Shares of Club holding Devon Energy (DVN) fell sharply Wednesday, one day after delivering disappointing fourth quarter results , reducing its fixed-plus-variable dividend and barely buying back any stock. Forward guidance wasn’t that great either. It’s certainly a frustrating story for sharholders like us, and one that bares further scrutiny. Bottom line Unlike most companies, Devon holds its post-earnings conference call the morning after the release. We heard little to make us want to buy Wednesday’s more than 11% decline. In fact, we are considering whether to exit one of our three exploration and production (E & P) companies. We’re going to reserve judgment on which ones stay and which one goes until we get quarterly results from Coterra Energy (CTRA) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) next week. DVN 1Y mountain Devon Energy (DVN) 1-year performance Devon management on Wednseday did reassure investors of its commitment to financial discipline and shareholder returns. But the unfortunate reality is that oil prices — and therefore Devon’s free cash flow generation and ability to return capital to shareholders — are somewhat out of management’s hands. They can certainly control investment activity and the amount of free cash flow earmarked for the variable portion of the dividend. But there’s little to nothing they can do to influence the actual price of energy commodities to which their fate is tied. It’s worth noting, the breakeven level for Devon on oil is around $40 per barrel — up from about $30 a year ago due to inflation. West Texas Intermediate crude in Wednesday’s trading went for nearly double that, providing a healthy cushion. Production guidance On Devon’s earnings call Wednesday morning, management said that the first quarter is expected to be the lowest production quarter of fiscal 2023. They cited three reasons. One, about 90 wells are expected to be brought online during Q1, so their full benefit won’t be felt until after the quarter. Thereafter, management expects a roughly 15% increase in online wells per quarter. Two, there’s been downtime in the Delaware Basin due to a late-January fire at a compressor station that severely damaged the electrical system and the unit. This is expected to hold back production by about 10,000 barrels of oil-equivalent-per-day (Boe/d). The facility is expected to be back up and running by mid-March, with no impact to second quarter production expected. Lastly, management expects to reject ethane at several processing facilities. Companies do this when demand — and therefore the price of ethane — is low and it doesn’t make financial sense to extract ethane from raw natural gas. This too is expected to be a headwind of about 10,000 Boe/d. Share repurchases Management also addressed the company’s low level of buyback activity in Q4 of just $57 million worth of shares. On the call, the team said they wanted to preserve and build back cash levels to maximize financial flexibility following large cash outlays associated with recent acquisitions. Going forward, they expect stock repurchases to be more active “especially if [they] see trading weakness relative to [their] peers,” such as what we’re seeing Wednesday. Coterra and Pioneer dropped more than 2% and over 4%, respectively. Not a good day to be sure, but a far cry from the carnage Devon is experiencing. Additionally, with about $700 million remaining under a current $2 billion repurchase authorization, management expects the remainder to be used up by the second quarter, at which point they expect to seek another share repurchase authorization from the board. M & A activity As for merger and acquisition (M & A) activity, management believes that consolidation in the E & P industry is needed, and they are always on the lookout for accretive opportunities. However, they will for now remain disciplined and weigh M & A opportunities against returning capital to shareholders via dividends or buybacks. Energy price outlook @CL.1 1Y mountain WTI crude (@CL.1) 1-year performance In line with the commentary we provided following the late-Tuesday’s earnings release, management believes the operating environment to be supportive of energy prices for several reasons. On the supply side, they cite years of underinvestment in producion capacity — a key pillar of our investment thesis in oilfield services provider Halliburton (HAL); continued sanctions on Russian production due to Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine; what they call a “generational low in OPEC’s spare capacity;” and financial discipline from U.S. producers. On the demand side, they cite an increase in the need for energy as global economies grow post-Covid. The most obvious example is the ongoing reopening of the Chinese economy after Beijing abruptly abandoned its strict pandanic policy of zero-Covid. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long DVN, CTRA, PXD, HAL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Pipes carry water, steam and oil at Devon Energy Corp.’s 35,000 barrel per day Jackfish Projects plant, where Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is used to extract bitumen from oil sands, near Conklin, Alberta, Canada.
Jimmy Jeong | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Club holding Devon Energy (DVN) fell sharply Wednesday, one day after delivering disappointing fourth quarter results, reducing its fixed-plus-variable dividend and barely buying back any stock. Forward guidance wasn’t that great either. It’s certainly a frustrating story for sharholders like us, and one that bares further scrutiny.
Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and you’ll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.
If you’re not a Costco member yet and you’re looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.
Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.
Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
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Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrek’s Take
I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.
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Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
Source: EcoFlow
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
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This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Source: EcoFlow
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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