Investing is complicated, and while it would be nice to say a stock is a screaming buy, those situations are actually few and far between. So what should you make of an industry-leading energy stock like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) today? Here's a look at whether it's a buy, sell, or hold -- and why.

Exxon is one of the largest integrated energy companies on planet Earth, with a massive $470 billion market capitalization. Its diversified business spans from upstream (drilling) through midstream (pipelines) and all the way to downstream (refining and chemicals).

This provides an inherent balance, since downstream businesses tend to benefit from lower costs for their oil and natural gas feedstocks just when upstream businesses are seeing lower revenue from these same commodities. 

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Source Fool.com