Laser-Focused On Dividends -- November 3, 2022

COP:

EPS of $3.60 beats by 16 cents; increases dividend by 11%; $20 billion buyback; next quarterly dividend of 51 cents / share.

Story:

ConocoPhillips reported third-quarter 2022 earnings of $4.5 billion, or $3.55 per share, compared with third-quarter 2021 earnings of $2.4 billion, or $1.78 per share. Excluding special items, third-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings were $4.6 billion, or $3.60 per share, compared with third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of $2.4 billion, or $1.77 per share. Special items for the current quarter were primarily driven by a loss on asset sales.

Third-Quarter Highlights and Recent Announcements

• Distributed $4.3 billion to shareholders through a three-tier framework, including $1.5 billion in cash through the ordinary dividend and variable return of cash (VROC) and $2.8 billion through share repurchases.
• Increased quarterly dividend by 11% to 51 cents per share and raised existing share repurchase authorization by $20 billion.
• Expanded global LNG portfolio through participation in QatarEnergy’s North Field South LNG project and agreed to terminal services in Germany for a 15-year period at the prospective German LNG Terminal.
• Set a new 2030 methane emissions intensity target of approximately 0.15% of gas produced, consistent with the company’s commitment to Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0.
• Achieved Lower 48 production milestone of greater than 1,000 MBOED, contributing to record global production of 1,754 MBOED while successfully completing planned maintenance turnarounds. Generated cash provided by operating activities of $8.7 billion and cash from operations (CFO) of $7.2 billion.
• Ended the quarter with cash and short-term investments of $10.7 billion.