ExxonMobil Is a Financial and Ethical Trainwreck

From Labor411.org: Exxon announced that it will lay off 15% of its workforce over the next year, which means pink slips for about 14,000 employees worldwide. With oil prices in decline and fossil fuels in the crosshairs as global climate concerns grow stronger, Exxon has found itself in a major slump.

When my father died 10 years ago, he gave each of my two kids about $32K worth of ExxonMobil common stock, 50 shares traded at $65.  In one of my rare insights into the stock market, I sold it for them when the price hit $101, just 1.5% off its all-time high.  My point: it last traded at $32.78.

As a budding renewable energy guy, I really wanted to divest from fossil fuels, but I also saw the market fundamentals that would hit Exxon hard over a period of time: decreasing demand, climate-related regulation, stranded assets, and now, litigation and possible criminal charges associated with hiding what they knew about emissions and global warming.

Advice to shareholders: get out before it’s all gone.