Exxon Mobil and Chevron 's fight over lucrative offshore oil assets in Guyana could ultimately determine which of the two stocks end up on top this year, said Kevin Holt, senior portfolio manager of the Invesco Energy Fund . The U.S. oil majors have bounced back in 2024 as worries about a recession and weak oil demand that dragged the energy sector lower last year have not materialized.
Exxon's performance is a reversal from the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the company underperformed Chevron due to its capital expenditures during a period when oil prices were low, according to Holt. Since 2020, Exxon's stock has come up from behind and outperformed Chevron as the company has implemented capital discipline, the fund manager added. And investors have taken notice of Exxon's lead position in the lucrative offshore oil development in Guyana.