Street View: Middle East noise fails to drown out Exxon's margin machine
XOM•Other broker views remain constructive
Evercore ISI ("outperform," PT: $185) says XOM's strategy remains unchanged, with a strong upstream portfolio led by Guyana and the Permian expected to offset weakness in Qatar; its best-in-class downstream, chemicals and specialty businesses should continue to benefit from energy market volatility.
RBC Capital Markets ("sector perform," PT: $180) says that while XOM's Q2 earnings fell short of high expectations, it expects refining margins to continue supporting co's earnings through the second half of 2026 and into 2027.
Morningstar (fair value: $156) believes "XOM is perhaps best positioned among peers to benefit from the currently strong refining margins given its relatively large downstream footprint".
ExxonMobil's second-quarter results and market reaction
ExxonMobil XOM.N on Friday reported Q2 profit that missed Wall Street expectations, although higher oil prices and stronger refining margins resulting from the Iran war helped co post its largest quarterly profit in four years.
Median PT of 26 brokerages covering the stock is $164 - LSEG-compiled data
Morgan Stanley sees refining and chemicals offsetting disruptions
Morgan Stanley ("overweight," PT: $168) says XOM's exposure to stronger refining and chemicals margins has more than offset production disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict, leaving co well positioned to benefit from tight petroleum product markets.
