Bad News, Good News

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell both announced earnings today. For Exxon Mobil, quarterly profits were down 16 percent and annual profits were down 27 percent. The company discussed projects that were expected to be online in the next two years, which it believes will increase earnings in future years. Royal Dutch Shell announced that its earnings were down 48 percent for the quarter and 23 percent for the year. Shell also announced that it would sell $15 billion in assets over the next two years. You would think that the news was equally bad for both companies, but perhaps Exxon's focus on new projects would benefit the company's stock. Instead, Exxon Mobil stock dropped 1.18 percent on the day, while Royal Dutch Shell stock increased 1.13 percent.