How much is too much? How about $10.7 BILLION in PROFIT?!

[MagicMtnDan]

Exxon Mobil posts record profit of $10.7 billion
Fourth-quarter earnings top targets for world's largest oil company
Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and gas prices and demand for refined products. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.
The companyÂ’s earnings amounted to $1.71 per share for the October-December quarter, up from $8.42 billion, or $1.30 per share, in the year ago quarter. The result topped the then-record quarterly profit of $9.92 billion Exxon posted in the third quarter of 2005.
ExxonÂ’s profit for the year was also the largest annual reported net income in U.S. history, according to Howard Silverblatt, a stock market analyst for Standard & PoorÂ’s. He said the previous high was ExxonÂ’s $25.3 billion profit in 2004.
Quarterly revenue ballooned to $99.66 billion from $83.37 billion a year ago but came in shy of the $100.72 billion Exxon posted in the third quarter, which was the first time a U.S. public company generated more than $100 billion in sales in a single quarter.
By segment, exploration and production earnings rose sharply to $7.04 billion, up $2.15 billion from the 2004 quarter, reflecting higher crude oil and natural gas prices. Production decreased by 1 percent due to the lingering effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which battered the Gulf Coast in August and September.
The companyÂ’s refining and marketing segment reported $2.39 billion in earnings, as higher refining and marketing margins helped offset the residual effects of the hurricanes.
ExxonÂ’s chemicals business saw earnings, excluding special items, decline by $413 million to $835 million, as higher materials costs squeezed margins.
For the full year, net income surged to $5.71 per share from $3.89 per share in 2004. Annual revenue grew to $371 billion from $298.04 billion.

[MagicMtnDan]

How much is a billion?
1,000,018,176 pennies - one billion, eighteen thousand, one hundred and seventy-six Pennies take up the space of about five school buses.
Each of these blocks represents one 9x11x41 foot school bus - as seen below. If you were to stack all these pennies in a single pile, one atop the other, the stack would reach nearly one thousand miles high. For comparison, note that the Space Shuttle typically orbits only 225 miles above the Earth's surface.
And this is just pennies not dollars!
http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/one_bill_A.jpg

[MagicMtnDan]

ONE BILLION:
How much is one billion? It's common knowledge that a billion has three more zeros than a million, and is one thousand times a million, but comprehending its enormous magnitude is often misunderstood. To appreciate the distance of one billion light years, the concept of one billion people, or the value of one billion dollars, let's try putting this number into perspective.
To count to one thousand, counting one number every second continuously, it would take 17 minutes. Counting to one million at the same rate, it would take 12 days (counting nonstop, day and night). But counting to one billion would take 32 years!
That's right; years.
Imagine counting $1 billion with $1,000 dollar bills (hypothetically). Using the above calculations, at the rate of $1,000 per second, you'd be counting your cash for 12 days!
Bill Gates was estimated to be worth approximately $40 billion in 1998. At the present age of 44, let's predict that he lives another 40 years. Assuming he retires tomorrow, and never earns a dime of interest, in order to deplete his funds at a constant rate over the next 40 years, he would have to spend $1 billion (or $1000 million) a year! That's $83 million a month, $19 million a week, or breaking it down further, he would have to spend over $114,000 an hour, day and night, for 40 years. Bill Gates, ladies and gentleman, is a rich man.
One final comparison: one million is one thousand thousand, and one billion is one thousand million. As illustrated below, there is an astonishing difference between an "m" and a "b" in front of "illion!" Using the same scale below (where one billion is 6 inches to the right of one million), one trillion would reside on the same line, 500 feet to the right of one billion!
http://www.expandyourmind.com/scienc...ne_billion.gif

[Big Warlock]

I think it was reported that their profit represents approximately 7% on money invested! Microsoft makes over 30% on money invested. Just because it's a big number doesn't mean it's a disgusting amount!
If you invest $100,000 and make a return of $200,000 would you consider yourself a bad person? Mobil / Exxon risks their money in investments all over the world, in harsh conditions for their investors. Investors like you and I. You are welcome to invest with them. Here's an idea, look up what a share of stock costs for them. Then back calculate your return for the price of the share. Still think it's too much money in earnings?
Sorry, had to vent on that one! I am tired of people always wanting to make money but begrudge others that are out there working their a$$ off to make it! Go invest your money or better yet, go start a business and show us all what you got!!!
My .02 cents for the day! :220v:

[Tom Brown]

How much profit is too much?
I'll take a free market over the communism you dems seem to love so much.

[mike37]

I think it was reported that their profit represents approximately 7% on money invested! Microsoft makes over 30% on money invested. Just because it's a big number doesn't mean it's a disgusting amount!
If you invest $100,000 and make a return of $200,000 would you consider yourself a bad person? Mobil / Exxon risks their money in investments all over the world, in harsh conditions for their investors. Investors like you and I. You are welcome to invest with them. Here's an idea, look up what a share of stock costs for them. Then back calculate your return for the price of the share. Still think it's too much money in earnings?
Sorry, had to vent on that one! I am tired of people always wanting to make money but begrudge others that are out there working their a$$ off to make it! Go invest your money or better yet, go start a business and show us all what you got!!!
My .02 cents for the day! :220v:
thats a dam good response

[HCS]

How much profit is too much?
Agree. No such thing as too much.
Reminds me of salary caps.

[MagicMtnDan]

Funny stuff actually.
You compare investing $100K and making $200K to what the big oil companies are doing.
Here's a news flash for you: THEY CONTROL THE PRICE OF GASOLINE AND OIL PRODUCTS AROUND THE WORLD! There are a handful of companies that dictate the prices for every consumer of oil and oil-based products.
A better comparison is if you had a handful of companies controlling all food or water around the world - having them set the prices for everyone.
This isn't about investing and making profit - it's about CONTROLLING the price of oil/oil products and turning up the profit knob almost at will.
I think it was reported that their profit represents approximately 7% on money invested! Microsoft makes over 30% on money invested. Just because it's a big number doesn't mean it's a disgusting amount!
If you invest $100,000 and make a return of $200,000 would you consider yourself a bad person? Mobil / Exxon risks their money in investments all over the world, in harsh conditions for their investors. Investors like you and I. You are welcome to invest with them. Here's an idea, look up what a share of stock costs for them. Then back calculate your return for the price of the share. Still think it's too much money in earnings?
Sorry, had to vent on that one! I am tired of people always wanting to make money but begrudge others that are out there working their a$$ off to make it! Go invest your money or better yet, go start a business and show us all what you got!!!
My .02 cents for the day! :220v:

[Froggystyle]

My advice regarding oil company profits has always remained the same...
If you think you can do the job better and cheaper, get a business plan together and go start an oil company.
And Dan, they are not "controlling" anything except the valves on their own pipes. They should be able to charge whatever the market will bear for the stuff coming out of them.

[MagicMtnDan]

My advice regarding oil company profits has always remained the same...
If you think you can do the job better and cheaper, get a business plan together and go start an oil company.
Jeez Froggy, that sounds like a politician's soundbite. There were companies that were competing with the oil companies but the big oil companies bought them out (because our government allowed them to). Now there's no one left to compete and no opportunity for anyone to do so.