Exxon Posted A Positive Surprise: Evercore ISI Group Analyst Explains

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) reported first-quarter earnings earlier Thursday. EPS for the company fell drastically by 46 percent from $2.10 to $1.17, while revenue saw a 36 percent year-over-year drop, coming in at $67.6 billion.

Doug Terreson, senior managing director and head of energy research at Evercore ISI Group, was on CNBC following Exxon's results to weigh in on the numbers.

Upstream And Downstream Surprises

"They did post fantastic results," Terreson said. "And this company was really built for conditions like these when you think about the diversification of its business mix. And [...] the strength of its model was pretty clear today with its earnings report, which surpassed the Street's expectations by almost 45 percent, even though the oil price declined considerable during the quarter.

"And what was different about their results in relation to the other super majors was that the surprise was from both the upstream and the downstream."

Related Link: Exxon Mobil Beats Q1 Expectation

He continued, "So, they posted a positive surprise and the best earnings quality that we have seen thus far into the reporting season, into the super major category. So, all in all, the result was strong and it was higher quality, more high quality than that of its peers. So, great for Exxon today."

Neutral On Stock

On his outlook for Exxon's stock, Terreson said, "We are Neutral Exxon Mobil, and the reason why is because there are other companies out there with more leverage to the rise in oil price than we envision, which is out of consensus."

 
Image Credit: Public Domain