ConocoPhillips Shares Plunge: Why Traditional Energy Stocks Are Getting Crushed in 2025

Another brutal day for fossil fuel dinosaurs as ConocoPhillips gets hammered.

Wall Street's oil darlings face reality check amid sector-wide selloff. No fancy metrics needed—just follow the red on the ticker.

Energy transition accelerates while legacy players cling to outdated models. Meanwhile, crypto mining operations pivot to renewable infrastructure, leaving traditional energy holding depleted assets.

Another reminder that betting against technological disruption is the surest way to watch your portfolio evaporate. But hey, at least the dividends used to be nice.

Why ConocoPhillips is uniquely exposed

Because ConocoPhillips isn't an integrated oil major (meaning it doesn't have substantive midstream or downstream assets), investors tend to value it based on its reserves (mainly crude oil and natural gas), an assumption about the long-term oil price (which many investors assume is the current price), and an approximation of its break-even price of oil (the price at which its costs and financial obligations are covered).

OPEC+ is reportedly considering raising production to lower the price of oil, as its collective competitive advantage as a relatively lower-cost producer WOULD result in its winning market share back from producers in higher-cost countries like the U.S. Those producers include ConocoPhillips, which generates the majority of its earnings from the U.S.

For example, last year the United States, excluding Hawaii and Alaska, generated $5.2 billion in earnings for the company, with Alaska contributing $1.3 billion, while the pre-corporate-expense company total was $10.1 billion.

Image source: Getty Images.

OPEC+'s actions could result in competitive pressure on ConocoPhillips, particularly at a time when it is integrating Marathon Oil, a company it recently acquired for $22.5 billion to consolidate its presence in the U.S.