Gotta love this BS!!!

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Exxon shows a $10B profit for the second quarter!!!! Bat they don't mind paying over $3 a gallon!!!:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

I was just reading that article.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

And this was only the second all time record earnings. Guess who hold the all time record earnings by an oil company? You got it. :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

 

[Terry Phillips]

Not that I am an Exxon lover, but Exxon gets only about $.10 per gallon profit. The federal and state governments gets about $.60 per gallon in taxes. Who is really ripping us?

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Yeah, but the Federal and State government uses our taxes to build roads. Exxon just buys back their own stock from the public and pays millions to their CEOs and stockholders.

 

[Victor Garret]

if Exxon makes 10% on $1.00 gas, it's 10 cents, fine, but when it's $3.00 and they are making 30 cents, there is outcry. why?



sell your hummer/durango/suburban/excursion and get something you can afford. everyone bought suv's like there was no tomorrow. oh well, deal with it.



I get about 17mpg in the ST (city driving) and i don't mind paying $50ish per fill up. if i dont like it, ill get a 4cyl that gets 30+mpg.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I'm not complaining about owning an ST. I can afford to fill it up. The problem is that oil is supposedly so hard to come by yet these guys are still able to make a $10B profit off of it. That is my only complaint.

 

[Tom Schindler]

The problem is that oil is supposedly so hard to come by yet these guys are still able to make a $10B profit off of it.

Precious metals and stones are hard t come by, that is why they are so expensive.



Do the math. Exxon isn't making that high of a profit margin.





Tom

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I didn't know oil was considered a precious metal or stone. My bad.

 

[Tom Schindler]

You are the one that said...

<B>The problem is that oil is supposedly so hard to come by</B> yet these guys are still able to make a $10B profit off of it.

What did you mean by that?





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Funny, shortage of oil? I know several guys that work up in Alaska on drilling rigs that claim that is total BS. You also don't ring up record profits on finding other sources of fuel. Last time I checked R&D effects the bottom line.



10 cents a gallon in profit? I guess the four gas stations at one of my intersections where I live is making more money than Exxon. Why? because the price of gas varies by 30 cents depending on the station. I think 10 cents is total BS. Back up your numbers and share the facts.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I meant hard to come by because of all this war and hurricane bs going around. That there is supposed to be an "oil shortage" or some crap like that. They don't seem to have any trouble finding it. It's everywhere but the price of crude still goes up? Doesn't make sence, except for the fact that we have to rely on other countries that won't back us up when we decide to do something and then sit there and expect us to help them out when the sh*t hits the fan. In my opinion, we need to start shutting all these countries out and worry about ourselves for a change. Far fetched I know but it's getting rediculous.

 

[A K]

Eh, over the last two years, every price increase came with an excuse. Hurricanes. Uncertianty. Refineries shut down. And do on. However, we've reached the point where Big Oil no longer needs to give any reasons. An increase is an increase. It's sad.



When I fill 'er up, I at least want a kiss on the cheek...

 

[Bill Ellis]

Most people just don't get it. The oil companies and OPEC DO NOT set the price of oil. OPEC sets a minimum price only. It is the market, the oil traders and buyers who set the price. It's an auction every day. It's like you putting something on E-bay and having the potential buyers determine the price. The fact is that now, China is undergoing an economic boom and is willing to pay whatever it takes to get the oil they want. That drives up the price. Best part though is they are using other people's money to do that since the rest of the modern world buys so much stuff from China.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Bill is correct. I don't believe the prices will ever go back down to $2/gal. They will contnue to increase as China and India both begin to modernize their economies. Between those two countries there are 3 Billion oil consumers and we have been lucky in the past that they didn't have the resources to own vehicles.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Best part though is they are using other people's money to do that since the rest of the modern world buys so much stuff from China.

I have said this before, and I will say it again.



Tired of high gas prices? Do your part. Quit shopping Wal-Mart. Quit buying ANYTHING made in China. Do not support companies that "outsource" from India, or anywhere else in the world. Do not buy something made by a compoany based out of another country. Only buy stuff made in America, by Americans, for Americans, with the corporate HQ in America, and nowhere else.



The money we save by buying cheap Chinese garbage is spent competing with those people for the same stuff we want.



The PNTR/W China and outsourcing in other places of the world, have caused job losses, high trade defecits, outrageous prices of oil, steel, gold, etc.



Only we can stop it.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Ah yes all the same gripes, nothing really will change. The open market sets the price for a barrell of crude, and yes, that price is affected by speculation related to several factors. It's really not that different than any other commodity. Reducing our consumption of Chinese imports might help to stall their economy, which in turn might slow their growth and thereby their use of oil, but that's two "mights" and I for one am not a betting man. We shouldn't be protectionists....if we feel China is growing, taking jobs, and challenging the US as a dominant natural resources user, well, then, maybe we should solve THAT problem. And we solve that problem by changing to alternative energy, entering new markets, creating new industries and technologies; etc.. Trying to keep the status quo and other's down is a losing, arrogant and inhumane approach, IMHO.



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

Trying to keep the status quo and other's down is a losing, arrogant and inhumane approach, IMHO.

I would not consider it keeping someone "status quo" down. It is looking out for number one. If a child in China or India starves, it doesn't change anything in my life. If I go to bed hungry, then it affect me. If you think you arent the same way, just send me your paychecks. Go to be hungry and get thrown out of your house. Help someone else at your own expense.





Tom

 

[TrainTrac]

Nowhere in the article can you find Exxon Mobil's profit margin for the quarter. You can, though, find the numbers you can crunch to reach that figure. Total revenues for Exxon Mobil during the quarter were $99.03 billion. Run a little division problem and you come up with a 10.46% profit margin. Not bad at all, but not the best out there either. Most pharmaceutical and banking companies earned a higher profit margin.



The amount of profit earned is directly tied to the price of the product you are selling, and the market for that profit. All these higher profits mean is that the cost of Exxon Mobil's products (primarily petroleum-based products) has gone up along with demand.



By the way ,,, during the quarter Exxon spent nearly $5 billion of this profit on capital projects and exploration for new sources of oil, and another $7.9 billion was sent to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. Belinda is one of those shareholders, so perhaps you can blame here for your high gas prices. Besides Belinda, we have some of teacher's union pension funds out there who invest heavily in Exxon Mobil. These dividends, which came from the Exxon profits, will be spent to cover pension checks to retired teachers. Now that's pretty nasty, isn't it! How DARE these teachers receive pension checks funded by investments in a successful corporation like Exxon Mobil when the government could be getting that money thorough a windfall profits tax?

The media loves to propagandize this issue by only focusing on the "record profit", painting the oil companies out to be some evil entity. Profit margin is the real issue, and it's not that high. Many other big corporations have a much higher profit margin that oil companies.



I own a small amount of Exxon/Mobil stock, so I say good on ya, boys!

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen says:

I would not consider it keeping someone "status quo" down. It is looking out for number one. If a child in China or India starves, it doesn't change anything in my life. If I go to bed hungry, then it affect me. If you think you arent the same way, just send me your paychecks. Go to be hungry and get thrown out of your house. Help someone else at your own expense.

Doesn't sound like a comment from the same guy that almost cried over a blind puppy to me.



And, no, I guess we don't think the same way, Tom....but I also don't think you have a "Looking Out For #1" attitude like you say. I have seen you help others too much on this board. You seem caring and selfless for your friends on here and your union brothers. But seemingly not for people 1/2 way around the world that are looking to work hard in the hopes of getting a small portion of what you have. And, although I said "portion" it doesn't have to mean that for their economy and standard of living to grow ours has to fall. That line of thinking is rooted in the "scarcity principle", and I for one subscribe to the "abundance principle."



TJR