CVX Vs XOM -- Fitzsimmons -- 3Q18; Dividend Increase Over At COP? COP Turning Into A Cash Machine -- SeekingAlpha

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Michael Fitzsimmons on earnings: CVX vs XOM.

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COP

From SeekingAlpha:

• net income increased $1.9 billion, or $1.59 per share, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2018, which included a $345 million payment related to a settlement agreement with PDVSA
• the dividend is now $1.22 per share on a yearly basis and a share buyback program of $3 billion
• ConocoPhillips is turning into a cash machine. Debt reduction, share buyback, increased CapEx and dividend accretion are the topics, and they are a pleasant subject.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

I've long maintained that at some point shareholders would be rewarded for their patience.  I had missed the COP dividend announcement or if I posted it earlier I had forgotten about it.

COP dividends, quarterly:

• February, 2014: 69 cents; February, 2014, was not so long ago
• May, 2015: 73 cents
• July, 2015: 74 cents
• during 2016: 25 cents/quarter
• during 2017: 26.5 cents/quarter
• during 2017: 28.5 cents/quarter
• apparently, next dividend will be 30.5 cents/share

Selected revenue data:

• 1Q16: $5 billion
• 3Q18: $10 billion

From the CEO:

"In the third quarter, we generated $1.6 billion, or $1.36 per share of adjusted earnings.

And here's some interesting perspective. The last time ConocoPhillips generated quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion from continuing operations was in the third quarter of 2014. Brent was over $100 per barrel and our production was almost 1.5 million barrels of equivalent oil per day.

So we're as profitable today as we were then despite prices being 25% lower and volumes being 20% lower. So bigger isn't always better."

Also, from the article:

ConocoPhillips' singularity is that the company presents a high exposure to Brent oil price which has yielded the company a definitive edge over its U.S. rivals, who have been hit by production transport bottlenecks that have weakened prices of Texas local crude.

These bottlenecks will be solved.  

Shale:

• Production in Lower 48 represents 32.8% of the total output including Libya. The Lower 48 includes the three US shale basins (Eagle Ford, Bakken, and Delaware) and also the production from the Gulf of Mexico.