Shares of Exxon Mobil, one of the world's biggest companies, passed their all-time high on Friday as oil prices resumed their climb and analysts raised their long-term views of the US oil producer's cash flow and earnings outlook.
Exxon is leading a parade of record profits among oil majors this year after doubling down on oil during the pandemic, when energy prices fell to a two-decade low and European oil majors slashed spending and moved further to renewable projects.
The stock hit $106.40 on Friday before closing at $105.86, above the then record high close of $104.59 from June 8.
The rally comes as vindication for chief executive Darren Woods, who as oil prices fell in 2020 decided to “lean in” to oil investments. Exxon, he said then, would not engage in a “beauty match” with its peers pursuing solar and wind.
“Managing cash flow and focusing on what they are good at is a strategy that worked,” said Brian Mulberry, a portfolio manager at researcher Zacks Investment Management.
However, Exxon's surging profits are a flash point for US President Joe Biden, who this week accused it and other oil companies of using “the windfall of profits to buy back their own stock” rather than invest more in new production that would benefit consumers.
Exxon weathered a series of setbacks and posted a historical $22.4 billion loss in 2020. The strategy paid this year as an international oil supply crunch accelerated by sanctions against Russia made oil prices soar.
Exxon shares are up more than 70 per cent to date this year, ahead of the market gains by competitors Shell, BP and US oil major Chevron.
Oil profits allowed the company to erase the $21bn it borrowed in 2020 to pay its bills and keep dividend distributions intact. Wall Street expects it will add $26bn in cash this year.
Next week, Exxon could post another strong quarter on high natural gas prices, putting it on track for a record annual profit this year of $54.80bn, according to Refinitiv, more than its cumulative earnings since 2018.
The share rise gave the company a market value of $438bn, making it 10th highest valued public company in the world.
Exxon's market cap peaked at more than $500bn in 2007. And as recently as 2013 it ranked as the largest publicly traded US company by market value.
But its fall from grace with huge losses and job cuts in 2020 knocked it out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. For a time, utility operator NextEra Energy overtook Exxon as the US energy company with the largest market cap.
The year's profits are largely from high energy prices. Global oil peaked at a 14-year high of $139 per barrel in March and have stayed near $100 per barrel for most of the year. Gas prices rose to multi-year highs on European demand.
The company's production is not as robust as its earnings. Exxon's output at midyear was 3.7 million barrels of oil and gas per day (boed), in line with last year but down nearly 9 per cent from the average 4.1 million boed in 2016.
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
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Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
