ExxonMobil saw its credit rating downgraded by Moody’s on Thursday from Aaa to Aa1, with a Negative outlook. Two weeks ago, S&P cut Exxon’s credit rating. The oil major’s struggles are growing, but they predate the pandemic and the collapse of oil prices. It seems like years ago, but Exxon gave a bullish presentation to investors in early March as part of its annual Investor Day. In that presentation, CEO Darren Woods said that Exxon would was “leaning into this market when others have pulled back,” by which he meant that the company was spending aggressively even as oil prices remained soft. A day later, the OPEC+ talks fell apart and oil careened downwards. The global pandemic was already beginning to ravage Western Europe and would soon spread across the United States. The dual crises exploded the logic of Exxon’s growth strategy. A raft of spending cuts from the […]