Mizuho analyst Nitin Kumar reiterated a Buy rating on Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) with a price target of $139.
The analyst flags how weak refining and chemicals margins cloud strong upstream earnings.
XOM published its 8-K with 3Q23 earnings considerations last night. Compared to his prior estimates, the implied Upstream earnings range of $5.7 billion - $6.3 billion was the most prominent 'beat' (MSUSAe previous estimate was $5.1 billion vs. consensus at $5.1 billion).
The company noted ~$0.9 billion - $1.3 billion higher earnings in the Upstream segment due to better Q/Q liquids realizations.
This was complemented by ~$0.2 billion - $0.6 billion higher earnings driven by better gas pricing and ~ $0.1 billion - ...