Equinor ASA's stock plummeted around 5.19% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, despite the Norwegian oil and gas giant reporting largely positive fourth quarter results and providing an upbeat outlook for 2025 and beyond.

The company reported Q4 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.63 per share, narrowly beating analyst estimates of $0.62. However, quarterly revenue of $26.42 billion fell slightly short of the $25.97 billion expectation.

Looking ahead, Equinor forecast higher free cash flow of around $23 billion for 2025-2027, driven by reduced capital expenditures and cost cutting measures. Oil and gas production is expected to grow over 10% by 2027, with 2030 output projected at 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up from a previous estimate of 2 million boepd.

However, Equinor lowered its renewable energy ambitions, setting a target of 10-12 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2030, down from previous estimates. The company also retired its goal of allocating 50% of capital expenditures to renewables and low-carbon solutions by 2030.

Additionally, while Equinor announced a $5 billion share buyback program for 2025, this fell short of analysts' expectations for a $6 billion buyback. Overall shareholder distributions for 2025 are projected at $9 billion, marking a step down from the $14.6 billion level in 2024.