Exxon Mobil Corporation’s XOM first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of 65 cents — excluding identified items — beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents and year-ago earnings of 53 cents.Total revenues of $59,147 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $55,156 and also improved from the year-earlier figure of $56,158 million.The strong earnings were owing to higher chemical margins and improved realized commodity prices.Exxon Mobil Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Exxon Mobil Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Exxon Mobil Corporation QuoteOperational PerformanceUpstreamThe segment reported quarterly earnings of $2.6 billion, up from profits of $536 million in a year ago comparable quarter. This upside was driven by higher commodity prices.Operations in the United States recorded a profit of $363 million against a loss of $704 million in the March quarter of 2020. Moreover, the company reported profits of $2.2 billion from non-U.S. operations, which improved from profits of $1.2 billion in the year-ago quarter.Production: Total production averaged 3.787 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day (MMBoE/D), lower than 4.046 MMBoE/D a year ago, reflecting the impact of winter storm.Liquid production decreased to 2.258 million barrels per day (MMBbls/D) from 2.480 MMBbls/D in the prior-year quarter. The underperformance was owing to lower production in the United States and Asia. Moreover, natural gas production was 9.173 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), down from 9.396 Bcf/d a year ago due to lower output from the United States.Price Realization: In the United States, the company recorded crude price realization of $56.20 per barrel, higher than the year-ago quarter’s $42.82. The same metric for non-U.S. operations rose to $53.41 per barrel from the year-ago figure of $41.96. Moreover, natural gas prices in the United States were recorded at $3.36 per thousand cubic feet (Kcf), higher than the year-ago quarter’s $1.69. Also, in the non-U.S. section, the metric improved to $6.13 per Kcf from $5.60 in first-quarter 2020.DownstreamThe segment recorded a loss of $390 million, narrower than the loss of $611 million a year ago, thanks to improved industry fuel margin, partially offset by a decline in refinery throughput.Notably, ExxonMobil's refinery throughput averaged 3.8 MMBbls/D, lower than the year-earlier level of 4.1 MMBbls/D.ChemicalThis unit recorded $1.4-BILLION profit, skyrocketing from earnings of $144 million in the year-ago quarter on significantly higher margins from U.S. and non-U.S. operations.FinancialsDuring the quarter under review, ExxonMobil generated cash flow of $7.6 billion from operations and asset divestments. The company's capital and exploration spending declined 56.1% year over year to $3.1 billion.At the end of first-quarter 2021, total cash and cash equivalents were $3.5 billion and debt amounted to $63.3 billion.GuidanceThe energy giant reaffirmed its expectations for 2021 capital spending at $16 billion to $19 billion.Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to ConsiderExxonMobil currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other prospective players in the energy space include EOG Resources, Inc. EOG, Diamondback Energy, Inc. FANG and Matador Resources Company MTDR. While EOG Resources and Matador carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Diamondback sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.EOG Resources is likely to see earnings growth of 272.6% in 2021.Diamondback is expected to witness earnings growth of 112.5% in 2021.Matador is likely to see earnings growth of 300% in 2021.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG): Free Stock Analysis Report Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG): Free Stock Analysis Report Matador Resources Company (MTDR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.