From: "Gary Britt" 

Average corporate profits are around 11% Bob, and oil companies profits are
LESS than average on sales and less than average on invested capital.  Your
smart enough to understand that  just because the profit number sounds
large in absolute terms is irrelevant to whether the profits are
"outrageous". The have many thousands of billions of dollars in
invested capital and 7% return on that is a large number.  They have plenty
of quarters where they lose money too Bob.  Your smart enough to know it
isn't fair to only speak up when they have a profitable quarter.  Finally,
a lot of their profit is paper only because of fluctuations in inventory
values as the spot market for oil went up and then later (after the quarter
closed went back down).

If they made truly outrageous profits it would be reflected in their stock
price which would trade at a far higher multiple of earnings than the
average non-outrageously profitable corporation.  It doesn't because people
who call profits and return on capital invested not on the basis of
democrap class warfare lies but only on *reality* use *reality* as the
basis picking the best stocks to invest their money.  If they saw *real*
outrageous profits there would be more buyers and the price of the oil
company stock would skyrocket to a higher than average price earnings
ratio.

Gary



"Robert Comer"  wrote in message
news:439cf3ea{at}w3.nls.net...
> >and their profit margins are less than typical industries in the U.S.).
>
> Er, no, not in counting how much money is actually involved, they make
more
> than anyone else period. Anyway, last I heard their margins were over
7.5%,
> any manufacturing company around here would kill for such margins.
>
> >We're all also inexorably connected to the defense industry (I'm not sure
> >of their profits at the moment, but it ebbs and flows).
>
> We sell wool to military uniform makers, among others, -- our profit
margin
> is negative this year, but even in the best of times 3% is the most I've
> ever seen.  The military doesn't need any class a's this year and their
> discretionary budget seems to have disappeared a couple of years ago for
> some reason.
>
> --
> Bob Comer
>
>
> "Mark"  wrote in message
news:439cf001{at}w3.nls.net...
> > Everyone is connected to the oil industry Geo (and their profit margins
> > are less than typical industries in the U.S.). We're all also inexorably
> > connected to the defense industry (I'm not sure of their profits at the
> > moment, but it ebbs and flows).
> >
> > Millions of us own stock in both of the above, both individually and via
> > 401(k)s, and that includes each and every elected representative -- in
> > spades. Since, supposedly we all knew Bush was a war monger upon his
> > election, shame on any that didn't up their holdings in those industries
> > in November 2000.
> >
> > A lot of us that owned stock in pharmaceutical companies took a bath
when
> > HillaryCare(tm) got a lot of attention in the last century, we didn't
know
> > she was going to try that or we'd have sold earlier.
> >
> > What I'm saying is, claiming that Bush, already a multi-millionaire,
makes
> > decisions based on which industries will be helped is BS, same as
Hillary
> > didn't give a crap that the drug companies would be rocked by her plans.
> >
> >
> > "Geo"  wrote in message
news:439cebf0$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> >> Bush family is connected to oil industry, oil industry just happens to
be
> >> making outrageous profits. Cheney is connected to a bunch of defense
> >> industry companies who are also making outrageous profits. Both these
> >> industries are making these outrageous profits because of the actions
of
> >> this administration.
> >>
> >> Just good clean American politics, right?
> >>
> >> Geo.
> >>
> >> "Gary Britt" 
wrote in message
> >> news:439cc678$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> >>> Like they aren't man....   Just the fantasies of those who project
their
> >> own
> >>> weaknesses upon all others they see.
> >>>
> >>> Gary
> >>>
> >>> "Geo"  wrote in message
news:439c8c3f$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> >>> > Oh come on, like the bush administration isn't
bought and paid for?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

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