$39.5 Billion Profit? Does this make you angry?

Question

I just read this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_exxon_mobil

It makes me angry!

Answer 1

Actually, no, it doesn't make me angry. I'm not a shareholder of Exxon-Mobile, but the nature of a publicly traded company is to make money. Why blame Exxon-Mobile for raking in profits from a non-renewable technology?

Frankly, I'm more exasperated with consumers who continue to blow wads of cash on SUVs, minivans and other gas-guzzlers, rather than collectively force automakers to endorse and produce technologies that merely sip gasoline. Same with the U.S. government, as a whole. We should be doing everything we can to get off the petroleum teat now.

Answer 2

No! capitalism or socialism? With capitalism we can hope and dream of making profit. Castro once told his people, "Socialism or death." How many Cubans have chosen the latter, or at least the risk? Bill Gates is worth more then 50 billion. Does that make you angry? Does freedom make you angry? Someone once said, "You don't know freedom until you've been a slave." I don't have first hand knowledge of what it's like to live under a socialist gov't but with all the Americans angry at regular Joe's becoming zillionaires thus going out and voting for democrats I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we all do.

Answer 3

No, it doesn't make me angry, and here's why:

No company makes a lot of money without assuming a lot of risk. If their profits make you angry, you should be prepared to feel sorry for them if they suffer huge losses.

Through careful risk management and strategic planning, ExxonMobil has managed to remain profitable through myriad changes in the global economy, technology, and the political landscape. If you read through to the end of the article, you will see that revenues fell almost 10% vs. the same quarter last year, yet they gained profitability. That kind of success is the product of good management.

$39.5 billion sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider the number of employees and the value of the assets held by the company, it's relative to a lot of other companies that you don't know about, or whose prices you don't question, or whose prices don't affect you.

US gasoline prices have remained artificially low compared with the rest of the world for decades. We are nowhere near the $4-5/gallon paid in other countries, so who are we to complain when a responsible company like ExxonMobil sells its product at a price that results in at-the-pump prices of around $2.25/gallon, while providing good health insurance and retirement plans to its employees.

Further, it is naive to assume that all $39.5 billion was earned off the backs of fuel oil and gasoline consumers. Like most companies of the size, I'm sure that ExxonMobil has profitable investments in other ventures, including traditional investments, that have served its corporate coffers and stockholders well.

To remain profitable as hybrid and electric cars become available and even mainstream, ExxonMobil and other petroleum companies will have to reinvest their profits in further new technologies and expanding markets to remain viable.

Answer 4

Yes, it makes me angry, especially when they attempt to blame the high prices at the gas pump on the price of a barrel of oil. Since they have made record profits for two years running it is quite obvious that the high pump prices are more a result of price gouging rather than cost of raw materials.

Answer 5

I think that it is insane that Exxon has such a huge profit. I think it is time that they give back. If they would just have one day where you can get gas 99 cents a gallon all over the US then maybe that make a level playing field.

Answer 6

Oil is a commodity -- that means that the market and not the corporation determines the price it sell oil at, thus the revenue, thus the profit

I do see your point though -- I'd even, *maybe*, be willing to look at oil as being a managed public resource

Answer 7

Doesn't make me angry at all. It's free enterprise. The law of supply and demand. You keep buying, they keep earning. It's as simple as that. The only way to control prices is to significantly reduce demand. So what are YOU willing to do to solve the problem?

Answer 8

Angry why? Working for a profitable company is good job security.

Answer 9

Well not so much for me since I own stock with several of the gas companies so the more they make the more I get.

Answer 10

No, it's called capitalism... I'm glad they had a good year, or quarter, or whatever... if you don't want to contribute to their bottom-line, that's your choice too. Go to a competitor, or drive less, or drive a more fuel efficient car. That's the beauty of freedom. Lots of choices.