Exxon's second-quarter profit breaks its own record

I think that Exxon is also pumping cash into McCain’s and the Republican’s campaigns.

"Exxon is pumping cash, not oil," said Judy Dugan, research director at Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog. "The big oil companies are wallowing in cash, and Exxon is the most aggressive in buying back its stock instead of taking the risks it should to both find new oil and develop new forms of energy."
Jim Pitcherella
From the Los Angeles Times
Exxon's second-quarter profit breaks its own record
The oil giant brings in $11.68 billion, the largest profit for a U.S. company, and still fails to meet analysts' expectations. Critics say Exxon and others aren't doing enough to reduce gas prices.
By Elizabeth Douglass
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 1, 2008

Exxon Mobil Corp. today posted second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion, once again topping its own record for the biggest profit ever by a U.S. corporation.

Still, the massive profit by the world's largest publicly traded oil company pleased hardly anyone. Production fell during the quarter, and financial analysts had been expecting better earnings -- two factors that helped push the company's stock down $2.49 to $81.89 at 3:15 Eastern time.

Activists renewed their complaints that Exxon and other oil companies weren't investing enough to find new oil that would bring pump prices down, instead preferring to drill for wealth on Wall Street by purchasing their own stock.

Read more at
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon1-2008aug01,0,849528.story