March 2016, Vol. 243, No. 3

Features

ExxonMobil’s Secret Weapon Against Low Oil Prices

Everyone is familiar with oil giant ExxonMobil, so it should be no surprise that investors have kept XOM shares under pressure as oil prices hover near lows that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. What many investors do not realize though is that Exxon is more than just an oil company – the firm also owns the fourth-largest chemical company in the world, ExxonMobil Chemical. ExxonMobil Chemical gets a lot less attention that the oil and gas operations of the parent company, which is unfortunate because those chemical assets have significant value as well and should help to ensure that XOM’s profits remain positive (excluding write-offs) regardless of what happens to oil prices. T