Still, the last quarter extended a staggering run for Exxon, which has routinely set records only to beat them. Exxon’s profit has exceeded $10 billion in 9 of the last 12 quarters. The third quarter was no exception as Exxon’s profit rose 58 percent, to $14.8 billion, exceeding its previous quarterly record by more than $3 billion.

While the record earnings were well above analysts’ expectations, they also masked a growing problem for Exxon. Its production has dropped because of contractual terms in places like Nigeria, falling output from mature fields, and disruptions caused by hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Exxon’s combined oil and gas output fell 8 percent in the third quarter compared with the year-earlier period, to the equivalent of 3.5 million barrels a day.

But Exxon, which prides itself on its long-term view of the business, appeared unfazed by the decline. Thanks to seven major new projects starting this year, including offshore fields in Angola and Malaysia, and a large gas project in Qatar, the company expects its production to pick up in the fourth quarter and next year, according to Kenneth Cohen, the company’s vice president of public affairs.

Excluding the effect of hurricanes and the impact of specific contracts that reduce its production when oil prices rise, Exxon’s output would have dropped by 2 percent in the last quarter.

“These are uncertain and challenging times, and these are the times that our company is built to handle,” Mr. Cohen said on a conference call. “We understand we operate in a commodity business. We understand that the cycle will go up, and it will go down. We don’t get excited in the highs; we don’t panic in the lows.”