Murphy Oil Q3 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Decline Y/Y

Core Insights - Murphy Oil Corporation reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted net earnings of 74 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents by 2.6% and showing a 53.4% decrease from $1.59 in the same quarter last year [1] - Revenues for the quarter were $758.3 million, slightly exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $757 million by 0.2%, but down nearly 30% from $959.7 million in the prior-year quarter [3][4] Revenue Analysis - The decline in revenue was attributed to lower contributions from the Gulf of Mexico due to downtime at the Samurai field and hurricane-related disruptions, as well as a decrease in contributions from Eagle Ford Shale due to natural well decline and fewer wells being brought online [4] - Lower commodity pricing across all products also contributed to the revenue decline during the period [4] Operational Performance - Murphy Oil produced 184,567 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D) in Q3 2024, down from 201,705 BOE/D in Q3 2023, with 47.6% of the production being oil [5] - Total costs and expenses were $579.3 million, a slight decrease of 0.5% from $582.1 million a year ago [5] Financial Condition - The company had cash and cash equivalents of $271.2 million as of September 30, 2024, down from $317.1 million as of December 31, 2023, with total liquidity of $1.1 billion [8] - Long-term debt was $1.27 billion as of September 30, 2024, reduced from $1.32 billion at the end of 2023 [8] - Net interest charges decreased to $21.3 million, down nearly 28.8% from $29.8 million in the prior-year quarter [6] Shareholder Returns - In Q3, Murphy Oil repurchased $194 million of stock, equivalent to 5.4 million shares at an average price of $36.12 per share, with $650 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization [7] Guidance - For Q4 2024, Murphy Oil expects production to be in the range of 181,500-189,500 BOE/D, with 51% expected to be oil [9] - The company reiterated its 2024 capital expenditures guidance of $920-$1,020 million and revised its production guidance for 2024 to 180,000-182,000 BOE/D from the previous range of 180,000-188,000 BOE/D [10]