Exxon Mobil posts record $45.2 billion profit in 2008
It's almost expected now that each quarter Exxon Mobil will produce a new record profit. Last quarter, though, as the largest publicly traded oil company in the world saw its profits decline by 27 percent, that didn't happen. Don't feel too bad for the company, though, as even in a down market, the oil giant still took in $84.7 billion, which was enough to set a new record for profit over the entire year of 2008 at $45.2 billion. Record high fuel prices from the second and third quarters of last year helped carry Exxon Mobil through the year. Chevron, which is the second largest oil company behind Exxon, managed to earn about $43 billion for the year. Other, smaller oil companies are struggling a bit more than their larger competitors, with even Royal Dutch Shell recording its first quarterly loss in a decade. 2009 is shaping up to continue the trend of lowered profits.
[Source: AP via Google]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ian 3:28PM (1/30/2009)
And market ignorant outrage posts in 3...2...1
Calls for government to "do something" about "greed" in 3..2..1
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CC 4:07PM (1/31/2009)
so true,
What they should also tell is how much was paid in taxes.
noz 3:14PM (1/31/2009)
You're a typical example of why we are so screwed.
Chris M 5:23PM (1/31/2009)
Oh, it didn't take nearly that long for certain right-wing pundits to come to Big Oils defense, saying "Its all free market, there was no price gouging, they deserve it, etc." Of course, that was conveniently ignoring the way profits kept going up even in the face of declining sales, which isn't typical of a real "free market" economy unless some market manipulation was going on.
Problem is, the oil barons miscalculated. Their price gouging sent the economy reeling, triggering a recession, driving consumption down even further than they expected, and they'll soon find their own profits collapsing as well. Now that people are really ticked off and are getting really serious about cutting oil consumption, and are pushing for the plug-in revolution, the oil barons will soon find themselves in a financial bind - but we can be certain they won't be getting any handouts anytime soon.
Snoopy 12:51AM (2/01/2009)
Chris M,
From your mouth to consumers ears. I still doubt oil barons will be flipping out their pockets to find moths any time soon though, regardless of what consumers do any time soon.
terrence_bethea 9:27PM (1/30/2009)
How about general disdain for these oil companies receiving federal SUBSIDIES at the same time they are making record profits?
Big Oil: We need subsidies b/c otherwise we have no incentive to drill for oil b/c it's not like we make money on oil.
Rational Human Being: But you spent more money on stock buybacks and dividends over the past 5 years than you did in exploration.
Big Oil: Well we have a responsibility to our shareholders to reward them with profits from our business.
Rational Human Being: So you make so much profit that you can buy back your stock and pay a healthy dividend but need taxpayer subsidies to motivate exploration and drilling?
Big Oil: Sounds about right.
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KenB 1:19PM (1/31/2009)
terrence_bethea
Your comment is dead on right. Exactly.
Nick 1:06PM (1/31/2009)
But the Exxon commercial told me that they have a tiny profit margin!!!
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RPM 11:44PM (1/30/2009)
Its great to see this company turn a profit when so many are having a hard time of it.
Oh...and the government loves this too seeing as oil companies have to pay out about 3 dollars to every dollar the company makes toward taxes (much of it goes to the government). If I find the breakdown I'll post it here... funny how these "little details" never seem to get mentioned in the "Look how terrible Big Oil is" type of articles.
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jaguar879 11:55AM (1/31/2009)
I haven't heard this. What's your source?
(Not sarcastic... I'm legitimately curious)
noz 3:15PM (1/31/2009)
Poor big oil....my heart breaks for them.
RPM 9:54PM (1/31/2009)
I'll try to find it... the article was not for or against anything..just was information about where your gas $ goes per gallon of gas and also had an in depth breakdown about where all the gross profit for oil companies go. I was surprised about how much these companies pay out..but still make a net profit. Interesting overall and seemed to be fairly accurate based off of other publications I have read.
Randy C. 12:54PM (1/31/2009)
Further proof that big oil has America by the B@!!s. Having millions of cars that can only run on a single fuel is a very bad idea. Whatever the price of the fuel we have to pay it if we want to continue the lifestyle we have grown to love.
We have no alternatives. Ethanol can't be made in enough quantity without impacting food production. Bio-diesel while it can be made from waste still has quantity problems. Hydrogen is a pipe dream due to infrastructure and efficiency problems.
The only real choice is electric cars. They run on domestically produced electricity not imported oil. Even if 100% of the electricity comes from coal electric cars still produce less than 50% of the pollution of a gas powered car per mile. More and more renewable energy is coming on line every day making the net pollution form electric cars less and less. As a gas car ages its pollution profile gets worse and worse.
But the old cronies in power don't see it that way and would rather keep the old system in place because they are making money. It doesn't matter if we are paying the terrorists to try and kill us. It doesn't matter if we are on a collision course for a scorched planet. The old cronies are still making money.
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Luke 8:08PM (1/31/2009)
Untrue. Natural gas cars are just as easily made as any other type of car. We just need a little more demand, and a little more infrastructure woldn't hurt either.
Randy C. 8:01PM (2/01/2009)
Ah yes, CNG looks like an alternative to oil. CNG may even put a dent in the amount of oil imported (especially if the Pickens Plan works 100% the way he envisions). But CNG still takes carbon that has been locked away for thousands of years and puts it into the atmosphere. Also CNG still adds to the pollution of other toxins like nitrogen compounds that damage kids' lungs. I'd prefer to go electric and power my car with sunshine or wind.
KenB 4:56PM (1/31/2009)
With electric cars becoming slowly but surely more probable, the chicken littles of the world are screaming electricity grid, electricity grid, oh no, the electricity grid. Where were these chicken littles when everyone starting getting 3 or more 60"+ plasma TVs? Those suck electricity too. Big Oil hates electric cars because they are the only realistic method of transporation right now that does not require you to stop at the gas station. People are getting tired of being jacked around every holiday with gas prices. The oil companies study the calendar, and then strategically go up when they see a holiday approaching. They claim it is their supply & demand. I don't see turkeys going to $5 a pound every Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is supply and demand too. Everyone is getting tired of getting jerked around by big oil. They pull this stunt of "running out of oil" shortage to create the panic in the market. That panic creates their profits. They are still benefiting from the panic from early last year.
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RPM 10:37PM (1/31/2009)
@Randy C.
"Further proof that big oil has America by the B@!!s."
But who let this happen?? If YOU start a company ..that produces say..some new tech non-fossil fuel and the world designs its transportation around this product thus making your company very profitable ..is it your fault that the dependency is on you to produce that product..thus making you seem like you have America by the B@!!s ??
How does this make them bad??? And spare me the conspiracy theories..stick to facts.
Reminds me about how the Hummer had become such a target for simple minded fools/tools...Such misplaced hostility is so silly..if you don't like the way things are start trying to constructively come up with better alternatives. But no, its much easier to just yell at "Big Oil" and label them as the root of all evil and at the same time making no positive contribution.
The way I see it, if people don't like paying $ to overseas dictators that don't like the US very much then we have some choices:
- Drill here in the US and produce enough to stop or slow the amount we depend on coming in from other countries.
- Develop other ways to replace our petroleum requirement (realize there a lot of things we ALL use on a daily basis that currently need petroleum processing..not just fuel). Examples are starting to come..but we need more
- Develop better/more efficient coal, nuclear, solar, wind processes to produce energy.
- Vote in people that support all the above..and are not trying to turn this great country into a socialist nation.
just some examples I see that can help..some we are doing..some we are never going to do (if the current administration has anything to say about it) and some we need to do more of.
Most of all we need to realize this will never be a "quick fix" I will not be surprised if 20 years from now we will be using many automobiles that still require some type of petroleum product to operate.
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Snoopy 12:57AM (2/01/2009)
Heh,
Socialism in America. Now that would be progressive. I think we should first just see what Obama does over the next few years, and how much people are willing to do to help out bring the country back online.
RPM 2:48AM (2/01/2009)
not just BO..take a look at the "Spending Bill" the Dems are trying to ram down our throats and you get a good idea about "the next few years"
Dirtbag 8:27AM (7/14/2009)
I think you all missed the big picture, Yes Exxon and all others in the oil industry had huge proffits (9% margin) but so did Walmart (3%), GE (10%), McDonalds (6-8%), Target (7%), Costco (8%). The only difference is Big Oil does not set the price, speculators and forgein oil producers do. If OPEC decides to ramp up production and flood the market with cheap crude then Exxon goes into the red. If the cost of a barrle of oil goes below $45, the alternative fuels are too expensive and if it drops below $40 the alternate sources of crude (oil sands) are not proffitable and if it goes below $30 the Exxon is not proffitable. Back in the 80's when crude was low Exxon need the goverments help to stay afloat. All Exxon is asking for is insurance that if the market is flooded they will have a life raft like GM and the banking industry got.
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