And the profits roll......

Keeps going higher and higher! When will it ever end? Large government and Large corporations and no voice for the common man.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0704/gallery.F500_profitable.fortune/index.html

 

Profits...LOL

Oil comapnys profits up 9.3% compared to last year....And, Marriotts profits were up 21%.

 

I find it so amusing how everyone has forgotten BASIC HIGH SCHOOL economics. You spout earnings figures and call names, but do you know what their COSTS were? Since you don't, then you cannot speak of TRUE PROFIT figures.

 

Actually, the data Pirate presented was the true profit figures.

Profits, or earnings, equals revenue minus expenses.

 

AND... it does say "the largest-ever profit in U.S. history".

 

And yet you who say there is no consumer screwing cannot seem to ever explain why when oil goes up the gas price at the pump follows immediately but when it drops it takes several days to weeks to see a change in the proce at the pump...why??? Not because thier cost has drastically changed but because they are getting what they can for as long as they can.

 

Then how much were their expenses??????
How much was that barrel of oil?
How much did it cost to ship it from the middle east back here?
How much did it cost to refine into gasoline?
How much do you pay in taxes?

 

The oil giant racked up $39.5 billion in earnings last year, the largest-ever profit in U.S. history.

I'm sorry, earnings do not equal profits.


Profits were up 9.3% from the previous year, while sales rose 2.2%.

And costs were up ____??????? Oh, we left that one out eh?

 

Did you miss that part about the largest ever profit? Every quarter, Wall Street anxiously awaits quarterly earnings reports so they will know how well their stocks are doing. I believe you are confusing "earnings" with "revenues." Revenues are the total income; earnings or profits are what's left after expenses.

 

And AGAIN I will ask you,

Then how much were their expenses??????
How much was that barrel of oil?
How much did it cost to ship it from the middle east back here?
How much did it cost to refine into gasoline?
How much do you pay in taxes?

 

You can defend these robbers if you want, but basics are basics. Bag the stupidity that this falls into a common product we have a choice in buying. Applying that logic is just plain dumb. This is a commodity that has us by the nads because we need it to survive. It falls into a "sustinance" catagory.

If food suppliers took the same route, would you be defending them too? If you can't see the rape in pricing just run up to 4042. Look on 1 side of the bridge, $2.78/gal, and on the other side $2.89/gal. Did it cost more to get the product to one side more than it did to the other? I think not.

 

What difference does it make? That is already deducted from their revenues to arrive at earnings.

 

It makes a BIG difference.

What percentage of total revenues do you think the profit is?

What profit percentage do you think would be fair for any good sold?

 

I'm not defending the true robbers, you just don't know WHO the robbers are.

Did the store owner on one side of the bridge tack on ten cents more than the owner on the other side of the bridge?

All these variables that no one seems to know, or care to find out.

 

Excellent Post. Now the local gas retailer also can determine what to pay so you can not hold Big Oil to blame in all of these cases. However the largest profit in US History is after all costs are taken out.

 

Main Entry: 1prof·it
Pronunciation: 'prä-f&t
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin profectus advance, profit, from proficere
1 : a valuable return : [SIZE=-1]GAIN[/SIZE]
2 : the excess of returns over expenditure in a transaction or series of transactions; especially : the excess of the selling price of goods over their cost
3 : net income usually for a given period of time
4 : the ratio of profit for a given year to the amount of capital invested or to the value of sales
5 : the compensation accruing to entrepreneurs for the assumption of risk in business enterprise as distinguished from wages or rent

Basics, basics, basics. Profit IS the amount left over AFTER expenses.

You really can't defend oil companies. There is little excuse for profits this size, especially when infrastructure continues to be lacking (corroded pipelines, inefficient refining capacity, etc.).

My theory? I expect all of the huge profits are what is going to be required (and in this instance allowed and instigated by US gov't) to create a new infrastructure based on new energy (wind, biofuel, solar, thermal, tidal, etc.). I think they are secretly lining their pockets so they can provide for the future without significant disruption to the US economy during the possibly sudden and chaotic transition. While the profits are excessive, if my theory is correct I see it as a good thing (difficult to swallow, but good). Sometimes difficult things need to be done to ensure survival.

Then again, it could be just one or two oil barrons wanting more money for a new helicopter.

 

I've asked seven questions that no one can answer.

But I've proved that you people just soak up whatever is spoon fed to you without thinking.

THAT was the point I was making.

 

You've proven that you have no clue what you are talking about.

 

I agree, that is why our family has decided to hang up the keys to the van and all pile in our little family car for a while. I forgot how economical it was to drive. It took about $30 to 1/2 to 3/4 full. It took $9.00 for half a tank in the car. It might be a little cramped but oh well.

 

All I know is...

Stop trying to mess with my retirement!


Do y'all really believe the oil companies are run by guys in pin-stripped suits who sit in dark, smoke-filled rooms, will piles of cash on the table where everyone just grabs big wads to stuff in their pockets?

Y'all have been watching either too much Simpsons or too much South Park.

Those who receive that profit are guys like me, and probably you, if you have a 401k, or other such retirement program. Or even small time investors.