Pump Prices Hurt ConocoPhillips
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 4/23/2009

The third-largest U.S. oil producer, ConocoPhillips, released its first quarter earnings today which reported that net income fell 80% from a year ago. Net income dropped to $840 million, or 56 cents a share, from $4.14 billion, or $2.62, a year earlier. It is no secret that crude oil prices have dramatically fallen from their 2008 highs so was this report of an 80% drop in line with analysts' expectations? More >

Exxon Mobil: Record-Breaking Profits
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 1/30/2009

UBS (UBS: Charts, News, Offers) analysts downgraded Exxon Mobil's rating from buy to neutral on Wednesday. Last night, analysts at Goldman Sachs (GS: Charts, News, Offers) followed suit. Both firms cited the same reason for this: due to the decline in oil price, these types of companies are no longer "energy safe havens." On Thursday morning, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A: Charts, News, Offers) reported a quarterly net loss giving more justification to analyst's concerns. Friday morning before the markets opened, Exxon Mobil reported a 33 percent decline in Q4 profits, due to the declining price of oil since their all-time highs in July 2008. However, the oil giant also produced record profits of $45.2 billion for the fiscal year ending 2008. This is the second consecutive year that the company set record profits for any US corporation. Pundits are showing little faith in Exxon. The company is posting a record net income in a downward economy. Investors are caught somewhere in the middle. So the question is who should investors place their faith in, the oil producer or the experts? More >

Are Schlumberger's Job Cuts Premature?
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 1/9/2009

Schlumberger announced they would be cutting 1,000 jobs in the US, roughly 1 percent of its total workforce or 5 percent of those employed in the US. More cuts will come from its overseas operations though no exact number was disclosed. Halliburton (HAL: Charts, News, Offers) is following suit and plans to release employees as well, though Halliburton has not mentioned how many. Is the situation around Schlumberger getting darker, and if so, is there any light at the end of this tunnel? More >