Analyst Note
| Allen Good, CFA |Petrobras' fourth-quarter earnings brought a sense of relief after a tumultuous start to the week that brought the announcement of the CEO departure and a sharp sell-off. This news and accompanying increase in uncertainty obscure an underlying positive story of improved profitability and deleveraging engineered by the current CEO. Unfortunately, continuation of this success is now in question with his imminent departure and replacement by a political appointee who might diverge from the existing strategic plan and pricing policies.