Exxon Mobil's stock rallies after profit falls, but beats expectations

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. rallied 2.1% in premarket trading Friday, after the oil giant reported a second-quarter profit that fell from a year ago, but beat expectations. Net income declined to $3.13 billion, or 73 cents a share, from $3.95 billion, or 92 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The results included a 12-cents-per-share favorable impact from a tax-rate change in Canada. The FactSet EPS consensus was 66 cents. Total revenue fell 6% to $69.09 billion. Upstream production increased 7.2%, as volume increases helped offset price declines, while downstream production fell 38% amid increased downtime and lower margins. Capital and exploration expenditures rose 22% to $8.08 billion. The stock has gained 6.3% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has advanced 6.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 14.0%.

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