OXY's Q4 and 2023 . . . Time to Grip It and Rip It.

March 2, 2023

I play golf.

Okay, I don’t really.

What I do, the few times in a decade anyone invites me to join is . . . I step up, address the ball, take a deep breath, and then WACK! I swing the club with all the grace of a construction worker using a sledge hammer.

My word for the day? FORE!

Gophers scream in unison as they clutch their newborns and flee from the barrage. Even squirrels behind me instinctively duck as I methodically dig 110 holes in the ground over 4 hours. Okay, maybe 120.

It’s not dissimilar to earnings season frankly. Half the time it’s quiet, calm, almost peaceful . . . watching, waiting. Then the tranquility is shattered by moments of sheer terror, or euphoria, depending on how your company reports. For long-term investors this game is fairly silly, but whether your philosophy is long-term or not . . . if you’re a money manager, you’re definitely marked-to-market.

So you pay attention with all the attention that earnings season deserves. Rapt or otherwise, you wait. So as we watch the E&Ps step into the tee box, we hold our collective breaths. Some rip it, thank you Diamondback (“FANG”), and some shank it, looking at you Devon (“DVN”). By the end of the bombing campaign, we’re left with the few remaining, and one of our own stepping up to the tee box . . . Occidental (“OXY”).