a strong pipeline of over 40 potential FPSO awards globally. The company is scaling its execution capacity beyond its stated in-house limit of six FPSOs through standardization, replication, and strategic partnerships, allowing for further growth without compromising discipline. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) completed the sale of FPSO One Guyana and finalized the divestment of a minority interest in FPSO Dalji, significantly reducing net debt to $3.7 billion and lowering pro forma leverage to around 1.6 times EBITDA. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) reported a fatality at one of its subcontractor's yards in China, which, while not impacting schedules, is a serious incident requiring thorough investigation and could affect future operations in the region. The company's net cash backlog decreased slightly from year-end due to the deconsolidation of FSO Chaoqi's cash flow and the sale of One Guyana, highlighting the volatility of the sale-and-operate model. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) faces potential upward movement in leverage this year due to debt drawdowns on Jaguar and Chaoqi and timing differences in milestone payments, which could cause temporary fluctuations in net debt. The company's turnkey overhead costs are around $100 million per year, which are not fully covered by the current net cash backlog, potentially diluting future margins if new awards are not secured. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) noted an increasingly complex and volatile environment, which could pose risks to operational activities and commercial prospects, despite the company's resilient performance. The company's working capital has been a significant drag, with around $450 million in the first half of 2026, and this is expected to continue as it invests in new hulls and takes on more sale-and-operate contracts. SBM Offshore NV (SBFFF) is facing intense competition in the bidding process for the Venus project in Namibia, and while it maintains discipline on returns, losing this strategic opportunity could impact its positioning in the region. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with SBFFF. Is SBFFF fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: Can you make the capacity discussion more concrete? Is there a particular phase of execution that is the actual constraint, and if you get awards for the two new unallocated hulls, will your headline number of orders rise to eight rather than the stated capacity of six?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): The constraints are associated with specific work phases. Engineering and procurement are largely done in-house, which is where partnerships help scale up. Supply chain and yards are planned ahead based on the prospect pipeline. The "six" number was based on historical execution models for project management capacity. Thanks to standardization and successful deliveries, we can now reassess and expand beyond six without compromising execution quality. Q: Regarding the Venus project, a press article suggests a competitor is now the front runner. Can you comment on this prospect and where you think you have an edge?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): We don't know the outcome of the prospect yet and have no further comments on the current state of bids. Venus is strategically important to SBM because we want to be a frontrunner in Namibia, which has significant exploration activity. However, we do not compromise on our return expectations for any single prospect, maintaining discipline in our commercial strategy. Q: Why did you include the statement about an "increasingly complex and volatile environment" in your press release for the first time? Are there specific new challenges, such as in the supply chain?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): We are observing a world that moves around a lot, which could impact operational activities or commercial prospects. We emphasize that the predictability of our operational and financial performance is a contrast to that volatility and is a strength in our value proposition. There are no specific new challenges beyond the general environment. Q: What is the impact of the FSO Chaoqi divestment on EBITDA guidance, and will the low tax rate in H1 change in H2?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): Chaoqi had a small but not very significant impact on EBITDA in the first half. The low tax rate is really about the One Guyana sale, where we had already paid the tax, resulting in a large amount of income with no associated tax to pay now. Q: Can you help bridge the H1 EBITDA to the 2026 guidance? Are there any other items to be mindful of for H2, given One Guyana will not be present?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): One Guyana made a big boost to H1 results, so the year-end won't be double that. There isn't anything else significant other than maintaining very good operational and project performance to deliver the around $1.9 billion guidance. Q: How much working capital drag should we expect over the next 6 to 12 months given the new hull investments and additional sale-and-operate contracts?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): As we add more FPSOs, we will add more working capital on the operate side. On the turnkey sale-and-operate side, we aim to run cash-neutral over the construction lifetime, but there can be big timing differences. The recently announced new hull will increase working capital. With growth, working capital will increase on an absolute basis, and sale-and-operate will increase volatility. Q: How has the tender pipeline evolved over the past 12 months given the changing oil price and competitive environment? Have you seen delays or a slowdown in client decisions?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): The tender pipeline hasn't changed materially. Prospects go through extensive exploration and development work before reaching our pipeline, so recent oil price hikes don't influence them. We maintain early engagement with clients, and the dynamic remains strong in Guyana, West Africa, and Brazil. The shift from lease-and-operate to sale-and-operate has changed the competitive landscape, but our life-cycle proposition keeps us well-positioned. Q: Have you seen a change in the work around decarbonization options given the shift in public commentary from the majors?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): We have worked for years on lowering the emission intensity of our FPSOs and bring that into our offerings. We are conducting studies on modularized carbon capture systems ready to integrate into future FPSOs when they become part of specifications. Currently, efficiency gains remain part of our FPSOs, but carbon capture hasn't materialized yet in the market. Q: If I look at your turnkey order book by year of execution, there's roughly $3 billion for next year and $3 billion for 2028. Why would I be wrong in thinking turnkey doesn't go towards $5 billion turnover medium term?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): What we have in hand is in the backlog, but there is a lot of potential from the strong market we see, which is why we included the model scenario. It's not a forecast or target, but it shows the level of opportunity. If we are successful in capturing a portion of that, you can expect turnkey to grow. Q: Regarding the net cash backlog, you say there's $1 billion of net cash coming from turnkey against $10 billion of backlog. Can you talk through the gap?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): The net cash figure is net of overheads, which we've extended a bit due to the SEAP awards. You have to add back roughly $100 million of overheads per year. The difference also includes long-tail, for which there isn't any net cash in the backlog yet, and we take a relatively conservative approach when projecting the backlog, including contingency. Q: There was a fatality at one of your subcontractor's yards in China. What impact might this have on your operations or future hull construction?A: yvind Tangen (CEO): This was a Tier 1 event, and we are conducting a thorough investigation with the authorities. Our first priority is looking after the impacted people. We are in the learning phase to ensure we walk into expected growth in China with full learnings. There is no direct impact on yard selections, capacity, or schedules from this incident. Q: What drove the upgrade to EBITDA guidance, and should I upgrade my forecast by $100 million for FY27 and beyond?A: Douglas Wood (CFO): We set guidance with a balanced view of risks and opportunities. So far For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.