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Exxon Mobil reports earnings
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Exxon Mobil’s Q2 beats lowered expectations

Relentless OPEC+ production and softness in the global economy have kept oil prices — and stocks — low this year.

Exxon reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and sales early Friday, having warned weeks ago that soft prices would crimp profits, but the company’s shares still dipped in early trading.

The largest US oil producer reported:

  • Earnings per share of $1.64 vs. consensus estimates for $1.57 per share.

  • Sales of $81.51 billion vs. expectations for $80.70 billion, per FactSet data.

  • Stock buybacks worth $5 billion, putting it on track to meet its $20 billion goal for repurchases this year.

Like others in the energy sector, Exxon has been squeezed by lackluster global demand — demand growth this year is expected to be the weakest, outside of Covid, since the Great Recession in 2009 — and surging production from OPEC, the global cartel, and in particular from Saudi Arabia. Exxon warned in early July that those dynamics would weigh on Q2 earnings.

The result? Oil prices that are roughly 10% lower than this time last year and about 15% lower than two years ago. And energy stocks have, understandably, underperformed.

Exxon was down about 5% over the last year, through the close of trading Thursday. The energy sector of the S&P 500 was down 5.4%, compared to a 16% gain for the S&P 500. Out of the 11 “sectors” of the index, only healthcare did worse than energy, dropping 13%.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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