Guess who made $1,252 a second, every second last year?
If you have any questions about why it will be very, very difficult for biofuel start-ups and solar car enthusiasts to compete in the oil-friendly auto industry, don't look only at the technological troubles with lithium-ion batteries or getting biodiesel from algae. Look at the cash register over at Exxon Mobil. The company has just posted 2006 profits (not revenue, which was an obscene $377.64 billion last year) of $39.5 billion. Aside from being the largest annual profit by a U.S. company, how much is that, exactly?
$39.5 billion profit in one year = $39,500,000,000.00 = $759,615,384.62/week = $108,219,178.08/day = $4,509,132.42/hour = $75,152.21/minute = $1,252.54/second.
I could do a lot with $1,200 a second. What does Exxon Mobil do with it? Paying off scientists in an effort to mislead the public on global warming and pressuring teachers not to show An Inconvenient Truth in schools. In the mean time, Exxon only spends 0.1 percent of its total annual capital investment on sustainable technologies such as renewable energy.
Other oil companies, like ConocoPhillips and Shell, also made billions last year. Phillips made $15.55 billion and Shell earned $4.37 billion (just in the last three months of the year). Again, these are profit numbers, not revenue.
And, while I know this line from the story is very likely a typo, but I kind of wonder:
[Source: Breitbart / John Porretto / AP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian Hague 4:06PM (2/01/2007)
Capitalism... never... was... supposed... to... be... this...
On the bright side, I could probably "borrow" about 60 seconds or so from them, and they wouldn't notice one bit...
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Tim 3:36PM (2/01/2007)
This is the real deal... http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/11/alt-car-expo-edwin-black-s-internal-combustion-live/ http://internalcombustionbook.com
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SSBR 3:45PM (2/01/2007)
As manufactures keep ramping up SUV's like this:
http://www.autoblog.com%2F2007%2F01%2F31%2Fgm-announces-hummer-h2-victory-red-limited-edition%2F&ei=o1DCRcOeOabeggSF35X-CQ&usg=__LWRLz_TUZHuputGKglw_Mkg9Xvw=&sig2=6zQF6mLeLjF9o5zJIs40IQ
The only company can shout, VICTORY!
http://www.rolesor.com
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1985 Gripen 4:06PM (2/01/2007)
I can't blame ExxonMobil for earning huge profits. That is a corporation's job: to maximize profits for the shareholders. Shareholders expect more and more increased returns from companies. In that vein ExxonMobil is doing their job and well.
However, that being said I do wish as you point out that they would invest a little more in R&D of alternative energy technologies. BP does a fairly decent job of diversifying between traditional and alternative energy technology research, from what I've read. I don't believe that ExxonMobil should be told how to spend ANY of its money but I would hope that they see a need to diversify their portfolio. If peak oil is on the horizon at any time in the future the company needs something to fall back on. I don't want to see them coming with open palms to the federal government for a bailout should times get hard for them.
Also, I really wish that any and all petroleum industry subsidies from the federal government would be revoked immediately (and perhaps even try and reclaim some money retroactively). There's no reason to subsidize ExxonMobil or any other oil company. Even make them pay to drill on an federally-owned land, IMHO.
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Matt 4:09PM (2/01/2007)
I have a feeling that the profit is coming simply from ever increasing demand, and not necessarily higher gas prices. The gas prices are up because demand is up, and profits are up because demand is up.
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OhmExcited 6:40PM (2/01/2007)
Actually, I'm surprised you have missed this:
“we know enough now — or, society knows enough now — that the risk [of global warming] is serious and action should be taken.”---Exxon Mobile, January 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16593606/
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pdxbiodiesel 1:20AM (2/02/2007)
The problem is not their profits. Companies make money, so what?
The problem is that the oil industry gets massive tax breaks, and huge subsidies - all the while the Bush administration has been "soft" on environmengtal regulations to help the oil companies...
That is what pisses people off. People who can't even afford to get a loan for a good house have their tax dollars going to companies that have more profits than many countries GDP.
Let them make money. But make them play fair.
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Geo E 8:38PM (2/01/2007)
It is the height of asininity to ask the question "What does Exxon Mobil do with it?". They drill for , produce, and distribute the prime source of energy in the world - oil. Repeat,please - oil. That is their business. They are not in the alternative energy business. That they invest some of their profits on an arguably competitive source of energy is bonus. Why is there no outcry that Greenpeace doesn't spend money on technology for drilling oil? While the profit may sound large, do you even consider the forces behind it? They are a business that is benefiting from an increase in demand. I doubt there were many tears back in the 80's when oil was at $10 a barrel. So please try to see beyond a knee jerk reaction.
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Jim 6:52AM (2/02/2007)
"I could do a lot with $1,200 a second." What a silly, worthless
comment. All you have to do is invest your $337 billion somewhere
reasonably smart.
That works out to a profit margin of 10.4% for the
year. Not bad, a lot of businesses work on much slimmer margins, but
you and I can easily make the same profit on our money by investing
wisely. In that respect, 10.4% is not so different than a typical
year's return on the stock market. My guess is that if you and a
billion other people each had $337 to invest, and each made $39 on
your investment, you wouldn't think it was obscene or fantastic.
Pretty normal, in fact.
Given the record high prices this year for oil, this 10% profit is probably as good as it gets for the oil companies. Lots of years they've made much less. Maybe they should close up shop and invest in the stock market. And we can all sit around in our cold houses and look at our cars that used run on gas that doesn't exist.
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Doug R 8:23PM (2/02/2007)
Couldn't agree with you more Geo E (#7)! Guess who averaged $7,262.70 a second from the same source? Federal and State governments in the form of taxes! They averaged 5 times the amount of "net" profit made by big oil. New York was closer to 7 times!
Why doesn't environmental groups spend money on promoting democracy? Maybe because your socialists and communists.
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