Reply #26: EXXON MOBIL'S QUARTERLY NET NEARS $11 BILLION ON HEFTIER EARNINGS FROM OIL AND GAS [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/exxon-mobil-tap-30-earnings/story.aspx?guid=%7B47568015%2D8652%2D402A%2DABC0%2DE87FC27C5763%7D

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exxon Mobil's profit is expected to jump as much as 30% when it reports its first-quarter earnings on Thursday as the oil giant joins the crowded stage of $120 oil, U.S. retail gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon and flare-ups in the geopolitical scene from Nigeria to the Persian Gulf.

Wrapping up the first three months in world history with oil at $100 a barrel and rising fast, Wall Street expects Exxon Mobil (XOM) to boost net income handily to $2.12 a share from $1.62 a share posted in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts' most bullish first-quarter profit predictions come in near $12 billion for Exxon Mobil, which remains the largest corporation in the world by market cap and yearly profit. In the year-ago period, Exxon reported net income of $9.3 billion.

Meanwhile, No. 2 U.S. integrated oil giant Chevron (CVX: 96.15, +1.41, +1.5%) is on tap to deliver earnings of $2.39 share, compared with $2.18 a share in the year-ago period.

The two oil majors will reign over a flurry of energy sector profit updates in recent days, with ConocoPhillips (COP: 86.15, +0.70, +0.8%) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY 83.21, -0.04, 0.0%) powering past Wall Street estimates.

With oil prices spiking and gasoline prices up but lagging, conditions continued to favor the exploration and production side of the business in the three months ended March 31.

...more...