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Exxon Breaks Own Profit Record With $45B Haul

The oil behemoth shattered the annual profit record despite slow fourth quarter

By the Associated Press

Posted Jan 30, 2009 8:13 AM CST
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(AP) – Buoyed by last year's spike in crude prices, Exxon Mobil Corp. today reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a US company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33%  from a year ago. The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007.

The extraordinary full-year profit wasn't a surprise given crude's triple-digit price for much of 2008, peaking near an unheard of $150 a barrel in July. Prices have fallen roughly 70% since then, tumbling 60% in the fourth quarter alone amid a deepening global economic crisis. Exxon’s net income slid to $7.8 billion in the October-December period, compared to $11.7 billion in the same period a year ago.

In this 2005 file photo, a sports utility vehicle drives past an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas.
In this 2005 file photo, a sports utility vehicle drives past an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas.   (AP Photo/File)
In this May 1, 2008, file photo, a truck passes a pump at an Exxon Mobil station in Williamsville, N.Y. ExxonMobil Corp. shatters U.S. record with $45.2 billion annual profit Friday, Jan. 30, 2009.
In this May 1, 2008, file photo, a truck passes a pump at an Exxon Mobil station in Williamsville, N.Y. ExxonMobil Corp. shatters U.S. record with $45.2 billion annual profit Friday, Jan. 30, 2009.   (AP Photo/David Duprey, file)
In this May 1, 2008, file photo, a customer pumps gas at an Exxon station in Middleton, Mass.
In this May 1, 2008, file photo, a customer pumps gas at an Exxon station in Middleton, Mass.   (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
Guest
Feb 1, 2009 5:18 AM CST
We don't have to bail out the auto industry. Exxon can do it all by itself.
Forderon
Jan 30, 2009 1:08 AM CST
Yea let's keep their taxes down so that they'll spend more and the money will then "trickle down" to me. Yea right
nick
Jan 29, 2009 10:52 PM CST
Now can we stop their government subsidies?

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United States • earnings reports • corporate earnings • Exxon Mobil • oil prices • oil demand

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