The fall of the energy sector. What went wrong in 2015?

When we think about successful industries, our initial question often revolves around how much they earn. While that's a critical aspect, an even more fundamental question is how much they can retain.

In my latest analysis, I delved into a subset of historical financial data from S&P 500 companies via the New York Stock Exchange. My goal was to visualize and interpret this real-world data, applying techniques from my Business Analytics Nanodegree program with Udacity.

Navigating through this diverse dataset, spanning various sectors presented a captivating challenge: selecting the right sector to investigate. My aim was not to craft a vague narrative that encompassed them all, but rather to tell a compelling, focused story. After a thorough evaluation, I zeroed in on the energy sector, specifically the domain of oil and gas exploration and production.

Within this analysis, I closely examined crucial financial metrics, including gross margin, operating margin, and operating income, among others. The revelation was astonishing: the energy sector was the only one having a negative operating margin, and this occurred in 2015.

Before this setback, the energy sector had been a top performer, ranking in the top 25% for revenue generation and operating income among S&P 500 companies from 2012 to 2014. However, in 2015, not only did it fail to generate sufficient revenue, but core earnings fell so drastically that they couldn't cover operating expenses, resulting in a 75% decline in active companies by 2016.

If you're interested in delving into the full report and gaining insight into my analytical journey, please check out this link: