Exxon made nearly $1,500 a second last quarter, a new record
First, let's get the hard data out of the way: Exxon's $11.68 billion of profit last quarter was the highest ever recorded by any company, topping it's own previous record from the last quarter of '07. For those who like to keep track of such things, that is nearly $90,000 a minute; $1,500 every second. That's a lot of dough, for sure, but it is actually not as high as some investors were expecting, causing a bit of a sell-off this morning following the earnings announcement. It seems that some are worried that it is costing the oil giant too much money to find new reserves, though Exxon has been fighting that problem by asking Congress for subsidies to help.
In related news, pretty much all other oil companies also posted record numbers, including Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum. Expect all of these companies to continue spending more to find additional oil reserves in a bid to maintain this profit growth for as long as possible.
[Source: The New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
a.brien 9:40PM (7/31/2008)
And their product is full of ash , especially diesel that need a costly after-burner(catalyzer) to try to burn it and it raise fuel consumption by 10-15%.
If they made their fuels with green algae bio-reactors, they will save on production costs.
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Brent 10:05PM (7/31/2008)
Exxon is in the petrol business, not algae oil.
I am a huge supporter of algae oil though. OriginOil is getting their patents sorted out and there is a plant going up in Hawaii!
tankd0g 10:34PM (7/31/2008)
Free money from the ground is still the cheapest production method in history and it's not running out in your lifetime. when it does, you can bet the oil companies of today will have a monopoly on whatever bio engineered ooze is making our fuel tomorrow.
why not the LS2LS7? 9:52PM (7/31/2008)
I'm sorry to hear their profits are so miserably low. We should make sure to get them as much government subsidy as possible.
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a.brien 10:18PM (7/31/2008)
They should invent one concept station where all the possible fuels available now and futur like natural gas, electric chargers, hydrogen liquid or gazeous, ethanol, ethanol blend is sold to the consumer. If they start to use green algae farming at one of their riffinery to capture co2 and carbone particles emissions and other chemicals they will save on production costs, save on acquisition costs, have more fuels to sell and more new customers at this station where the air is not to polluted.
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Nick 10:51PM (7/31/2008)
I feel so sorry for Exxon Mobile, they made 'only' $11.68 billions, we definitely should ask congress to get them back out of this misery.
Seriously, Exxon Mobil is Mafia, its power reaches all arms of the government and industry, and we, we the people, have to pay for that? This is absolutely outrageous...an insult to every American who has to support these criminal activities.
There will be a time in the future, a few decades from now, where people will look back and in complete disbelief say: " How could this have happened? How can this have been allowed? Our landscape has been destroyed, out air and rivers poisoned, our wallets robbed, people allowed this to happen?"
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ziv 1:55AM (8/01/2008)
Exxon uses high tech equipment to drill thousands of feet into the earth, uses energy to pump oil out of the ground and pipeline it hundreds of miles to an oil tanker that then travels thousands of miles to an American coastal city, where it is cracked and refined into 70 some different versions of gasoline, most of them boutique types slightly different from each other due to state legislatures, then it is trucked hundreds and frequently thousands of miles to a gas station on a corner near you, and you can buy this product for $4 a gallon. From a gas station so clean that most people will eat the chimichangas they sell over by the microwave...
$1 a quart for gasoline. My Deer Park water comes from a hundred miles away, it is simply filtered and put into plastic bottles, but it is $1 for 8 oz and $1.30 a pint which is $10 a gallon for WATER! And people whinge and whine about Exxon selling a product that we actually need, as opposed to water we just prefer not to drink out of a tap. We deserve bad leadership if this sort of thinking isn't laughed down by normal, thinking adults.
Luke 11:23PM (7/31/2008)
Exxon's profit margins are nothing compared to other companies.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/07/some-things-are.html
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Mike!!ekiM 7:33AM (8/01/2008)
Yes, but what were their Management Expenses?
- Vacation homes, free corporate jet, gold-plated health care? So, they only "chose" to give back to their shareholders 8.5%.
They're living like Kings.
Wise Golden 10:07AM (8/01/2008)
Mike says they are living like Kings. I say so what?
Mike it’s real simple – It’s a private, publicly held company with governance that decided how to pay it’s executives and staff. If you’re offended by wealth, it’s because you don’t have any, otherwise, it’s not so offensive.
Really, Mike, just stop buying the stuff that they make if you’re that angry.
As for me, I’ve said it a hundred times, consumers are the problem, not OPEC, and not Exxon. Put the fault where it lies and stop this Socialist equality non-sense.
Noz 3:12AM (8/01/2008)
ZIV:
Let me break out the violin for Exxon....
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Michael 3:47AM (8/01/2008)
Way to miss the point.
BlackbirdHighway 4:25AM (8/01/2008)
Well, that's really good that gasoline is cheaper than bottled water, but anyone who doesn't like the cost of bottled water can switch to tap water. Right now, there isn't an equivalent alternative to oil. That's exactly why we need electric cars, so that people have an alternative. That doesn't mean everyone will switch; lots of people still buy bottled water, but nobody likes being in a situation where they have no alternatives. It kills your sense of freedom, kind of like having only one political party to "choose" from.
That's why so many people don't like Exxon and the rest. They feel locked in, no choice. The decision of what to buy and how much to pay for it is out of their control. That's a situation that runs against human nature, and will engender antipathy every time.
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Enano Siniestro 4:36AM (8/01/2008)
According to CNN, Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.
That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.
Buried in the story we also find that "In addition to making hefty profits, Exxon also had a hefty tax bill. Worldwide, the company paid $10.5 billion in income taxes in the second quarter, $9.5 billion in sales taxes, and over $12 billion in what it called 'other taxes.'"
In other words, Exxon Mobil paid $32.361 billion in taxes in the second quarter, which works out to $4,114 in taxes per second. Another way to look at it - Exxon paid almost $3 in taxes ($32.361 billion) for every $1 in profits ($11.68 billion).
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle+articleid_2459357&title=Exxon_Posts_Record.html
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Wise Golden 10:24AM (8/01/2008)
Bravo -- a much missed point by the media and the general public.
Alan 7:26AM (8/01/2008)
I was under the impression that profit is after the taxes are paid. Anyway, no one at Exxon is complaining -- they love making all that money!!
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bah 6:39PM (8/01/2008)
They are, but how would you like it if for every $4 you made, $3 went away in taxes? I'd hate to pay a 75% tax rate, personally.
Michael 11:24PM (8/01/2008)
Hah. Doesn't sound too different than what a certain US presidential candidate would suggest...
Mike!!ekiM 7:34AM (8/01/2008)
What does Exxon Do?
- They don't explore, someone else does
- They don't drill, they pay someone to do that
- They don't ship, another company does that
- They don't refine, someone else refines and make very little money
- They sell gas, and control the price and spread so the gas station doesn't make a large profit.
- They're selling their gas stations.
So, Why Do We Need Exxon?
- The US Government could do a better job of buying long term oil contract from the Saudi's and give that Profit back to the tax payer.
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BoneHeadOtto 8:52AM (8/01/2008)
Yeah except this is america where we dont steal companies from the public just because they are successful. Exxon does many of those things you mentioned and they are in the right place at the right time. Their profit margin is not huge 11 billion on something like 200 billion revenue stream. Plus the govt made more in taxes from Exxon than Exxon made.
Hey here is an idea. How about we merge GM and Exxon!! The +$11,680,000,000 Exxon made will be offset by GMs -$15,000,000,000!!! loss for a total loss of over 3billion. YAY GM you lost more than Exxons record profits!!!!! By 3 freakin billion!!!!!