For D-FW's Top 150 Companies, It Was Another Tough Year in the Oil Patch

With 2016 fading into companies’ rearview mirrors, it’ll long be remembered by oil and gas explorers as a second straight year of shrinking revenue and profit.But it will also go down as a year when the consumer came back, serving up strong revenue growth at North Texas-based restaurant brands such as Del Frisco’s, Wingstop, Fogo De Chao and Zoe’s Kitchen.Those are insights gleaned from a data analysis of the 150 largest publicly traded companies in Dallas-Fort Worth based on 2016 revenue. Bloomberg compiled the data for The Dallas Morning News from regulatory filings.Irving-based oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., a perennial leader, retained its top ranking in D-FW with 2016 revenue of $197.5 billion. Exxon is also the largest company in Texas and No. 4 nationally.Exxon’s declines in revenue and profit demonstrated that even the energy industry’s biggest player wasn’t immune from a year of depressed oil and gas prices. Revenue reported by the region’s two dozen energy companies was down 15 percent from 2015.“When you look at the energy sector, it’s all about price. Prices are a little bit better now, but they haven’t recovered,” said Michael Davis, who teaches economics at SMU’s Cox School of Business. “Exxon Mobil can wait it out, but the smaller companies are going to continue to be distressed by the pricing.”As a result, Exxon’s lead over the state’s second-biggest company, Dallas-based AT&T Inc., narrowed as the telecommunications behemoth got a revenue boost from its DirecTV purchase in 2015. AT&T’s revenue grew nearly 12 percent to $163.8 billion.  Continue reading...