Key Facts
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About
ExxonMobil Corporation is an American multinational oil and gas corporation, one of the world's largest energy companies and the largest investor-owned oil company globally. It is a major publicly traded energy company by revenue, ranking as the seventh-largest company by revenue in the U.S. and 13th-largest worldwide. Headquartered in Spring, Texas (a suburb of Houston), the company was formed on November 30, 1999, through the $73.7 billion merger of Exxon Corporation and Mobil Corporation. Its roots trace back to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, founded in 1882 and dissolved in 1911 due to antitrust actions.
ExxonMobil is vertically integrated across exploration, production, refining, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Its chemicals division, ExxonMobil Chemical, produces a wide range of products including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene, polypropylene, elastomers, and synthetic lubricants. The company operates globally, with significant activities in regions such as the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Africa, and Asia, and maintains a workforce of over 62,000 employees under Chairman and CEO Darren Woods. It influences global energy markets through acquisitions like XTO Energy in 2010 and ongoing exploration efforts, with retail operations through Exxon- and Mobil-branded stations worldwide.
Financially robust, ExxonMobil reported substantial earnings and cash flow growth, with its stock traded on the NYSE under the ticker XOM. Approximately 55.56% of its shares are held by institutions, including major holders like The Vanguard Group (8.15%), BlackRock (6.61%), and State Street Corporation (4.83%) as of 2019. The company was part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1928 (through predecessors) but was removed in August 2020, replaced by Salesforce, signaling shifts in economic priorities.
ExxonMobil is known for its role in fossil fuel production and has a long history of innovation in energy technologies, while facing significant controversies. These include the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, which released 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound, leading to extensive environmental damage and legal settlements exceeding $2 billion. The company has been criticized for its role in climate change denial, with investigations revealing internal knowledge of global warming risks since the 1970s while publicly downplaying them, past funding of climate skepticism efforts, and heavy involvement in lobbying against climate regulations, possessing significant lobbying power on climate and energy issues. In recent years, ExxonMobil has pledged to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from operated assets by 2050 and is investing in lower-emission technologies, carbon capture, and alternative fuels. The company emphasizes corporate governance, ethical principles, and community support in its activities.