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Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500
AP ^ | April 03, 2006

Posted on 04/03/2006 7:50:24 AM PDT by jmc1969

Skyrocketing energy prices propelled Exxon Mobil Corp. to the top of the 2006 Fortune 500 list, and consigned Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the No. 2 spot on the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies.

Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over 2004, and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history.

Other oil producers also rose in the rankings, boosted by crude prices that topped $70 a barrel and gasoline prices that surpassed $3 a gallon after hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast.

Both ChevronTexaco Corp. and ConocoPhillips saw their revenues jump in 2005, increasing by 28 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Chevron climbed two spots to No. 4, while Conoco edged up to No. 6 from No. 7 last year.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.moneycentral.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2006review; energy; exxonmobil; fortune500; gasprices; oil; retail; topten; walmart
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1 posted on 04/03/2006 7:50:25 AM PDT by jmc1969
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To: jmc1969

wow... wonder how that happend :/


2 posted on 04/03/2006 7:51:13 AM PDT by fhlh (Polls are for Strippers.)
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To: jmc1969

Good for Exxon. Now get to work and find some new reserves!!


3 posted on 04/03/2006 7:56:00 AM PDT by pissant
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To: jmc1969

Geaux Tiger!


4 posted on 04/03/2006 7:56:16 AM PDT by battlegearboat (Split! Split! Split!)
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To: pissant

That would mean lowering energy prices so it isn't going to happen. The same is true when it comes to building new refineries.

Why spend money on something that will just lower your profit over the course of the next decade when you don't have to.


5 posted on 04/03/2006 7:57:38 AM PDT by jmc1969
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To: jmc1969
i wish rush would pick up on this - the bias is high here - they call out the amount of profit by exxon - $36b - about 10% - but for walmart the hide profits by saying "the world's largest retailer has struggled to sustain profit growth in the high teens as it had in previous years" on nearly similar sales

i guess it is because the oil companies are evil and the media consumer is stupid

lies, damn lies and statistics
6 posted on 04/03/2006 7:58:37 AM PDT by marlin (US out of the UN and UN out of the US)
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To: jmc1969

The profit margin on the gas is still roughly the same. So selling MORE gallons would increase the profits.

Not to mention the tax revenue increases.


7 posted on 04/03/2006 8:00:12 AM PDT by pissant
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To: pissant

Then why is it when gas and oil prices spiked big time last fall that Exxon and all other oil companies made a hell of alot more money?


8 posted on 04/03/2006 8:02:46 AM PDT by jmc1969
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To: jmc1969

Worldwide demand is up. China, India, etc, etc.


9 posted on 04/03/2006 8:03:53 AM PDT by pissant
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To: marlin
Other oil producers also rose in the rankings, boosted by crude prices that topped $70 a barrel and gasoline prices that surpassed $3 a gallon after hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast.

pure spin... this leads the reader to beleive that the only way 'big oil' hit its records was due to the hurricanes.
10 posted on 04/03/2006 8:03:59 AM PDT by fhlh (Polls are for Strippers.)
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To: marlin

Well, you are comparing two completely different numbers: profit as a percentage of revenue, and year-over-year profit growth. The profits and sales for the two companies are in the same ballpark, but they are pointing out that it was a 9.5% increase for Wal-Mart (lower growth than the "high teens" of previous years) and a 25.5% increase for Exxon.


11 posted on 04/03/2006 8:04:59 AM PDT by oxlongm
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To: fhlh

Both ChevronTexaco Corp. and ConocoPhillips saw their revenues jump in 2005, increasing by 28 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Chevron climbed two spots to No. 4, while Conoco edged up to No. 6 from No. 7 last year.




Jumping 28% and 37% in pure revenue in one year compaired to the last is a massive massive jump. Expecially considering that US oil consumption only changed 1 percent.


12 posted on 04/03/2006 8:05:49 AM PDT by jmc1969
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To: jmc1969

I hear ya... but what I can't figure out is why I'm paying over 2.55 a gallon RIGHT NOW.

Gas has gone up 30 cents in the past month around these parts... no Hurricanes, etc... is because of the switch to summer blends? They've been doing these 'switches' for decades? is it really that costly?
IMHO, They are just gearing us up for 3.50 to 4.00 a gallon gas this summer.... and more record profits!

Time to take my oil stock profits and buy a diesel.


13 posted on 04/03/2006 8:07:42 AM PDT by fhlh (Polls are for Strippers.)
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To: jmc1969

...and some people say we are not getting gouged. :/


14 posted on 04/03/2006 8:09:23 AM PDT by fhlh (Polls are for Strippers.)
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To: jmc1969
A substantial amount of their revenue comes from things like exploration, leasing rights, etc. These things tend to generate a lot more revenue when oil prices are high.

The poster was correct when it comes to the numbers. Exxon/Mobil's "record profits" represented about 10% of their gross revenues, which is a pretty poor return on investment when you consider that the energy sector is supposed to be at or near its historic peak.

15 posted on 04/03/2006 8:13:58 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: fhlh
is it really that costly? Nope, it's a question of supply and demand. Refineries ramp down their winter blends while ramping up their summer blends, causing a temporary shortage. What's the fix? Petition local governments to stop legislating all the specialty gasoline blends.

My Grandfather was VP of distribution for the East Coast for a large oil company during the 70s. He said that there was never a national gas shortage, the problem was getting the correct blend of gasoline to the right location. Add that to the idiocy of price fixing at the federal level, and prices were driven sky high nationwide.

I was glad to see that the Bush administration had the good sense not to muddle with pricing during Katrina. There was a genuine supply problem then, in that the refineries were largely knocked offline.

16 posted on 04/03/2006 8:21:36 AM PDT by wbill
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To: Alberta's Child
A substantial amount of their revenue comes from things like exploration, leasing rights, etc. These things tend to generate a lot more revenue when oil prices are high.

When did exploration and leasing become revenue generators, and how is that feat accomplished?

17 posted on 04/03/2006 8:25:24 AM PDT by atlaw
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To: atlaw
They're basically real estate deals. Company A owns leasing rights at a certain location, and sells them to Company B (which may be in a better position to develop the drilling/extraction operations at this location).

It's worth noting that once a company gets as big as Exxon/Mobil, it's no longer a sector-specific company anymore. Exxon's operations include oil and gas extraction/production/transportation, real estate, chemical and plastics manufacturing, and even just plain old equities trading. One of the company's sources of revenue for the 2005 calendar year was the sale of $1.4 billion worth of shares in the Chinese oil company Sinopec.

18 posted on 04/03/2006 8:47:31 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: Alberta's Child
They're basically real estate deals. Company A owns leasing rights at a certain location, and sells them to Company B (which may be in a better position to develop the drilling/extraction operations at this location).

Not without assignment rights from the lessor. And even with assignment rights, lessee transfers of leasehold or development rights are pretty much a wash financially, with the principal benefactors in terms of revenue being the lessors and override holders. O&G companies aren't generally in the business of being land holders or lessors, and are generally the payors on royalties, not the recipients.

And I'm still interested in how exploration is a revenue generator.

The big producers tend to make the lion's share of their money at the wellhead, not in refining or retail sales, but I'm not aware of any statement of earnings for ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Shell, etc. that attributes significant income to lease trades or exploration. Could be, but I haven't seen it.

19 posted on 04/03/2006 9:10:30 AM PDT by atlaw
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To: pissant
Good for Exxon. Now get to work and find some new reserves!!

Just why would they do that? Apparently the less they have the more profit they make.</ Sarcasm>

20 posted on 04/03/2006 10:14:26 PM PDT by itsahoot (Any country that does not control its borders, is not a country. Ronald Reagan)
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