Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday posted a $9.1 billion third-quarter profit, about a 54 per cent drop from record earnings a year ago but up from the prior quarter as oil prices recovered.

Earnings at the largest US oil producer have benefited from higher crude oil prices compared to the previous quarter and demand for gasoline and diesel. Wall Street analysts this month trimmed the third-quarter outlook after the company pointed to weaker chemical profits and refining margins.

Results came “broadly in line” with market expectations, according to RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria, with weaker than expected results in refining and chemicals.

Third-quarter profit was $2.25 a share, 12 cents below LSEG consensus of $2.37 per share. That compares with $4.68 in the same quarter a year ago when oil and gas prices climbed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Exxon’s buoyant performance has led to two all-stock deals: for shale rival Pioneer Natural Resources and for carbon pipeline operator Denbury, both struck as shares traded near an all-time record.

The latest quarter’s results benefited from global oil prices that averaged $85.92 per barrel in the quarter compared with $77.73 in the second quarter, according to LSEG data. The results were aided by higher oil and fuel prices, but damped by Exxon’s chemical business, which was hit by higher raw materials costs. Chemical Products third-quarter earnings were $249 million, down from $828 million in the second quarter.

Its cash reserves continued to build, up by 10 per cent over the second quarter’s to $33 billion.

“We feel really good about our cash balance,” Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells said in an interview. “It puts us in a good position to ultimately ensure we have the flexibility we need when eventually the commodity cycle turns against us.”