IEEFA: ExxonMobil 2020 results come as no surprise: still not covering dividends
This morning, ExxonMobil reported its first-ever annual loss, with cash flows from operations falling by more than half year-over-year. And even though the company cut capital spending by roughly 29% from the previous year, ExxonMobil still spent $2.6 billion more cash on capital projects than it generated from operations.
Yet despite these shortfalls, the company still paid $15.2 billion to its shareholders, borrowing money and selling off assets to help fund its generous dividend and modest share buybacks.
While these results were disappointing to some, they were not actually outliers. ExxonMobil has paid more to shareholders than it generated in free cash flows for 12 of the last 15 years. And its free cash flows have generally trended downwards for more than a decade.
Exxon now faces growing challenges from frustrated investors, who are pressuring the company to shake up its board and change its strategy, arguing that the company needs to shift its business model to thrive in a rapidly evolving energy market. Today’s results could add to the urgency of their calls.
Clark Williams-Derry ([email protected]) is an IEEFA energy finance analyst.
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