Stock Wars: ExxonMobil Vs. NextEra, A Battle Of Old Vs. New In Energy

The days of Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM being the most valuable energy company in the U.S. are over, with the newer NextEra Energy Inc NEE passing the oil giant’s market capitalization.

ExxonMobil was also recently passed by rival Chevron CVX as America’s most valuable oil company.

This marked the first time ExxonMobil has lost that title dating back to its days as Standard Oil Co. a century ago.

About ExxonMobil: ExxonMobil is one of the largest oil companies in the world and owner of brands like Exxon, Mobil, Esso and XTO.

At the end of 2019, Exxon Mobil had 8,728 million bbls of proven crude oil reserves and 1,597 million bbls of natural gas liquids. The company also has over 10,000 retail sites in the U.S. and more than 21,000 worldwide.

ExxonMobil has been one of the largest companies in the United States by revenue. The company is one of only three companies to top the Fortune 500 list and one of 54 companies to appear on every list since it was first published in 1955.

About NextEra Energy: NextEra's Florida Power & Light segment dates back to 1925 and serves 5 million customers in Florida. It's the largest electric utility in the U.S. on the basis of retail electricity produced and sold.

The company’s Gulf Power Co. serves 470,000 Florida customers.

Generating more wind and solar energy than any other company in the world, NextEra Energy is considered one of the top clean energy producers.

NextEra Energy Resources, the company’s clean energy division, was formed in 1998 and operates in 37 states and four Canadian provinces.

Related Link: Rockefeller Descendants Push For Banks To Stop Financing Fossil Fuel Companies

Exxon, NextEra Financials: Exxon Mobil reported revenue of $255.6 billion in fiscal 2019.

This was the second-highest amount from the company over the last five years, only trailing fiscal 2018’s total of $279.3 billion.

Net income of $14.3 billion was the second-lowest of the last five years.

One of the concerns around ExxonMobil is its high debt load of $26.3 billion and its ability to pay its dividend, which typically is increased every year.

The company reported earnings per share of $3.36 in fiscal 2019, lower than its annual payout of $3.43 in dividends per share.

NextEra Energy has grown its revenue from $17.5 billion in fiscal 2015 to $19.2 billion in fiscal 2019.

Net income was $3.4 billion in fiscal 2019, a decrease from the two prior fiscal years.

The company reported earnings per share of $7.82 in fiscal 2019. The company believes earnings per share will rise more than 10% each year going forward.

Exxon, NextEra Stock Performance: Exxon Mobil shares are down 52% in 2020. Shares have fallen 58% over the last five years and around 50% in the last 10 years.

Shares of NextEra Energy are up 24% in 2020. The stock has gained over 190% in the last five years and over 430% in the last 10 years.

What’s Next: NextEra Energy could be a winning stock if Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election. The company has a vision to be the largest and most profitable clean energy provider in the world. Biden favors clean energy investments going forward.

NextEra Energy believes wind and solar will increase in usage as their prices decline and fall more in line with natural gas and other fossil fuel sources.

A TechCrunch article notes the large investments by Blackstone, Microsoft Corporation MSFT, BlackRock, Amazon.com AMZN and Bill Gates have made in the clean energy sector.

ExxonMobil has been slow to adapt to moving past fossil fuels.

The energy sector has been among the worst-performing sectors in the S&P 500.

Exxon Mobil was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2020 after 92 years in the popular market index.

Photo courtesy of NextEra Energy.

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