Exxon Mobil Corp. shares rose 2.3% in premarket trade Friday, after the energy giant blew past estimates for the third quarter. The Irving, Texas-based company posted net income of $19.7 billion, or $4.68 a share, for the quarter, up from $17.850 billion, or $4.21 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company had per-share earnings of $4.45, well ahead of the $3.86 FactSet consensus. Revenue climbed to $112.070 billion from $73.786 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $104.594 billion FactSet consensus. Earnings were driven by record refining volumes, strict cost controls and higher natural gas prices, which offset lower crude prices and weaker industry refining margins, the company said in a statement. The quarter included net favorable items of more than $1 billion related to the completion of the XTO Energy Canada and Romania upstream unit divestments, as well as benefits from tax and other reserve adjustments, partly offset by impairments. Shares have gained 76% in the year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
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