Exxon Mobil Loses Top Credit Rating It Held Since Depression
- Biggest U.S. oil explorer held S&P's top rating since 1930
- Exxon was final holdout against sweeping industry downgrade
The Baytown Exxon refinery in Baytown, Texas.
Photographer: Benjamin Lowy/Reportage by Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The worst oil crash in a generation has cost Exxon Mobil Corp. the gold-plated credit rating it had held since the Great Depression.
Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday stripped Exxon of its highest AAA measure of credit-worthiness, cutting it to AA+, the same as the U.S. government. It’s a defeat for Exxon, which sought to retain the rating after S&P placed it on notice in February. Before the downgrade, Exxon shared the distinction with just two other companies: Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft Corp.