Investors Jittery About XOM's Outlook By Scott Rothbort About this article: For Rothbort's preview heading into the ExxonMobil conference call, please click here. Despite the better-than-expected quarter, ExxonMobil shares are selling off. Concerns for lower volumes due to declining demand and the rollover of the impact from the third-quarter hurricanes have investors a bit concerned for the outlook in the fourth quarter. I was not surprised by the weakness in the chemical business, but I was surprised by the better downstream margins. Lately, ExxonMobil has traded with a high degree of volatility, acting more like a tech stock than an energy company. It has become a trading vehicle rather than an investment. I think that will change once this manic-depressive market returns to a sense of normality. What would really get me excited about ExxonMobil is if the board doubled the dividend to 4% and cut back on the aggressive stock buybacks. The company posted third-quarter 2008 EPS of... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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