ExxonMobil ( NYSE: XOM ) booked its first annual loss since the 1999 merger of Exxon and Mobil, and the first annual loss in at least 40 years after the pandemic crushed oil demand and prices and led to a huge domestic gas asset impairment. ExxonMobil reported on Tuesday a loss of $22.44 billion for 2020, compared to earnings of $14.34 billion for 2019, due to the lower oil and gas prices and after-tax fourth-quarter impairment charges of $19.3 billion. The impairment charge and the loss for the fourth quarter were not unexpected—Exxon had guided for a massive loss for Q4 due to a write-down of up to $20 billion of gas assets. The fourth-quarter loss stood at $20.1 billion, including unfavorable identified items of $20.2 billion, mostly the impairments. Excluding the impairments, Exxon squeezed earnings of $110 million, or $0.03 per share assuming dilution, for Q4. The fourth-quarter […]