Do we like them?

Do we like ExxonMobil?

One of the world's biggest oil, gas and chemicals companies. It is US-based and drills on several continents.

Our score: 3 out of 10. Probably not. It is a huge, efficient operator, but it faces many climate-deception and pollution cases, and it is growing fossil output with little sign of changing course.

Exxon is an energy giant run by Darren Woods, who has been chairman and CEO since 2017. It just posted huge results as the Iran war disrupted markets. It says it will spend over $100bn on capex through 2030 to boost energy supply. There is no sign of the company slowing its oil and gas push.

The big drama is climate. Several US states, including Connecticut and Massachusetts, have sued, accusing Exxon of misleading the public and investors about climate change. Exxon calls the Connecticut case meritless. A Connecticut judge let that case go ahead, and Massachusetts' top court refused to throw out its case.

It isn't losing everywhere. In October 2026 an appeals court upheld the dismissal of New York City's greenwashing suit against Exxon, Shell and BP. Separately, a federal judge let a plastics-pollution nuisance claim from the Sierra Club and other groups move toward trial.

Safety record is patchy. Britain's HSE fined Exxon about £267k over five flammable gas leaks at its Fife plant, saying the inspection arrangements were woefully inadequate. In the US, the DOJ and EPA settled Clean Air Act claims over a 2013 Beaumont refinery fire that killed two workers. We'd keep our money elsewhere, so it scores a 3.