The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Neil Mehta - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst
: I just wanted to pick up on the capital spend point. You are indicating that you're going to be below the range this year. And of
course, we'll get a little more color on December 9 about how you're thinking about 2026.
But could you talk about the moving pieces? Is it about capturing deflation? Is it about deferring investment particularly around
some of the low carbon solutions? How should we be thinking about the drivers of that?
Question: Devin McDermott - Morgan Stanley - Analyst
: So I wanted to dive into the Permian a bit more. It's record production results in the quarter. You also raised the guide for the full
year. I was hoping you could unpack the drivers for us a little bit more. Are we already seeing some outperformance as a result of
your advanced proppant rollout? Have there been other changes you've made to development or spacing? And how does this all
impact how you're thinking about the capital and activity requirements to achieve your multiyear growth targets?
Question: Arun Jayaram - JPMorgan Chase & Co - Analyst
: I had a little bit of a bigger picture question. Exxon recently published its global outlook through 2050 and includes around 5% oil
growth, 20% gas growth in a doubling of LNG demand called over the next 25 years. I was wondering if you could talk about how
this outlook informs your strategy? And how should we think about where the puck will go in terms of future organic or inorganic
opportunities for the company?
Question: Bob Brackett - Sanford C Bernstein & Co LLC - Analyst
: I'd like to talk a bit about Superior Graphite. I'm curious what exactly you acquired from them? Was it that their facilities in the US
and Europe or more technology? And also curious how tightly integrated would that be into your existing refining petrochemical
strategy? And then I'll tack on, what do you think that total addressable market might be?
Question: Sam Margolin - Wells Fargo Securities LLC - Analyst
: So yeah, I wanted to ask about the inorganic strategy a little bit. It seems like it's accommodated by two factors. The first is capital
efficiency in the business. And the second is the balance sheet, which is leading among peers.
And so the question is, given all these tailwinds in the business and in the capital structure, do you feel like you can step up in organic
activity even more now and set the table for additional opportunities beyond what's in your pipeline today?
Question: Paul Cheng - Scotiabank GBM - Analyst
: Darren and Kathy, I'm just curious that, I mean, you just have a one-off cost maybe head count reduction. But I'm trying to understand
that you've been doing a lot of different projects. I mean, you're probably doing far more than any of your peers at this point.
So should we assume that, at this moment, you were pretty rounding up against your organizational capability or that you think
your ability that to even increasing the pace of investment just a function of opportunity set, but not limited by your capability?
Question: Paul Cheng - Scotiabank GBM - Analyst
: That's great. I suppose that that's why you just bought Discovery 6, that's part of that improving your, maybe, capability and efficiency
going forward?
Question: Biraj Borkhataria - RBC Capital Markets Inc - Analyst
: I wanted to ask about Mozambique and the onshore development. There were some reports suggesting you were targeting FID in
the first quarter of 2026, but then I read there was a meeting with the government, which has been deferred. So could you just talk
about where you are with that project? Maybe the security situation and then whether an FID in early '26 is likely?
Question: Ryan Todd - Piper Sandler Companies - Analyst
: Maybe one on exploration. You've been, I think, increasingly active on this front in recent years. Can you talk about opportunities
on the horizon over the next 12 to 24 months? And how, if at all, you believe your approach to exploration may have changed relative
to maybe times in the past?
Question: Betty Jiang - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst
: Darren, so Google just recently signed a power contract with gas power plant and wind capture. So really great to see development
on that front. Wondering how your conversation is evolving?
And I know Exxon has consistently talked about your only interested in power from a molecule perspective. But just given how
quickly that power demand is growing and just how quickly that scale is growing as well, curious if there's any appetite to start
offering maybe traditional power first and then adding on carbon capture capabilities later on?
Question: Betty Jiang - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst
: I'm hopeful as well. Thank you very much for the color.
Question: Jean Ann Salisbury - Bofa Merrill Lynch Asset Holdings Inc - Analyst
: I wanted to go back to the proppant. As you referenced in your prepared remarks, the first like 12- to 18-month well results have
started to come out, the Wood Mac study, and the results have been really positive. As you've been able to get more data this year,
is there any other granularity you can share on where you think you're able to improve recovery the most like, for example, gassier
zones, oiler zones, deeper zones, et cetera? And is there anything you can comment on how you see the strength of your patents
or other barriers to entry, keeping others from copying it?
Question: Jason Gabelman - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: I want to go back to the exploration discussion because it was notable since we last spoke, you've entered into multiple new blocks
to expand exploration. And it's not only Exxon pursuing additional exploration efforts, but you're seeing peers advertise their
exploration intentions also.
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OCTOBER 31, 2025 / 1:30PM, XOM.N - Q3 2025 Exxon Mobil Corp Earnings Call
So the question is really what do you think is driving this industry trend? And do you see competition to enter into new blocks
becoming more competitive? And I'm thinking, given Exxon's view that Shell is going (technical difficulty) to, I guess, in the next 5
to 10 years, is that a decent part of why you've seen the industry focus more on exploration?
Question: Paul Sankey - Sankey Research - Analyst
: You've referenced a lot of this already on this call, but I wondered if you could give Exxon Mobil's perspective on the current AI CapEx
boom, especially as you're bringing down your CapEx guidance today. And it's a process and strategy question, a high level.
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OCTOBER 31, 2025 / 1:30PM, XOM.N - Q3 2025 Exxon Mobil Corp Earnings Call
Your CapEx, your peak CapEx spending at Exxon around 2013 was over $30 billion a year, which would be about $40 billion in today's
dollars. If we look at Meta alone, they've got a trailing run rate of your peak $30 billion and are going to $70 billion this year and next.
Could you talk about, then, the challenges that you envisage for that capital deployment from a management perspective, firstly?
And secondly, I wondered, given the speed of this, what are the impacts directly on your business? What are the areas where this
boom is either challenging or benefiting you?
Question: Phillip Jungwirth - Bank of Montreal - Analyst
: Refining margins have been pretty supportive this year and we're a contributor to sequential earnings growth in the quarter. A lot
of moving pieces here at the moment. I was just hoping you could touch on how you see the market considering OPEC unwinds,
supply disruptions, resilient demand? And then also touch on the Baytown project FID-ed this quarter and just how you're positioning
the business based on the longer-term outlook.
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