8 Most Profitable Oil Stocks To Invest In

2. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Number of Hedge Funds Holders: 71

5-Year Net Income CAGR: 30.22%

TTM Net Income: $3.68 Billion

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is a global energy company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company is engaged in the exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has three segments including, oil and gas, chemical and midstream, and marketing.

Following the acquisition of CrownRock, Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) has done well to repay its debt, having paid $4 billion in debt by Q3 2024. The company announced to repay around $4.5 billion in debt in 2024, which has been mostly achieved, driven by strong cash flows.

The target of short-term debt reduction means that the company can focus on generating more cash flows and having the opportunity to invest in new projects in 2025. Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s next target is to invest in chemicals (OxyChem) and low-carbon venture businesses, both of which have solid growth potential. During Q3, the company’s OxyChem exceeded guidance with pre-tax income of $304 million.

Oil & Gas segment remains the key driver for the company as it continues to grow. In Q3, the segment recorded the highest quarterly U.S. production in the company’s history. Despite the hurricanes that impacted OXY’s operations across the Gulf of Mexico, the company was able to pull off record results. This production outperformance was primarily driven by strong new well performance and higher uptime throughout the Permian Basin. In addition to that, the Gulf of Mexico also remains the top-producing unit of OXY.