Globally integrated energy supermajor ExxonMobil was severely mauled during 2020. The company reported a massive 2020 full-year loss of $22 billion, its worst performance in roughly 40 years, after being severely impacted by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and March 2020 oil price collapse. By mid-2020 there were even analysts claiming that Exxon was a zombie company only generating sufficient cash flow to service its debt but unable to pay down its considerable financial obligations. It was Exxon’s mammoth fourth quarter 2020 $20 billion loss that set alarm bells ringing for investors. A key component of that loss was $19.2 billion of impairment charges caused by sharply weaker oil and natural gas prices. During 2020 Exxon lost over 40% of its market value and was dropped from the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, after nearly a century in the index, replaced by software company Salesforce. While 2020 was […]