Energy investors have been shaken to their core over the past nine (or so) months. Oil prices have caused many drillers to cut their expected capital expenditures by upwards of 40%, some to an even greater degree.
However, among the wreckage, there's one company who's future plans stand out, and that's ExxonMobil (XOM 0.23%).
One of the world's largest publicly traded companies, Exxon only plans on trimming its capital expenditure budget by around 12%. In another sign of strength, it had to increase a recent bond offering from $7 billion to $8 billion due to greater demand than anticipated. And why not? Its AAA-rating is higher than that of the United States government.
With a number of companies worried about wilting under the pressure of outstanding debt, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Exxon go on the offensive with its $4.6 billion in cash (pre-debt raise). We've seen Exxon pull the trigger on big acquisitions in the past, and this could be another moment of industry weakness where CEO Rex Tillerson decides to back up the truck.
For more on why I'm adding Exxon to my Real Money Portfolio, tune in to the short video below.
Onward!
