New York, Feb 27, 2026, 18:40 EST — After-hours
- Exxon shares rose about 3% in regular trading and were little changed after hours
- Oil settled at multi-month highs as U.S.-Iran talks rolled into next week without a deal
- Focus turns to Vienna technical talks and an OPEC+ output call on March 1
Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares closed up 2.7% at $152.60 on Friday and were little changed in after-hours trade, the session after the 4 p.m. close. The stock traded between $149.25 and $153.61. 1
Crude drove the tape. Brent settled at $72.48 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate ended at $67.02, their highest since July and August, after the United States and Iran agreed to extend indirect nuclear talks into next week without an agreement. “The likelihood Iran is going to agree to what the Trump administration wants doesn’t seem possible,” said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group. 2
For Exxon, moves like that matter fast. Investors price the stock as a liquid proxy for oil risk, especially into a weekend when headlines can swing energy prices before the opening bell.
A Reuters poll of economists and analysts lifted its 2026 outlook, but it also flagged an expected supply surplus later in the year. OPEC+, the producer group that includes Russia, meets on Sunday and is expected to discuss an April output increase of 137,000 barrels per day; analysts estimated the geopolitical “risk premium” — the extra dollars traders pay for supply-risk — at about $4 to $10 a barrel. “Oil prices are bloated with a decent geopolitical risk premium,” Julius Baer’s Norbert Rucker said. 3
On the physical market side, trade sources said Saudi Aramco sold its first ultra-light condensate cargoes from the Jafurah project to U.S. majors, including a cargo Exxon bought for loading next month. Condensate is a very light oil used for blending and as refinery feedstock. 4
Big Oil peers rose too, but Exxon led the group on the day. Chevron gained 1.4% while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.4%. 5
Exxon has leaned on shareholder returns to keep investors close even when oil turns choppy. In late January, the company reported $9.5 billion in quarterly shareholder distributions, including $5.1 billion of share repurchases and $4.4 billion of dividends. 6
But the setup cuts both ways. A surprise breakthrough in the U.S.-Iran talks could drain the fear bid from crude, and any move by producers to restore more supply would likely hit oil first and energy shares right after.
Next up: Sunday’s March 1 OPEC+ meeting and the Vienna technical talks slated for next week. For XOM, the next session may come down to whether crude holds those multi-month highs into Monday.
