Core Insights - The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is currently above $56 per barrel, significantly down from approximately $70 per barrel a year ago, impacting the upstream business of integrated energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) [1] - XOM operates in advantageous locations such as the Permian Basin and offshore Guyana, but lower oil prices are expected to negatively affect profits despite the company's strong balance sheet [1] Group 1: Financial Health and Debt Management - XOM's debt to capitalization ratio is 13.6%, which is considerably lower than the industry average of 28.7%, allowing the company to navigate low pricing environments effectively [2] - Chevron Corporation (CVX) and EOG Resources Inc (EOG) also maintain strong balance sheets with debt to capitalization ratios of 17.52% and 20.26%, respectively, indicating lower exposure to debt capital [4] Group 2: Market Performance and Valuation - XOM's shares have increased by 15.4% over the past year, outperforming the industry composite stocks, which improved by 13.7% [5] - The enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio for XOM is 7.62X, higher than the industry average of 4.69X, suggesting a premium valuation [8] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XOM's 2025 earnings has not seen any revisions in the past week, indicating stability in earnings expectations [10]