U.S. President Joe Biden has criticized oil majors for not stepping up to help combat record-high gasoline prices at the pump.  In his latest remark, he highlighted that many oil companies have made record levels of profit and according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S estimates, 2022 looks to be a banner year for the energy sector. Exhibit 1 highlights the net profit margin for the S&P 500.  Energy is expected to post a record-high profit margin of 11.7% followed by 10.7% in 2023, both expected to be the highest margin in over a decade in large part to a sustainable sharp rise

A clear trend has emerged within the energy sector, consistent negative earnings and revenue forecasts for the S&P 500’s oil & gas exploration & production (E&P) sub-industry. The group continues to face a weak pricing environment and is expected to stop the exponential production growth. Exhibit 1: S&P 500 E&P YoY Growth Rates vs. Net Profit Margin Analyst estimates for E&P’s 19Q3 aggregated earnings have fallen 20.1% since July 1 and revenue expectations have come down 9.0%. As a result, the outlook for 19Q3 YoY earnings are down 15.1 percentage points (ppts) to a decline of 39.5% and revenue fell