Thursday, October 26, 2006
Exxon Mobil made a crap load of money this quarter
This is just ridiculous:
NEW YORK (AP) - Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday said its profit rose to $10.49 billion in the third quarter, making it the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company. The world’s biggest oil company said its net income amounted to $1.77 per share for the July-September period, up from $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, a year ago. The results surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts. On average, analysts expected the company to earn $1.59 per share in the quarter. Revenue fell to $99.59 billion from $100.72 billion from a year ago, which saw then-record oil prices because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The largest quarterly profit ever was Exxon’s $10.71 billion profit in the fourth quarter of 2005.
I think what bothers me the most about a company like Exxon Mobil making so much money is that they really didn’t do anything to earn it. They didn’t do anything to deserve it. They just drill, pump, haul, process, distribute, and then sell something they happen to control. Something we all need. Something we have no real choice whether we will use or not.
It’s not like they cured cancer or figured out a way to make fat free mayonnaise taste good.
Exxon Mobil hasn’t created anything. They didn’t invent some innovative product or technology. They are being rewarded with record profits because they control the oil. The oil we all need as an energy source. The gasoline we need for our vehicles comes from oil. Most of our electricity is generated from power plants powered by natural gas.
Exxon Mobil didn’t invent oil. They don’t create it. It’s natural resource from planet Earth. They only control it.
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