Sifting through countless of stocks in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Shell plc or Exxon Mobil Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and other Americas. It operates through Integrated Gas; Upstream; Marketing; Chemicals and Products; and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. The company explores for and extracts natural gas to produce liquefied natural gas or convert into gas-to-liquids products; explores for and extracts crude oil and natural gas liquids; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market. It is also involved in marketing supplies fuels and lubricants for transport, manufacturing, mining, power generation, agriculture, and construction industries; operates electric vehicle charging and convenience retail; turn crude oil and other feedstocks into products for households, industry, and transport; trades crude oil, oil products, and petrochemicals; and oil sand activities. In addition, the company generates, markets, and trades power from wind, solar and pipeline gas; hydrogen production and marketing; commercial carbon capture and storage hubs; carbon credits and nature-based solutions; and provides heavy-duty LNG-fuelled trucks. Further, it offers base chemicals, including ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, linear alpha olefins, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, and polyethylene; and sustainable aviation fuel. The company was formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc and changed its name to Shell plc in January 2022. Shell plc was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. Its Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. The Energy Products segment offers fuels, aromatics, and catalysts, as well as licensing services. Its Chemical Products segment manufactures and sells olefins, polyolefins, and intermediates. The Specialty Products segment offers finished lubricants, basestocks, waxes, synthetics, elastomers, and resins. It is also involved in the manufacture, trade, transport, and sale of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals, and other specialty products; and pursuit of lower-emission and business opportunities, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lower-emission fuels, Proxxima resin systems, carbon materials, low-carbon data center, and lithium. In addition, the company offers aviation fuel. It sells its products under the Exxon, Esso, and Mobil brands. Exxon Mobil Corporation was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and Shell plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation Stock News

As of March 6, 2026, Shell plc had a $236.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels median of $2.9 million. Shell plc’s stock is up 15.9% in 2026, up 1.1% in the previous five trading days and up 28.14% in the past year.

Currently, Shell plc’s price-earnings ratio is 35.0. Shell plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $269.1 billion with a 6.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.132 per share for the current fiscal year. Shell plc currently has a 3.5% dividend yield.

As of March 6, 2026, Exxon Mobil Corporation had a $630.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 100th percentile of all stocks. Exxon Mobil Corporation’s stock is up 26.4% in 2026, down 1.4% in the previous five trading days and up 43.41% in the past year.

Currently, Exxon Mobil Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 22.6. Exxon Mobil Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $323.9 billion with a 8.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -1.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.944 per share for the current fiscal year. Exxon Mobil Corporation currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Shell plc	SHEL	D
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Shell plc has a Growth Score of 25, which is Weak. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a Growth Score of 65, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Exxon Mobil Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Exxon Mobil Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Shell plc. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Exxon Mobil Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Shell plc	SHEL	A
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Shell plc has a Quality Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a Quality Score of 88, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Shell plc	SHEL	D
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Shell plc has a Earnings Estimate Score of 25, which is Negative. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 38, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Shell plc or Exxon Mobil Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Shell plc or Exxon Mobil Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Shell plc or Exxon Mobil Corporation Stock?

Overall, Shell plc stock has a Growth Score of 25, Estimate Revisions Score of 25 and Quality Score of 83.

Exxon Mobil Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 65, Estimate Revisions Score of 38 and Quality Score of 88.

Comparing Shell plc and Exxon Mobil Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.