HOUSTON, May 18, 2026, 12:02 CDT
Exxon Mobil shares climbed Monday, tracking higher oil prices. The biggest U.S. oil company was back on traders’ radar ahead of a shareholder vote set for next week. Exxon was last at $160.97, up roughly 1.9%. Chevron and ConocoPhillips also traded higher.
Investors are watching two things at the same time right now, with crude prices climbing on Middle East unrest and Exxon’s exposure in focus. Brent was near $110.55 a barrel on Monday as fresh Gulf tensions hit markets, while most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed halted, Reuters said.
Exxon isn’t seeing an easy gain. Higher oil prices tend to boost its upstream business, but earlier this month the company said first-quarter profit dropped after Middle East trouble cut volumes. Output from Guyana and the Permian Basin helped soften the blow.
Exxon turned in first-quarter earnings of $4.2 billion, or $1.00 per share, with adjusted earnings at $4.9 billion, or $1.16 a share. CEO Darren Woods said Exxon was “built to perform through disruption.” The company gave $9.2 billion back to shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks. Exxon Mobil Corporation
Retail commentary hasn’t changed much. A Yahoo Finance-syndicated Insider Monkey piece noted Exxon’s 2.75% dividend. It mentioned UBS raising its price target to $174 from $171 but kept a buy call, saying the bank sees ways Exxon can make up for lower output in Qatar.
The Motley Fool called Exxon a more stable long-term pick among oil majors, pointing to its business mix in production, pipelines, refining and chemicals. The Fool said high oil prices raise production revenue but squeeze refining margins, since crude is a cost for that part of the business.
Exxon doesn’t look cheap on one standard valuation metric. Zacks wrote on TradingView that Exxon is trading at 10.10 times trailing enterprise value to EBITDA, topping the industry average of 6.59 times. The measure weighs a company’s market value against its pre-tax cash earnings.
Oil market watchers are holding back. Vandana Hari of Vanda Insights told Reuters that traders are again eyeing the “tail risk of renewed military escalation.” Phil Flynn at Price Futures Group said the “margin for error is shrinking rapidly” with Hormuz at risk of a shutdown. Reuters
Exxon is looking at a big governance move. The company’s 2026 annual meeting, scheduled for May 27, will ask investors to vote on shifting its legal home from New Jersey to Texas. Exxon says it’s functionally a “Texas corporation in all but name,” since top leaders and most operations have been in Texas for years. Exxon Mobil Corporation
Glass Lewis and ISS told investors to vote against some board-supported measures, including Exxon’s move to redomicile in Texas, Reuters said. Exxon hit back in a filing on May 15, arguing ISS used “flawed analysis” and saying shareholder rights tied to proposals and derivative lawsuits will stay in place. Reuters
Legal clouds lifted last week after a Texas jury said Exxon isn’t liable to investors who claimed the company misled them on disclosures about its Canadian oil sands and Rocky Mountain gas holdings, according to Reuters.
Oil’s run has a risk. If Hormuz reopens or diplomacy breaks the stand-off, oil could drop and buyers who pushed up Exxon and others could pull back. But if prices keep climbing, fresh worries on inflation and rates could weigh on stocks, dulling the upside for energy names. For Exxon, there’s no single driver in play right now—it’s a mix of oil moves, cash payouts, valuation, and shareholder tensions.
