What's Going On With Exxon Mobil Stock Tuesday?

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM is trading lower Tuesday amid reports of the American multinational oil and gas corporation facing accusations from climate activist investors.  

The investors alleged that ExxonMobil employed “bullying” tactics and undermined shareholders’ rights by continuing a lawsuit against them despite the activists having withdrawn a resolution. 

This resolution demanded that Exxon do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

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The Dutch shareholder group Follow This, along with investment adviser Arjuna Capital, announced their motion to dismiss Exxon’s legal action, highlighting the unprecedented move by the Houston-based company to use the courts to block the petition from reaching a vote, the Financial Times reports.

Exxon’s legal action persists even after Follow This, and Arjuna chose to withdraw their resolution, with the company alleging the resolution violated US securities rules, FT notes. 

Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, criticized Exxon for choosing litigation over allowing a shareholder vote, framing the lawsuit as an attempt to intimidate and silence calls for action on the climate crisis.

Exxon argues that the current SEC process allows repetitive proposals that fail to enhance long-term shareholder value. Filed in a Texas district court, Exxon’s lawsuit accuses Follow This and Arjuna of pursuing an “extreme agenda.”

Despite the controversy, Exxon has declared a goal to achieve net zero emissions from its operations by 2050. 

However, most of its emissions fall under scope 3, resulting from the combustion of its oil and gas products. Follow This plans to redirect its efforts towards a resolution at Shell’s annual meeting, in collaboration with major investors, after facing criticism for its legal battle with Exxon.

In February, Exxon clocked a fourth-quarter FY23 adjusted EPS of $2.48, down $3.40 a year earlier, beating the consensus of $2.21. 

Revenue and other income slipped to $84.34 billion from $95.43 billion and missed Wall Street’s estimated $85.23 billion.

Price Action: XOM shares are down 1.65% at $101.46 on the last check Tuesday.

Also Read: Goldman Sachs On Exxon Mobil Q4 Performance: Focus On Upstream Strength And Cost Strategies Amid Production Surge

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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