Occidental Petroleum Stock (NYSE: OXY) Gains Despite Q4 Revenue Miss

Occidental Petroleum's stock price (NYSE: OXY) has gained 6.24% through the first half of trading today, as the company announced mixed fourth-quarter results. The print revealed Occidental beat substantially on earnings per share (EPS), whilst reporting revenue some $300 million short of expectations.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.67 per share. This reflects more than a 19% upside EPS beat, although quarterly revenue of $6.84 billion, fell short of the predicted $7.14 billion. This marks a 9% decline from the previous year.

A notable factor contributing to the revenue shortfall is the decline in average worldwide realised crude oil prices, which fell by 7% from the prior quarter to $69.73 per barrel. Additionally, the midstream and marketing segment posted a net loss of $134 million, compared to a profit of $182 million in the same period last year.

On the production side, Occidental achieved a record output of 1.46 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 1.23 million boepd the previous year. This increase in production was partly due to the completion of a $12 million deal for CrownRock, which boosted production from the Permian basin.

Occidental also announced plans to sell non-core assets in the Rockies and the Permian, expecting to gain $1.2 billion from these divestments.

On a positive note, Occidental declared a 9% increase in its quarterly dividend, a move likely aimed at appeasing shareholders amid the revenue miss. This, alongside the outlook on production, and the EPS beat helped push sentiment higher on the day.