Leave Exxon/Mobil alone already.

I do not have anything against Exxon/Mobil making money.

I do not have anything against making money.

I do not have anything, against our American government. It is our own constitution and wise forefathers who placed checks and balances there. And they are allowed to regulate (read "place checks and balances on power in the national economy"). A century after the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, trust-busting is coming back, and for good reason.

Just one example, Walmart. Great! They create jobs! But their ability to grow bigger than all the mom and pops in the nation puts us in their boiler rooms and their worker mills and we spend that paycheck at, where else? Walmart.

It is our own ability to successfully compete that is missing in te American Dream. Remember shopping at your local green grocer, bakery,dry goods,hardware store? Those were your neighbors fueling your local economy. They had faces and names and cared about your chilren and invited you for eggnog at Christmas, well maybe not old Bob Cratchet.

The thing is, there is not much left much for the rest of us. God bless the entrepeneurs out there who spend their life savings on info-mercials trying to sell the latest handy wipe or snakeoil vitamin diet pill. When was the last time you walked down a street in your neighborhood to smell fresh baked bread and it didn't equal the cost of a condo? Sure prices are lower at Walmart. But prices weren't so bad when mom and pops were around. Read up on it. It's true.

Have Walmart and other "trusts" made the quality of life in America better?

It's just a thought.
www.itisjustathought.blogspot.com

Another perspective:

In its October 16 issue, Forbes Magazine contrasts EM with BP, "which changed its brand to Beyond Petroleum to emphasize its responsibility to help reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels, and which, unlike Exxon-Mobil, has supported mandatory greenhouse gas reductions."

BP's profits are considerably lower than EM's, but BP has, unlike EM, put its money where its mouth is. EM's apparent decision to rake in profits without taking any meaningful -- and socially responsible -- steps to address environmental issues simply feeds the public's scorn.

Thus an even greater challenge for EM's PR team: because actions speak louder than words, there's little they can do to spin a rosier (or greener) picture.

Suggestion for EM: Put a measly five percent of those profits into meaningful, socially responsible initiatives that demonstrate a genuine concern for people as well as profits -- and become an overnight sensation.

Some great arguments here, on both sides.

But put aside all our competing theories about government, free enterprise, capitalism and social responsibility and you still wind up with PERCEPTION (as in "the public").

Yes, the numbers themselves generate much angst because they are truly mind-boggling. But perhaps they'd be less grating if EM didn't in one breath report mind-boggling profits and, in the next breath, demand that Congress provide them with more tax incentives (read: "breaks") before they'll start exploring for, and tapping into, new oil deposits.

That apparent paradox galls many people because they perceive EM as wanting to "have it all." But there's a growing sentiment in today's public that Social Responsibility means instead of having it all, we sacrifice some of it for the greater good.

Feel-good ads about caring for the environment and supporting new energy sources are no longer enough. To an increasingly angry public, record profits and new tax breaks go together like oil and water (no pun intended). In the category of "actions speak louder than words," EM has to address that paradox without trotting out the old free market arguments. That's a helluva challenge for EM's PR folks.

1.) I've been in corp-comms for the oil biz for a couple decades now and I can tell you that EOM the corporation really doesn't care what you think of their profits. Difficult to imagine, but true.
2.) The financial community does know that EOM is one of the most financially disciplined corporations on the planet. It's why your 401(k) fund manager picks the company over GM.
C.) Prices go up and prices go down. That's why they're called commodities. The companies made money because the commodity they produce spiked up but has now dropped by half in less than 3 months. Check back in a year and you'll see that 3Q08 will be the high water mark for profits.

ExxonMobil's record profits might make good fodder for populists and politicians, but do any of us really care when we fill 'er up? Is this REALLY a PR issue for the company?

Are people going to go out of their way to avoid Exxon or Mobil stations? Maybe I'm in the minority, but if a gas station has a competitive price and convenient location, I don't care what brand they are or how much money they make.

To my way of thinking, the Walmart analogy doesn't apply. Gas stations are gas stations. There aren't tiered levels of service like there are with other retailers. The fuel's all pretty much the same, the "service" is all pretty much the same, even the snacks and pop in the minimart. Only the name changes.

Did Citgo lose tons of business because of Hugo Chavez?

Did Exxon lose tons of business 18 years ago after the Valdez accident?

Did investors stop buying stock in the company? That's something you never hear but another comment alluded to. What about the retired couple who relies on their IRA or 401(k)? If they've got ExxonMobil stock, it's probably the only bright spot in their portfolio. So-called windfall profits taxes would only make it harder for those people to pay their bills. But I guess if slashing their retirement income makes grandma and grandpa more dependent on the nanny state, then it'll pay off at election time for some politicians.

Oh yeah. One more thing. The oil companies' profits on every gallon of gas is...ready?...nine cents!!! Yep. It's true. Look it up.

Do you know how much the government makes for every gallon of gas with tax and regulations? Eighteen cents. Who's gouging who? I guess if the government, who makes in trillions of dollars every year, takes money from Americans by force and doesn't have nearly the efficiency nor capability to give them value for their dollars...then some how that's not greed.

You get government out of the market, I guarantee life will get a whole lot cheaper. Instead, we're headed toward the path toward Soviet Utopia.

oh,
Nobody every claimed that this blog was the Wall Street Journal! Remember, this is a blog where the author(s) can post whatever they want. This post was obviously not intended to provide quality content, but rather to spark a discussion, which I think it has succeeded in.

"Declare that it’s not un-American to earn record profits. Then explain that if profits stagnated then Exxon Mobil would lay off employees, and the shareholders, many of whom are wage earners, would see their investments take a hit. What good does that do the economy?"

Michael!!! Have all my posts finally gotten through to you???? Are you ready to join the brotherhood of freedom-loving, free-market captialists and renounce your regressive, socialist, fascists?

The whole evil oil company thing is class warfare - plain and simple. I don't remember anything in the Constitution that said Americans had the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... but you're only permitted to make x amount of money!!! Anyone who works for a living is entitled to earn as much money as they possibly can. There's not one person I know who, if they made $1 billion in a year, they would say, "Oh, no. Please. That's too much money."

We're all greedy. Some are just better at it.

Exxon doesn't exploit or gouge anyone. If their power is so vast and they can raise prices on a whim without consequences then why would they ever lower prices like what's happening now around the country?

No one cried for these oil companies back in the 90s when they were losing money. Now with the development of China and India, they're selling more product and making a profit. Bully for them!

If anyone thinks it's easy or cheap to get oil from the ground, I suggest they try it. They deal with hostile governments, regulations, FINDING the oil, building the equipment to drill, drilling it, refining it, and delivering it to market...see how simple it is.

Instead of constantly attacking these companies, we should get down on our knees and thank the gods of Mount Olympus that they're here to keep our companies in production and our morally hypocritical butts employed.

I don't mean to be a jerk, but this story sucks. If you are going to write about ExxonMobil earnings and push that story out to all of your members, why not include some meat to the story. To repeat what you found on Twitter and end it with a pithy line, is, well a waste of my time. You could have at least looked at their earnings release, looked at the non-profit givings, mentioned that EM is NOT the one actually setting the price of gas on a global level. Perhaps a follow up post from a PR person who is in the oil and gas industry would be appropriate to this conversation?

Before we dump on EM, I suggest that everyone look deep into the funds that comprise their 401(k) and see how frequently EM is connected. Those funds may be the only ones we have that haven't gone south.

Now, I'm not happy about the price of gasoline, a refined product from crude oil. But, if we hold the same standards to other product streams, we'd have to scream bloody murder about Clorox Co. betating analysts' estimates. Those profit mongers are the bane of human existance keeping our clothes and homes clean. Damn them, anyhow!

I think one of the reasons for the strong reaction to Exxon Mobil's profits is that we tend to consider gasoline a necessity and not a product for purchase. You know, the "how-dare-you-charge-me-market-price for a product I NEED. I don't need a designer bag so I don't care how much the designer charges or how much profit he or she makes. But gasoline? How dare your company try to make lots of money off of me?"

We say we want deregulation of the industries that provide the goods and products we consume but then we complain when that deregulation produces market pricing.

Could Exxon Mobil do a better job of highlighting the R&D work it is doing and the cost of that? Sure. Could it do a better job of showing the charitable efforts its shareholder dollars fund? Absolutely.

And before anyone complains too loudly about Exxon Mobil's record profits, check your investments/401Ks and make sure you're not investing in (and reaping the profits of) Exxon Mobil and companies like it. You might be surprised to find out they are part of your investment portfolio.

Noirin. That's interesting. I've given up bathing to fill up my tank--joking ...?

Why are people angry? Because, no matter what they say about WHY they made this record profit, the PERCEPTION to the American people is that they made more money by HIKING THE PRICES HIGHER THAN NECESSARY. It does not pass us by that the gas we buy today at a higher price than yesterday was not refined using the oil bought at yesterday's price. By hiking the price at the pump of already refined product, they are overcompensating themselves. And, maybe other industries do this - raise the prices of already produced goods on the shelf the minute the price of a raw material goes up. Of course, I haven't been able to compare. I've given up grocery shopping to buy gas.

They're terrorists! They're redistributing the wealth to rich people!

Now that prices are tumbling at the pump, will Congress investigate why the major oil companies are letting prices fall?

The company didn't set the price of crude oil, it just sold more refined products than ever before. Along with record profits come record tax payments also. Let's not forget that.

Todd,

Nice background, and good points on the communicators perspective.

How many years do you think it will take for Exxon Mobil to regain any street cred considering the damage it's done? If it starts pushing its CSR right now, at what point will the public start thinking, "Well, shoot, that Exxon Mobil isn't so bad after all?"

Doesn't take much to figure out the answer to why people are angry at this news. Start with a little history: Exxon's classic botched handling of the Exxon Valdez disaster entrenched the company in many people's minds as an utterly uncaring money machine. Whether that's true or not, profits were clearly prioritized ahead of perception. Now, add a little current environment: people are terrified about their current financial situations, and exorbitant gas prices are a lightning rod for concern in a tight environment. Then, in that very same tight economic environment, a company that is already equated with excessive prices announces it is benefitting at what nearly everyone considers his or her expense. It's a cliche that perception is reality, but very true, and Exxon Mobil continues to be oblivious. If you're arguing from a CFO/shareholder standpoint, you're all set -- make as much money as possible at all cost. Go ahead and price gouge and charge $20 for D batteries during a blackout. If you're a communicator who might actually be concerned about where the company sits in people's minds, you might realize there are repercussions, and might want to make darn sure people know some of those profits are going toward renewable energies or environmental protection. You better let your customers know what you're doing for them, and customers goes beyond shareholders in this case.