Are Exxon Mobil's profit margins reasonable?  Should the US Congress or President do anything about it?
444714
"Reasonable" is completely subjective.  Exxon's profit margins have floated between 5-10% for the last 20 years.  The nominal amount of profit has gone up because their raw materials (crude oil) have gone up in price.  They should actually scale linearly with the price of crude oil assuming fixed net margins.\n\nTheir profit margin is actually pretty small compared to other companies.  It's just that they do massive sales.  370B in the ttm.  Even McDonald's (symbol MCD has higher margins).\n\nI posted a more complete argument over here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Agt6_O2xvS55gC8q24AuWYfsy6IX?qid=1006042628391\n\nAnyway, the question seems so one-sided that any form of logical argument isn't going to convince you.
463011
No, profits are the American way. I doubt you were even born when the oil companies were struggling back in the mid-seventies and early eighties. Aquisitions and mergers have made them some of the strongest American companies.\nThere are now more known oil reserves world wide than ever before. There is also more demand than ever before. Hence oil is over $72 per barrel. We could get all we need from the Canadian oil sand deposits and it would be cheap. But it is being shipped around the world.\nFigure that
380150
As much as we ALLOW it to be. That's right, the price IS controlled by the citizens of this country and the amount of abuse they tolerate before standing up and fighting for what is right. Is it right that we as tax paying citizens must work as hard as we do just to buy more fuel to take us to work so that we can pay more taxes and buy more fuel? Enough is enough. The oil companies made BILLIONS in profits last year. How much did you make?
687290
Never, they donate too much money to the campaigns of politicians and in outright bribes... they send them on (quite literally) million dollar vacations that no politician would ever give up, and pay millions to campaign "donations" and millions more to lobbyists.\n\nPeople are soo funny, buying into the propoganda of the oil companies... exxon makes 8 cents on the dollar at the point of shipping, gas companies have more than doubled their profits in the past 3 years... they make billions on refining, shipping, and selling the gas... that 8 cents is rhetoric and doesn't include a majority of the companies profits, only what they make from transporting crude from the mid east and south america to north america...\n\nAlso, the oil companies DIRECTLY control the price of refined gasoline... Do you know what the price of gas is in Venezuela right now?  Two weeks ago it was TWENTY AMERICAN CENTS per gallon... The cost of crude is ABSOLUTELY NOT UP THREE TIMES its cost in 2001, when gas was just over $1 a gallon... it's [crude] up less than double (a lot less than double) and yet the cost of gasoline is up about triple... how can anyone suggest that the oil giants aren't controlling the prices?  Federal taxes aren't up, nor are most state's taxes on oil/gas...
936895
You didn't say "Whos" price.\nI suspect you meant the consummer.  But, there's a lot of people and governments which try to get a piece of that dollar you spend on gas(oline?)\n\nThe prime culprits are taxes, commodities speculators, and other countries.\n\nSo the real answer is "whatever the market will bear".\n\nIt makes no difference that oil companies may keep their costs at are below inflation - outside factors are pushing the "price at the pump" to the point where the consumer rebels..\n\n"What I did like in the story is the soundbite (phone interview) they had with the CEO of Exxon, who was quick to point out that they (Exxon) make about 10 cents profit per gallon, while 'big government' (my words, not his) makes at least 4 times that per gallon.".....\n\n"The problem is that NO ONE ever mentions, like I have before, that these billions in profits is only about 8% of their total income. That is actually one of the lowest profit percentages of all industries."
680409
Yes, I am.  But there's not much we can do about it.\n\nEveryone says boycotts won't work.  I'd like to think they would, but they won't.  Here's why:  Everyone boycott's Exxon.  Everyone else pumps more oil to meet demand.  Eventually, they won't be able to keep up, and gas will run out of stations before the next delivery arrives.\n\nEventually, everyone will have to go back to Exxon-providing station for gasoline.  Since everyone will be coming there, Exxon & the gas station will spike their prices, and everyone will be paying throught the 'you-know-what' for gasoline.\n\nYou may think that I'd take a long time, but a one month boycott could trigger these problems, considering the amount of oil the U.S. goes through daily.\n\nExxonMobil's $8.4 Billion is the HIGHEST EVER posted quarterly gain for an oil company, I believe.
480968
He has us in a bad spot. Our troops are getting killed everyminute of everyday. Thousands wounded because of our president. I am supporting him so that our troops get the best of everything. He is commander in chief and he is responsble for keeping them supplied and there in numbers to protect our interest. Exxon Mobil need him and our troops or NO OIL for them.
947864
Are you aware we don't even know who make our energy policy. Oh, Cheney and some of his budies.  I wonder if the record profits the oil companies are making could have anything to do with Cheney and his secret policy energy making group?
355639
yes, and we are far behind other countries in mass transit. I used 10 percent Ethanol 10 years ago. Paid less for it than Gas. The oil companies took it off the market. If HisBushyness had any clue what was going on in America he could fix the problem with one executive order. That will not happen. He will not cut off the hand that feeds him. If he puts price caps in place and the supply goes up then the price will go down and that would stop his cash flow from the wealthy oil corporations who own Congress.
277874
It's what they use as read between the lines. Not all policies are good for the American People. Alot tend to go towards the Capitalists and Imperialists, for profits only, at the expense of the American People. You can surely understand that! They have hidden agendas in Legislature such as the Patriot Act. Raising fuel cost's, with record profits after Hurricane Katrina, and so on, and so on.
464971
I work in the oil gas and petrochemical industry.\nI can tell you that if enough people around the world would boycott Exxon Mobile for more than just one day. Would take weeks if not even Months that oil and gas prices would go down. If in there city there is no Exxon Mobile stations then Texaco Shell should be boycotted. If there is not either of these companies then hit the largest US oil company Valero. But it will take millions of people to boycott and show that the public means business. There is no lack of oil for production they are simple holding back to inflate the cost. Which will once again show record high earnings for all of these companies.
502628
Not that I am for this--But dear it wouldn't matter and why you ask---well here is an article--this is starting to open up a new can of worms--please understand--Anyone in the world could have all the oil in the world..and it really wouldn't matter at this point...\n\n$3-a-gallon gas: Blame Washington, not Big Oil\nWhat's driving up gas prices? It's not just higher crude costs; it's new regulations.\nNelson D. Schwartz\nMay 3, 2006: 2:20 PM EDT\n\n\n(FORTUNE Magazine) - With gas prices roaring past $3 a gallon and consumer fury rising even faster, Congress and the White House are engaged in a Kabuki-like ritual: pointing fingers at each other over who's to blame, while furiously attacking Big Oil for reaping gargantuan profits - as drivers get hosed at the pump.\n\nIf the politicians really want to figure out who's responsible for the latest round of price increases, though, they'd be better off looking in the mirror. That's because the rise isn't only due to higher crude costs. It's also fallout from some little-noticed provisions in the energy bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush last summer.\n\nBuried in the 551-page energy bill - which was supposed to ease energy shortages, not worsen them - were new regulations governing what additives go into gasoline and how it's refined. Corn-based ethanol is replacing the petroleum-derived additive MTBE, but Congress timed this logistically tricky switchover to occur just as demand for gasoline peaked ahead of the summer driving season - right about now.\n\nThe end result is an extra strain on the refining and distribution system when it can least afford it.\n\n"It's too late now, but Congress has consistently failed to sequence regulatory requirements in a responsible fashion," says Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association.\n\nAdds Larry Goldstein of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation: "The gasoline crisis is made in the U.S.A., not in Iran or Venezuela or Nigeria. At least half the increase in gasoline prices is due to unintended consequences of the energy bill, but no one in Washington wants to admit that."\n\nIndeed, while crude prices have risen 21% since the end of 2005, gasoline is up 37% - a sign of just how stretched the system is. Congress's mistake, says Goldstein, was setting the new law to go into effect 270 days after it was signed - May 5 - rather than waiting until fall, when gas demand is typically on the downswing.\n\nNow the big question is, How high can gas go? Well, perhaps the only good thing that can be said about paying three bucks per gallon is that it seems to be slowing consumption - which should, in turn, reduce prices. Over a four-week period in April, says oil analyst Jamal Qureshi of consulting firm PFC Energy, U.S. gasoline demand dropped by half a percent, to just over nine million barrels a day. That may not sound like much, but it's a reversal from the 1.7% average annual increase in gas consumption the U.S. has experienced over the past decade. If $3 is indeed the tipping point at which consumers change their behavior and alter their driving habits, it's the one silver lining in an otherwise very dark cloud for drivers.\n\nThe wildcard in this scenario, of course, is the increasing risk of a military confrontation with Iran. If that happens, says Qureshi, "all bets are off." Given that crude oil accounts for 55% of the cost of each gallon of gas (refining accounts for 22%, taxes for 19%, and distribution and marketing for 4%), an upward spike in crude oil would push gas up even if the bottlenecks caused by the energy bill ease this summer.\n\nThat's why Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, says the answer in the short term is conservation. Washington is indeed being turned upside down when it's left to Cavaney, Big Oil's chief lobbyist, to talk conservat
478800
WRITE CONGRESS AND THE SENATE AND ASK WHY THEY WILL NOT RELEASE OUR OIL RESERVES???? THIS WOULD HELP BRING DOWN THE PRICE OF GAS!!! ALSO ASK WHY WE HAVE NOT BUILT ANY MORE REFINERIES IN DECADES!! THE OIL COMPANIES PURCHASED ONE A FEW YEARS BACK AND SHUT IT DOWN AND REFUSE TO OPEN IT AGAIN!!The soaring profits have already attracted the attention of many members of Congress. On Tuesday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert warned companies that any price gouging is "unacceptable, and any company who does it will be prosecuted." He urged the oil companies to explain to the American public what they are doing to bring down the cost of oil and natural gas. And he urged them to build new refineries and pipelines. THERE HAS BEEN NO NEW OIL REFINERIES BUILT IN THE USA SINCE 1976! WHY HUGE PROFITS AND THEY WON'T DO ANYTHIGN ABOUT IT!!!
1015915
The two are independent.  400M was probably quite a bit, but it's a drop in the bucket considering that Exxon has sales of 370B last year.  So, if he gave all that back, it would have a .1% affect on gas prices.  So, maybe a few cents.\n\nHis "retirement package" was funded in large part through a sort of modified 401k, so it's not like Exxon just gave him 400M cash.  It was mostly stock options (which take value away from the shareholders, not away from the people buying gas) and some other company things, like use of their jet.\n\nWe pay a lot of gas prices for completely different reasons, but yeah, it's kind of annoying.  Oil companies make about 10% profit, so that's about all they can reduce gas prices by.  Not enough for most people anyhow.\n\nhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5365439
657572
Exxon currently, in terms of overall dollar. Profit margin though, don't know; probably Microsoft. exxon reported net income of 36 billion.
309909
If we do, it will be chump change aimed at getting us off his back. \n\nFact remains - Bush has ties to the Oil Industry. He isnt going to bite the hand that has fed him. He will talk a big game, but in the end, there will be no change.\n\nAlthough I am upset with the prices, I also must add that we do live in a capitalist society. The companies can charge whatever they want to charge us for gas, and the govt shouldnt be allowed to tell them to charge otherwise. This infringes on the rights of the companies under the free law of capitalism. IT IS OUR FIGHT TO FIGHT! We dont need to by gas from them if they are going to charge ridiculous prices. I understand that not everybody can take Pub Trans, but we can do our part to conserve gas and boycott companies. As a group (consumers) we need to organize and protest/boycott the companies that are raping our wallets. We cant expect the Govt to do a damn thing about it - they are in on it! Dont think for a moment that your (cuz he aint mine! I didnt vote for him!) President isnt getting rich from the price of oil right now too.....
458065
I don't mind profits.  However, it illustrates how anti-trust law in the US failed.  Exxon was originally part of Rockfeller's Standard Oil over a century ago.  It was broken up due to the excessive influence that the company had as a monopoly. Over time, it has reformed back into the beast it was and, once again, is excessively influencing the markets.\n\nNotably, it should be criminal that Exxon's profits and still refuses to pay the jury's $5 billion award to fisherman from the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill from 1989.  The abuse of the courts illustrates a complete disregard for the legal process as well as excessive corporate influence in the court system.