Posted on 01/30/2006 5:42:55 AM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday reported quarterly profit surged 27 percent, capping a record year dominated by soaring oil and gas prices.
Net income in the fourth quarter was $10.71 billion, or $1.71 a share, compared with $8.42 billion, or $1.30 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.65 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $1.45 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Crude oil prices rose about 40 percent last year, driven up by tensions in oil-producing countries like Iran and Nigeria and tight supplies.
Exxon's fourth-quarter revenue jumped to $99.66 billion from $83.37 billion a year earlier but fell short of analysts' average forecast of $101.29 billion.
Exxon shares were up 2.5 percent at $62.82 in pre-market trading on the Inet electronic brokerage system.
Will the consumers get a relief from higher gas prices? Perish the thought. So time to tack on the windfall profit tax.
There is a big difference between profit & profit margin.
What was their profit margin?
Yes, capitalism does rule. But you'll not convince this
FReeper there isn't something rotten in Denmark. A gallon will be a dime more just because of some of the headlines today.
I'd like to tell these people: QUIT GRIPING AND INVEST in OIL if you're so damn certain they're making obscene profits! Instead, they choose to be miserable and whiny.
Nope, I'm still not convinced and I wouldn't buy "OIL" stock unless it was free.
If the state & feds removed their taxes on a gallon of gas, prices would go way down. The government makes more per gallon than any oil company.
How about;
"Exxon Misses Earnings Targets"
From The Washington Post:
"It doesn't look like they made money off the storms," said Tina Vital, who covers the oil industry for Standard & Poor's. "They made money off of high oil and natural gas prices."
Indeed, some of the firms -- including Exxon Mobil -- have reported lower profit margins in their retail operations than Wall Street expected, Vital said. That suggests those companies didn't pass on to customers the full crude-oil price increase, keeping gasoline prices at their service stations lower than they might have been.
"It does appear that they ate a bit of the cost on the marketing side," she said.
To be sure, the industry's profit margins have swelled in recent years. But that increase has roughly followed, and even lagged, the rise in crude oil prices.
Exxon Mobil's gross profit margin, for example, stood at 6 percent 10 years ago, when oil cost about $15 per barrel. The company now boasts a margin of 10.7 percent, while crude costs $61 per barrel.
Thats not the way it works. There was one oil company in the good old lasseiz faire days. Monopolies are never good, nor is an artificial oligopoly. Unfortunately, since we stopped having a functioning government since Reagan left, nothing will be done about this. Moreover, since when does a rise in costs = a rise in profits? These profits are the result of price gouging pure and simple.
We should all drill for our own oil. That will show those oil companies who's boss.
Can anyone point me to a website that lists the actual profit margins in the last year for say for example the Fortune 500 companies? To prove to these liberal whiners that people like Heinz are making a larger margin than Exxon?
Great post! I couldn't agree more. To blame the oil companies for being profitable (when their profit margin is no greater than the average business) is sad. Do those same people (who are now complaining about high oil profits), ALSO complain when oil company profits drop 60% (or more)--like they did when oil was $10/barrel just a few years ago?
"Big Oil corrupts and perverts the political process.
They have found it profitable to restrict the oil supply through government regulation, utilizing environmental activists as convenient boogeymen to blame."
Amen. Big Oil is in no hurry to "build more refineries" for obvious reasons. But they'll keep the sheep believing that Oil is motivated to do so, if it weren't for those darned bunny huggers.
"or long lines and not getting the amount of gas you want. "
What - Iraq?
I can't help thinking that those posters gloating over their stock portfolio values would have loved investing with I.G. Farben, a very successful venture in its heyday.
I understand that the profit margin for the oil compnies is only 7%. In less than 3 years there's been over 4,600,000 jobs added to the American economy. This increases demand, big time. At the same time there's been no substantial increase in the ability to manufacture the product, why wouldn't the price have to go up? The record profit comes from vast increase in sale at a price dictated by domestic demand, stifled supply and global market conditions, The elevation of the worldwide standard of living, political concerns that effect the future markets, over regulations brought on by demands from the anti-Americans pretending to care about the environment in order to attack American business. Is 7% profit too much? It's all in how the numbers a presented, a 51% increase in profit remains a 7% profit margin. Should oil companies be allowed to only make so much? Here's the real question for the present, do you want to be able to buy gas at a higher price or would you rather have no gas at a lower price.
Did you ever read about that? On average, members of Congress have a 16% higher return on stocks than the everyday average Joe Shmoe. Yeah, no insider trading there, yeah that`s the ticket. Meanwhile I lose my azz.
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