BUSINESS: Exxon/Mobile reports Record Profits for Third Quarter Earnings

Exxon/Mobile have broken all previous corporate profit margins with the report of their third quarter earnings of nearly $10 billion. One of their major competitors, the Dutch based Shell PLC wasn't far behind, reporting a profit of about $9 billion for the quarter.



We have all been theorizing on this, but now, it's proven. The oil companies are using natural disaster in the US (along with the War in Iraq, and a host of other issues) to justify raising oil prices to obscene levels, just to make a profit.

Ten billlion dollars in a quarter isn't just a profit, it's raping the citizenry of the industrialized nations. We can't fight it, as all Americans need a car to get from place to place. It's not like we can just substitute another fuel source for our vehicles. These large oil companies know we will pay whatever it takes to keep fuel in our cars, and are therefore capitalizing on it.

As quoted in the article above, Exxon doesn't care about the welfare of the country, but only their own profit. This only proves the power of the oil companies in a oil-based economy. There's no obvious way to fight it, because even if everyone buys a Toyota Prius or other hybrid, we'll still be spening the same in fuel costs, because the oil companies have already proven their power to raise the pump price.

Even outside of vehicle fuel costs, Baltimore City, where I live, is heated mostly by oil or natural gas. These costs will also be influenced by the greed of these oil companies. Being only the start of the cold winter months, it still remains to be seen how many people aren't going to be able to afford the heating costs this winter. I assure you, the figures will be staggering.

Related News Links:
home.businesswire.com
www.shell.com

[edit on 27-10-2005 by obsidian468]

[edit on 27-10-2005 by obsidian468]

Your introduction is misleading. The oil company is reporting record profits, not record profit margins. I am not certain what the profit margins for the oil companies are in this quarter, but in the long haul they run from 8-10%, which is good, but not extreme. Imposing a new tax on oil companies will do little to help consumers who want only to see the prices fall to more affordable levels. That will, of course, happen when supplies catch up with demand. For myself, I have cut my "discretionary" driving to a bare minimum and quite frankly, it's not an imposition, at all. If everyone did the same thing, gas prices would really fall.

All I am going to say on this is that these Oil companies better hire some dern good PR people, cause damnation and hellfire is surely headed their way.

Free enterprise and capitolism is all good with me, but the monopoly that these oil companies hold is getting just a weeeeeeeeeeeee bit out of hand.

Incidentally, just in the past two weeks, gas prices around my house have gone from $2.91 to $2.41 for regular unleaded, a drop of .50 cents in 14 days. Hmmm.





seekerof

[edit on 27-10-2005 by Seekerof]

I've noticed the drop in price as well. I marked it off as the usual.. spike it up from $1 to $2 and the populance will be happy with $1.50.. then hold it at $1.50 and spike it to $2.50 and the populance will be happy with $2

Spike it to $3, and lower it to $2.50.. arent you happy it's so cheap now?

I really don't understand any of these "profits" they're reporting. I mean, I assumed the whole reason that gas was so expensive is because the cost of oil per barrel has gone up?

But the price for barrels goes up, gas prices go up, and these companies rack in 10billion dollars in one quarter? Can anyone explain this to me?

Oil companies posting record profit at the expense of the consumer after devastating hurricanes cause loss of jobs and homes. I believe the average consumer will believe the oil companies are making a killing at their expense. Did I hear someone say they had no increase in profit margin? Someone will need to explain that a lot to the average consumer to believe it. Several cases of price gouging are already being investigated when gas prices rose so fast at the pumps after Katrina.

Shall I grab the oversized novelty cross and nine inch nails?




If he was a starwars chr he'd so be a hut!




Ha ho ho, nebbeh jai du nu naka gasoline jinaka lo wookie, gah ha ho ho.







And remember when they wanted Bill Gates head? Guess he didn't scratch the same backs.

It's disgusting, they act like oh its not our fault, but we have record profits....

Doesn't it feel great, to be screwed by your own people?

edit for pankcakes

[edit on 28-10-2005 by Lysergic]

And they boast about it every day. Life is good for these oil barons.

Living the fat life:

from a source I cant remember, I believe it was msnbc: the cost of a barrel of oil would have to be $90 to justify $3/gallon. I wish I had enough food to get that fat...

mmmm......food

geee...I wonderhow they managed that? Wouldn't be by enron style price gouging would it?

Originally posted by obsidian468It's not like we can just substitute another fuel source for our vehicles.

Actually the technology already exists for us to switch to a renewable alternate fuel source that has 0 pollution. Know what it is?

Methyl alcohol.

Using the corn the government pays farmers to throw away (so that corn prices will remain high enough for farmers to make a living) we could make enough methyl alcohol to cover all our domestic motor fuel needs.

Plus it would be really cheap, it's always 100 octane, and when you run out you can grow some more corn. On top of that is the fact that the byproducts of alcohol are H2O and CO2 (which would be taken back in by the corn to grow a new crop).

All we need to do to start implementing this technology in America is to pass legislation that makes companies that sell cars with methyl alcohol engines (or convert your current engine) and companies that grow and distrubute methyl alcohol tax exempt. Hell, throw some federal grants in there for people who want to start these types of businesses and soon we would be 100% free of our dependence on other countries for oil.

I mean we just threw away 200 billion dollars on Iraq, 1 billion spent on alternative fuel sources wouldn't hurt.

For some reason the current trend is in researching hydrogen fuel cells (even though methyl alcohol technology has been around for years). That technology is years away from being feasable and most importantly safe enough to use. I wonder why legislaters haven't already implemented laws promoting methyl alcohol over gasoline?

Maybe it has something to do with the oil lobby...

[edit on 28-10-2005 by ShakyaHeir]

Update

Regular unleaded around my house has again dropped from $2.41 to $2.24.

In just over two weeks, the gas has dropped from $2.91 to now $2.24. :shk:

Things that make you go HMMMMmmm.






seekerof

Well it may drop to under a dollar for what they care, but already the profits were made.

Manipulation of the market at the expenses of the consumer is going to be the norm for now on.

As usual they win we lost and life goes on in America old news now.

[edit on 28-10-2005 by marg6043]

What I would like to see is a simple line, shhowing the price of a gallon of gas in it's lifetime. This would help me understand who is getting fat.

...1.......2.....3......4......5

1. A gallon of crude comes out of the ground and onto a tanker ship. What is the price of that gallon of crude?
2. The gallon comes off the tanker and into the refinery. Price?
3. Out of the refinery, into the delivery truck. Price?
4. Out of truck, into underground tanks at local Mobil On the Run. Price?
5. Most importantly to me, out of pump and into my tank. Price?

Simplistic, yes, but I'm a simple guy, and all I want to know is, where are the costs being added?

There's no shortage of gas where I live and drive, so supply and demand doesn't cut it, IMO.

Help?

Well we all know these corporate bigwigs couldn't possibly survive without a salary below 450,000, it has to come from somewhere...
You figure if you have 25 members of the board of directors, youre looking at roughly 1.25 mill, just for the head honchos salaries. And I am being very conservative.

Another fuel source alternative, Rudolph Diesel developed the diesel engine for use with any vegetable oil type fuel, the newer ones need modification, because the glycerine levels in vegetable oils will clog the fuel injectors, but other than that you could go to any mc donalds, find out when they empty their fryer and drive for a year, all the while emitting carbon DIOXIDE, and smelling like french fries.

Originally posted by ShakyaHeir

Originally posted by obsidian468It's not like we can just substitute another fuel source for our vehicles.

Actually the technology already exists for us to switch to a renewable alternate fuel source that has 0 pollution. Know what it is?

Methyl alcohol.

Using the corn the government pays farmers to throw away (so that corn prices will remain high enough for farmers to make a living) we could make enough methyl alcohol to cover all our domestic motor fuel needs.

Plus it would be really cheap, it's always 100 octane, and when you run out you can grow some more corn. On top of that is the fact that the byproducts of alcohol are H2O and CO2 (which would be taken back in by the corn to grow a new crop).

All we need to do to start implementing this technology in America is to pass legislation that makes companies that sell cars with methyl alcohol engines (or convert your current engine) and companies that grow and distrubute methyl alcohol tax exempt. Hell, throw some federal grants in there for people who want to start these types of businesses and soon we would be 100% free of our dependence on other countries for oil.

I mean we just threw away 200 billion dollars on Iraq, 1 billion spent on alternative fuel sources wouldn't hurt.

For some reason the current trend is in researching hydrogen fuel cells (even though methyl alcohol technology has been around for years). That technology is years away from being feasable and most importantly safe enough to use. I wonder why legislaters haven't already implemented laws promoting methyl alcohol over gasoline?

Maybe it has something to do with the oil lobby...

[edit on 28-10-2005 by ShakyaHeir]

People read so many theories on stuff here it's hard to keep track of them all... I cant remember where I saw on ats but heres the short version of the theory as to why we went to war: Not for the oil itself but for the establishment. OPEC was considering moving to euros as the standard currency. This would devalue the dollar, causing a huge stock market crash/ or depressive situation. In order to stop that a war was necessary. I guess I can't argue why not being in a depression is important, even if I don't like wars.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Your introduction is misleading. The oil company is reporting record profits, not record profit margins. I am not certain what the profit margins for the oil companies are in this quarter, but in the long haul they run from 8-10%, which is good, but not extreme. Imposing a new tax on oil companies will do little to help consumers who want only to see the prices fall to more affordable levels. That will, of course, happen when supplies catch up with demand. For myself, I have cut my "discretionary" driving to a bare minimum and quite frankly, it's not an imposition, at all. If everyone did the same thing, gas prices would really fall.

Very true. I wish more people would actually bother to learn something about business before opening their ignorant mouths. $9.92 billion profit on $100.7 billion in revenues is only 9.8% profit -- less than the S&P 500 average of 12.7% and way less than the banking industry average of 20+%. In others words, the oil industry is LESS PROFITABLE than other businesses. Doesn't anyone here know how to read a financial report? Or has everyone just surrendered their ability to think to the mainstream media?

Where is the outrage over the paltry returns given on cash investments and money markets and the exhorbitant interest rates charged for loans? These are true price gouges and profiteering that cannot be spun away by corporate PR types. Instead the brainless sheeple moan about gasoline prices which are cheaper than a generation ago in real dollars.


[edit on 29-10-2005 by dave_54]

[edit on 29-10-2005 by dave_54]

Originally posted by dave_54

Doesn't anyone here know how to read a financial report?

Yes. And I know how easy it is to manipulate financial reports, and bury the evidence and profits too.

Originally posted by dave_54


Instead the brainless sheeple moan about gasoline prices which are cheaper than a generation ago in real dollars.

A generation ago it was one income with one car and the working week was only of 40 hours.

A single salary was enough to meet all the demands of the household. Perhaps you should add that Americans work more and get pay less compare to a generation ago in this times.

Deceiving, right?

Originally posted by marg6043

A generation ago it was one income with one car and the working week was only of 40 hours.

A single salary was enough to meet all the demands of the household. Perhaps you should add that Americans work more and get pay less compare to a generation ago in this times.

Deceiving, right?

A single median salary is still sufficient to meet all household needs of a family of four at the standard of living of a generation ago. Many support larger families on less than that. The trouble is yesterday's luxuries are now perceived as necessities. Things are not more expensive now in real dollars, we have upscaled our lifestyle so we 'need' more things. We all would survive quite nicely without cell phones and cable TV in every room. I choose not to, and I differentiate between needs and luxuries.

I disagree that all earn less in real terms. It may be true in your case, but certainly not true in my family nor any of my friends. I earn about half again more what my father did at my age in real dollars. My brothers all earn more than I. My daughter earns more than I did at her age. My monthly gasoline bill is a smaller percentage of my income now than when I was in college, and I drive more now.

Exxon Mobile profits sound big when someone tells you the raw number. But it is one of the largest corporations in the world. On a business ROI basis their profit is not excessive or unreasonable. As I pointed out earlier it is less than other industries. The media is trying to stir up a story where none exists.

Taking in consideration that the cost of living in the US is only bearable while the interest rates stay artificially low.

Since Bush administration we have lost millions jobs in the private sector, two million on manufacturing Jobs, next will be the technology sector jobs.

2.8 million manufacturing jobs lost under Bush administration looking at inflation Americans today earn less money than our parents did 30 years ago. In 1973 private-sector workers in the US were paid 9.08 dollars average an hour, compare to today they are paid 8.33 per hour, more than 8 percent lower.

www.aflcio.org...

Manufacturing jobs used to support the middle class American now they are gone everywhere else in the world for cheaper labor.

The biggest employer in the US is now Wal-mart. Taking in consideration that a minimum wages while working at wal-mart shows as a positive when it comes to jobs creation in the US is not so when it comes to support a family on a minimum wage.

Manufacturing Jobs were US middle class main source of income until outsourcing took over.

But a stark warning today from Alan Greenspan about baby boomer retirement. If you're looking for a comfortable retirement and expect to enjoy Social Security and Medicare benefits like your parents, think again. Greenspan says the government is promising more to future retirees than it can possibly deliver, even under the best circumstances. He suggested Americans may have to work longer, and the age you have to get benefits may have to be raised if Congress doesn't fix this now.

Assault on middle class America.

transcripts.cnn.com...

In order for hard working Americans to provide with the needs of a growing family two incomes are needed to provide the basis need and more often than not, two jobs for one of the partners.

This how America survive. If you are in the lucky wealthy or just lucky enough to have a good white collar job that keeps your family needs provided with good benefits and health insurance, without having anybody else working to help then you are truly blessed.

But for one lucky one, is many other Americans that are not so lucky and barely making ends meet and their numbers are growing every year.

For people that live in a fix budget or low income budget due to minimum wages the prices of gas makes a big difference and then they have to come to the realization that the oil industry is taken them for a ride on their money.

Very deceiving.