Biggest Quarterly Profit... agian.
Exxon Mobil just announced its quarterly profits. I feel bad for the guys - they didn't meet what the market was projecting their profits at - about $12.1 billion.
Despite not meeting projections, they just broke the United States record books again. They brought in a whopping $11.68 Billion dollars in profit. In numerical form, that's $11,680,000,000. The previous record was $11.66 Billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. Sure it may be only 0.02 points, but don't forget that 0.02 points is $20 Million dollars. That's a lot of cash.
Sure their shares are down 3%, but lets look at some of the other industries of this nation. It seems like 3% for the largest publicly traded oil company is not that much in comparison to the downfall other sects have experienced around the country.
Much of the increased profits that are seen in the oil industry [in comparison to other industries] comes from government tax cuts that are issued to Exxon Mobil and companies alike. Some argue that these tax breaks allow for new drilling sites and would eventually raise the price of crude. I can understand this, but as energy is getting more expensive, roads are getting worse, and education budgets being cut - it seems as though we should be taking equal tax money in an effort to improve roads, develop 'green' technology, and get America's children the proper education they need and are entitled to.
Maybe it's just me, but for some reason I think that if the executives at Exxon Mobile had to fork over a little more in tax money, they would still be able to eat pretty well. Hah!
Despite not meeting projections, they just broke the United States record books again. They brought in a whopping $11.68 Billion dollars in profit. In numerical form, that's $11,680,000,000. The previous record was $11.66 Billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. Sure it may be only 0.02 points, but don't forget that 0.02 points is $20 Million dollars. That's a lot of cash.
Sure their shares are down 3%, but lets look at some of the other industries of this nation. It seems like 3% for the largest publicly traded oil company is not that much in comparison to the downfall other sects have experienced around the country.
Much of the increased profits that are seen in the oil industry [in comparison to other industries] comes from government tax cuts that are issued to Exxon Mobil and companies alike. Some argue that these tax breaks allow for new drilling sites and would eventually raise the price of crude. I can understand this, but as energy is getting more expensive, roads are getting worse, and education budgets being cut - it seems as though we should be taking equal tax money in an effort to improve roads, develop 'green' technology, and get America's children the proper education they need and are entitled to.
Maybe it's just me, but for some reason I think that if the executives at Exxon Mobile had to fork over a little more in tax money, they would still be able to eat pretty well. Hah!
Labels: education, Exxon Mobil, gas, global warming, green technology, profits, tax
posted by Rajiv! at
Thursday, July 31, 2008
2 Comments:
Not that I don't agree with your idea of using tax breaks for education and the bias treatment given to Big Oil but profit margins would be a more accurate and informative figure. If you look a their profit margins (7-10% i believe) this quarter and compare it to other industries then you will see it is no where near as high. Regardless soaring oil prices hardly profits Exxon-Mobile which mainly does the refining. The ones who own the crude, take it out of the ground, and sell it to refineries are the ones who makes the most (Venezuela, Saudi etc.) Their operating cost probably is around $20/barrel (if not then why would they have been selling it that low at one point?) and their profits are the ones to look at.
That being said I am all for alternative renewable sources and hope we have more private initiative in the industry (Wind, Solar, Nuclear!!)
I recently read an article on CNN.com which stated that Americans drove 9.6 billion miles less this past May than in May on 2007.
In our market, consumers are in control of how they want to live, and they ultimately dictate whether a product is worth its cost. With rising gas prices, more are turning to car-pooling, biking, walking, and public transportation. The same article mentioned that 2007 had a record number of riders on public transportation (Marta, The El in Chicago, etc.). 2008 is on pace to surpass those numbers.
Americans are going to wake up to the fact that we need energy independence. Furthermore, they will realize that we need cleaner and more efficient energy sources.
I would not be surprised if individual Americans, rather than the gov't or oil companies, are responsible for our move to clean energy in the future
I've been taking MARTA this past summer rather than driving to downtown ATl. I plan on getting a new bike soon too. Check out GasFreeCommute.com
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