Exxon Mobil Corp. reported Friday a first-quarter adjusted profit and revenue that rose above expectations, boosted by higher commodity prices and actions to cut costs. The oil and gas giant’s stock slipped 0.5% in premarket trading, putting it on track to snap a five-day win streak in which it climbed 6.6%. The company swung to net income of $2.73 billion, or 64 cents a share, from a loss of $610 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 65 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Total revenue rose 5.3% to $59.15 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $56.38 billion, while total costs declined 1.5% to $55.56 billion. Oil-equivalent production increased 3% to 3.8 million barrels per day. For the company’s upstream business, average realizations for crude oil increased 42% from the sequential fourth quarter, and rose 33% for natural gas. The company’s 2021 capital expenditure plan was maintained at $16 billion to $19 billion. The stock has soared 43.0% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has rallied 33.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 12.1%.
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