Investors were hardly energetic about Norwegian energy company Equinor (EQNR +0.48%) on Wednesday. They traded out of the stock to the point where it lost more than 5% of its value. The sell-off came on the heels of the company's latest earnings release. Other stocks fared better, as the S&P 500 index closed in positive territory with a nearly 0.4% rise.
Top- and bottom-line slumps
Equinor, which reports in U.S. dollars, saw its fourth-quarter revenue dip by 5% year over year to $27.65 billion. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income also sagged, declining at a 6% pace to $1.7 billion ($0.63 per share).
Analysts tracking the oil and gas company were expecting it to be significantly more profitable in the period. They were collectively modeling an adjusted net profit of $0.82 per share. On the plus side, Equinor handily beat their $25.57 billion revenue estimate.
The quarter was marked by single-digit declines in liquid and gas production. It also featured an 11% slide in the average Brent oil crude price. In the financial supplement of its earnings release, Equinor wrote that divestments of assets in Africa and Central Asia contributed to a fall in exploration and production in the company's international operations.
NYSE: EQNR
Key Data Points
High expectations
Equinor also proffered very selected guidance for the entirety of 2025. The company is estimating that organic capital expenditures will come in at $13 billion for the year, while oil and gas production should grow by 4% from the 2024 level.
In recent times the oil and gas industry was booming, so to an extent investors have become somewhat accustomed to over-performance. Equinor is still well in the black on the bottom line, though, and the future of the industry looks bright, so perhaps the share-price dip is an opportunity to buy the stock relatively cheaply.
