ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation XOM is a global integrated energy giant with a large upstream business focused on oil and natural gas production. Since upstream contributes significantly to the company’s revenues, expanding production from high-return assets remains a major strategic priority. Guyana and the Permian Basin play a key role in this effort because XOM identifies both as advantaged assets that support higher production and improved unit profitability.
The strength of these assets lies in their low-cost production economics. In Guyana, ExxonMobil has highlighted its industry-leading cost competitiveness and execution capabilities, supported by the “design one, build many” approach, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced drilling and strategic partnerships. The company is using these advantages to expand production, with the fifth Guyana Floating Production Storage and Offloading ("FPSO") scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2026 and add 250,000 barrels per day (BPD) of capacity.
XOM is advancing a ninth FPSO toward a 2031 startup and has identified four additional opportunities through AI-powered exploration. Guyana free cash flow is expected to double by 2030 from the 2025 level, further strengthening the asset’s contribution to the upstream business.
The Permian provides another major source of low-cost production growth for ExxonMobil. Second-quarter 2026 production has already exceeded 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels per day (MMBoe/d), while the company plans to increase output to about 2.5 MMBoe/d by 2030, in line with a planned 9% compound annual growth rate. Supported by growth from Guyana and the Permian, ExxonMobil plans to raise total upstream production to roughly 5.5 MMBoe/d by 2030, with advantaged assets accounting for about 65% of output. This growing exposure to lower-cost assets is expected to support stronger upstream earnings and cash flow over time.
CVX & OXY Stand to Gain From Key Upstream Basins
Apart from ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation CVX and Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY stand to benefit from their exposure to prolific upstream regions.
Chevron has meaningful exposure to the resource-rich Guyana and Permian regions, giving CVX access to two major growth areas that can support production and cash generation over time.
Occidental Petroleum, meanwhile, has a significant operating presence in the Permian Basin, which remains central to its upstream strategy. OXY continues to rely on its scale, technical capabilities and resource base in the basin to support efficient development and lower full-cycle costs.
Thus, alongside XOM, CVX and OXY remain well-positioned to capitalize on sustained development across the Permian Basin.
XOM’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
ExxonMobil shares have gained 50.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s 46.4% growth.
From a valuation standpoint, XOM trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 9.21X. This is above the broader industry average of 5.91X.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XOM's third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 earnings has remained constant over the past seven days. Meanwhile, estimates for full-year 2026 earnings have seen upward revisions.
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XOM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).