Investment Q&A

CNQ comments are posted; IMO EPS was $2.33, beating estimates of $2.12 and all other metrics beat. Imperial Oil's gross production rose to 447,000 barrels a day -- the highest 3Q output in over 30 years -- and we believe it will keep climbing in 4Q and 2025, which may support rising cash flows and continued shareholder returns. Despite higher volume, operating cash flow dipped slightly to C$1.5 billion vs. C$1.6 billion in 2Q -- primarily due to the pullback in commodity prices. The company returned about C$1.5 billion to shareholders in 3Q via dividend payments and share purchases. Imperial has continued to make progress on operating costs, which suggests the company could maintain profitability over a wide range of oil prices. Cash operating costs across its upstream portfolio fell to $18.66 a barrel vs. $22.90 a year ago. The stock slipped a bit on the news but remains nicely up 30% YTD.