Well, my dears, it appears Occidental Petroleum – Occidental, if you insist on the full title – decided to have a bit of a rally today. A most agreeable 9.38% uptick, wouldn’t you say? One almost feels obliged to applaud. The market, naturally, is never predictable, but occasionally it deigns to be…sensible.
By the closing bell, the share price had rather smartly climbed, leaving one to suspect someone, somewhere, actually knows what they’re doing.
A Balance Sheet, Tidied
Occidental, with commendable efficiency, has managed to divest itself of its chemical manufacturing arm, OxyChem. A perfectly sensible move, really. The proceeds – a rather handsome $5.8 billion, I’m told – have been put to work reducing the company’s debt. One does wish more companies would adopt such a straightforward approach. It’s terribly refreshing.
And, naturally, a portion of this newfound prosperity is being shared with shareholders. A dividend boost of 8% to $0.26 per share. Payable April 15th, if one is still around to collect it, of course. A rather generous gesture, wouldn’t you agree? Though one suspects they’d rather not have the money languishing in various accounts.
Cash, Darling, Always Cash
The company managed to pump out an average of 1,481 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the last quarter, largely thanks to its operations in the Permian and Rockies. One assumes the earth is still cooperating, which, frankly, is a relief.
Despite a slight dip in the price of crude and natural gas – a tiresome occurrence, really – Occidental continued to generate a healthy stream of cash. Operating cash flow came in at $2.6 billion, and free cash flow at $1 billion. Not bad, not bad at all.
As CEO Vicki Hollub so elegantly put it, “Our emphasis on operational excellence and cost efficiency drove meaningful production and operating expense outperformance during the fourth quarter.” A perfectly adequate summary, though one suspects a touch of corporate jargon slipped in there. Still, one can’t have everything.
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2026-02-20 06:52