ExxonMobil raised its quarterly dividend by 3.9%, extending its growth streak to 44 consecutive years, a longer run than 95% of S&P 500 companies. The raise is modest relative to free cash flow, which rose 90% year over year to $39 billion over the last nine months, with $19.1 billion generated in the third quarter alone. The article argues Exxon treats the dividend as a fixed cost, since its cash flow is highly variable and has been lifted by higher oil prices and refining margins tied to supply disruptions in the Middle East. Instead, the company repurchased $5.1 billion of shares in the quarter and cut net debt by $11 billion year to date, which the article says builds flexibility for future downturns.
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