vbrad511 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exxon shatters profit records Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007. EMAIL | PRINT | DIGG | RSS Subscribe to Companies feed://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close) By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer February 1 2008: 2:26 PM EST Video More video Exxon Mobil announces record profits, the highest ever for a U.S. company. Play video Exxon Mobil booked the biggest quarterly and annual profits in U.S. corporate history Friday, helped by higher oil prices. Eye on oil High gas prices: Recession-proof Americans may see falling stock markets and employment rates, but worldwide demand and OPEC should keep the heat on oil and gas prices. (more) Oil prices: OPEC's high wire act The cartel struggles to keep oil prices high, but not high enough to kill the economy. Long term, are they investing enough to meet worldwide demand? (more) Quick Vote On this frantic Friday, what do you think is the biggest news on Wall Street? Microsoft announces $45 billion bid for YahooExxon earns biggest quarterly profit everGovernment reports a job loss in January or View results NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil made history on Friday by reporting the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company, boosted in large part by soaring crude prices. Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said fourth-quarter net income rose 14% to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 per share. The company earned $10.25 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the year-ago period. The profit topped Exxon's previous quarterly record of $10.7 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2005, which also was an all-time high for a U.S. corporation. "Exxon can put out some amazing numbers and this is one of those cases," said Jason Gammel, senior analyst at Macquarie Securities in New York. Exxon also set an annual profit record by earning $40.61 billion last year - or nearly $1,300 per second in 2007. That exceeded its previous record of $39.5 billion in 2006. In the fourth quarter, the company said revenue rose 29.5% from a year ago to $116.64 billion. Analysts were looking for the company to report quarterly profit of $10.36 billion on revenue of $114.9 billion, according to earnings tracker Thomson Financial. Despite topping Wall Street's estimates, Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500) shares slipped in afternoon trading. The company reported strong results in its worldwide exploration and production, or "upstream," business. Profit rose 32% to $8.2 billion during the quarter, offsetting some weakness earlier in the year. Income in Exxon's refining, or "downstream," business rose 15.7% during the quarter to $2.27 billion. Exxon attributed its impressive results to strong performance across its divisions, but a large part of the profit surge was underpinned by climbing oil prices. Crude prices skyrocketed nearly 60% last year. The surge helped prices break through the $100 a barrel mark for the first time ever early last month. Since crossing that milestone, prices have eased to around $90 a barrel. Natural gas prices also jumped last year, albeit marginally. But costs have also increased for the oil companies, which is why profits haven't risen as rapidly as crude prices. Big oil companies that both pump oil and refine crude into gasoline have to spend more for crude but are unable to pass on all the extra cost to consumers, which eats in to gasoline profit margins. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit an all-time high of $3.23 in May, according to the motorist organization AAA. The high prices were blamed on strong demand and a series of accidents that shut down refineries in the U.S. But slack demand for gasoline in the latter half of last year kept gas prices from rising as dramatically as crude prices. Exxon's record results, which coincide with smaller rival Chevron's (CVX, Fortune 500) profit jump, drew some fire from both government officials and consumer rights groups, who have argued previously that the the oil industry is deliberately restricting supply and profiting on the back of U.S. motorists. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. took a swipe at the two firms, calling on fellow lawmakers to break the country's dependence on foreign oil and rollback unnecessary tax incentives for oil companies. Judy Dugan, research director of The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, urged Congress to initiate some oversight into unregulated energy trading markets, which have been accused of helping to drive up the price of oil. "Exxon is happy to take advantage of these prices," said Dugan. But finding oil has also become more costly. The oil boom has led to a surge in exploration and drilling activity, which has pushed up the price for skilled workers and equipment. Furthermore, new supplies of oil are increasingly difficult to find and generally tend to be located in harder to reach - and hence more expensive - places. The new natural gas field discovered this week by Brazil's Petrobras lies three miles under the ocean. ExxonMobil representatives also stressed the cyclical nature of the business and noted that growing global demand for energy will require companies to heavily invest in future growth. The company said it estimates that global demand will grow by 30 percent by 2030. "The challenge for all of us in the industry is how to we meet that increased demand," said Henry Hubble, vice president of investor relations. Exxon and Chevron aren't the only two oil giants to report impressive earnings recently. Conoco (COP, Fortune 500), the nation's third-largest oil company, trounced profit estimates by nearly 25% when it reported last week. And Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, reported a 60% increase in profits Thursday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolyrgr Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Honestly, what do you expect them to do? More money in the oil pockets means more contributions. Higher gas prices help justify the need for the "new technology". It is not in the best interest of politics to have lower oil prices. the only benifit to then is the happiness of the constituants, and they can appease them by lowering slightly at voting periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MainstreaM Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 If you don't like it, don't buy as much gas. Don't buy into this one day boycott bullcrap either. I've cut down on my consumption by doing more while I'm out and paying as many bills online as possible (saves fuel for the post office too). Kane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vbrad511 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Not everybody has the option to use less gas or carpool. I have to have my truck for work, I have to have my tools for work. And I don't do any one-day boycotts, that's crazy. But I don't buy anything from E/M, haven't for a few years. I'm sure they've noticed, lol. This is a contributing factor to our spiralling economy. Fuel prices affect everything. We're seeing it big-time in the grocery stores now too. Not that it's the only reason for $4 milk, but it contributes. My truck is tuned, it gets any maintenance it needs promptly (except the ball joints I've been putting off, maybe this weekend). So what's the big deal about an extra $40 or so a week in the tank? To me, it hurts a bit. To people with lesser jobs and kids to feed, it hurts more.We can sit idly by and wait for $5 a gallon, or we can start demanding our reps start representing us. I contacted mine awhile back. I got friggin chain letters in reply talking about supply and demand. Sorry boys, demand is down, the pumps are running at 85%, and the prices keep going up. Chances are, we're just screwed. Chances are there's nothing we can do, and nothing will get done. But couple fuel prices with food prices, and medical bills, and record forclosers, and no bancruptcy options and we're gonna be in a world of hurt on just a few short years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremeboost Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Well , its easy to not do something when they're all in on it Everything is a scam , get used to it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreal Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 We're screwed any way we look at it. Everything just keeps going up. Heck, it costs me $300 every winter month just to heat my house. Thats just the natural gas bill. Electric and water raise up too! Oh yeah, and those property taxes.. just keep heading upwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFastBeater Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 The declining value of the dollar has more to do with our high fuel prices than anything. Until the economy turns around it'll probably just keep getting worse. Get used to it or make adjustments as necessary, because changes won't happen probably for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcrasta Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 The declining value of the dollar has more to do with our high fuel prices than anything. Until the economy turns around it'll probably just keep getting worse. Get used to it or make adjustments as necessary, because changes won't happen probably for years. Welp, I blame the government and the President. He makes money while looking blank when the reporters ask about 4$ per gallon gas before the end of the summer. And when asked about the recession, he says 'we are not in a recession' .. Cant wait till the election, then everyone can blame the democrats for messing it all up. Looks like Bush is determined to mess it it up as much as possible before he leaves. But then again, he has been ignoring domestic issues for the past 7 years.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 It costs the oil companies far less to throw $20 G's @ each politician than to drop gas and oil a buck or two. That alone will keep the oil companies fat and happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolyrgr Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 Welp, I blame the government and the President. He makes money while looking blank when the reporters ask about 4$ per gallon gas before the end of the summer. And when asked about the recession, he says 'we are not in a recession' .. Cant wait till the election, then everyone can blame the democrats for messing it all up. Looks like Bush is determined to mess it it up as much as possible before he leaves. But then again, he has been ignoring domestic issues for the past 7 years.. Just remember it takes 3 branches of government here to screw up a country. Not all of them are Republican. There are carreer "screw-ups" in the other branches that are far better qualified, and have vast more experience than any President can or will. To coin a phrase: "The economic beatings will continue till the financial situation improves." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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