When oil prices began plummeting around a year and a half ago, the U.S. energy sector struggled. Big energy companies like Noble Energy (-33.5% over the last year) and British Petroleum (-28.32%) have been hit hard, bleeding profits from every orifice.

Surprisingly, ExxonMobil (XOM), the largest of them all, has been more nimble and proactive in responding to the suffocating external pressures. The company’s latest earnings report shows that while it’s feeling the effects of the current situation in the oil market, it’s still able to beat Wall Street’s expectations. The highlights:

• Earnings per share came in at $0.67, beating analyst expectations by $0.03, but still a 58% drop from this time last year.
• Revenue was $59.8 billion, handily beating the consensus by $8.44 billion, but down 31.5% year over year.
• Exxon will cut spending in 2016 by approximately 25% after reducing capital expenditures by 20% in 2015, a much bigger cut than the 12% originally forecasted in March of last year.
• The company is halting share buybacks during the current quarter after spending $500 million on them in Q4.

In good shape

All things considered, Exxon is doing an amazing job reacting to the headwinds that are taking out its competitors. Over the last year, for example, its stock is down only 15%, which isn’t bad considering the state of the industry.

Consider also that the company has still managed to generate $2.78 billion in earnings on the quarter in the current situation, especially when several of its competitors are posting losses or paltry gains. Furthermore, Exxon had $38.6 billion in cash and investments at the end of Q3, putting it in an enviable position to do what it needs to not just endure this storm, but weather it healthily.

Downgrade looming

Despite all that, Standard & Poor’s has put the energy giant on credit watch. While that’s not a downgrade in and of itself, it’s a warning. Other energy companies, including Chevron, Apache, Continental Resources, Devon Energy, EOG Resources, Hess, Hunt Oil, Marathon Oil, Murphy Oil, and Southwestern Energy all received downgrades by the rating company.

If Exxon does lose its AAA rating the next time around, it’ll be the first time in 86 years. S&P says it will determine whether or not to downgrade Exxon within the next 90 days, and if it does so it will only be one notch.

Conclusion

While the potential S&P downgrade is a disappointment, it’s simply a consequence of external factors and doesn’t reflect a problem with Exxon’s business. The fact that Exxon remains on credit watch instead of getting downgraded along with several other energy firms shows that.

Despite headwinds that have blown for a year and a half now, Exxon has reacted swiftly to change its sails to dampen the downward pressure those winds are putting on it. Considering the state of the rest of the industry, I’d say Exxon is still in a good place and investors should take notice of that, indeed.