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Oil Companies Report
Oil Companies Profits for 2006
Memo to Secretary Nilsestuen
DATE: February 7, 2007
TO: Rodney J. Nilsestuen, Secretary
FROM: Janet Jenkins, Administrator, Division of Trade and Consumer Protection
SUBJECT: Oil Company Profits for 2006
Since Hurricane Katrina and subsequent hearings with oil company representatives the division has continued to review the profits of major oil companies. The following information was compiled regarding the oil company profits for calendar year 2006 and the impact of these profits on consumers. Staff analysis of oil company financial statements indicate that the five major oil companies earned $113.33 billion in 2006. This represents a $6 billion increase over the record profits the oil companies generated in 2005.
These excessive profits equate to over $17 for every man, woman and child in the world or $376 for every person in the United States.
As a basis of comparison, staff have compiled information on the profits of four other major industries that are significant drivers of the United States economy. The five companies with in each industry were selected based on their falling within the five largest profits for their respective industries.
These excessive profits are more than the top four companies in the pharmaceutical, retailer, and industrial/agriculture combined. In fact, the profits generated by Exxon Mobil during 2006 were greater than Pfizer, Wal-Mart, Caterpillar and Ford Motor combined.
1Profit rankings taken from 2005 Fortune 500 list available at http://money.cnn.com/magazine/fortune/fortune500/
Company Profits (in billions)
Industrial/Agriculture
| Company |
FY 2006 Net Income |
| Caterpillar |
3.537 |
| Deere Company |
1.694 |
| Illinois Tool Works |
1.495 |
| Eaton |
0.95 |
| Parker-Hannifin |
0.605 |
| Total |
8.281 |
Retailers (all the retailers below have a Fiscal Year End of January 31)
| Company |
FY 2006 Net Income |
| Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
11.231 |
| Target Corp. |
2.408 |
| Federated Department Stores, Inc. |
1.406 |
| Penny (J.C.) Company, Inc. |
1.088 |
| Sears Hldgs Corp. |
0.858 |
| Total |
16.991 |
Pharmaceuticals
| Company |
FY 2006 Net Income |
| Pfizer, Inc. |
19.337 |
| Johnson & Johnson |
11.1 |
| Abbott Laboratories |
1.717 |
| Merck & Co., Inc. |
4.431 |
| Amgen, Inc. |
2.950 |
| Total |
39.535 |
Oil Companies
| Company |
FY 2006 Net Income |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. |
39.090 |
| Bp Plc |
22.000 |
| Chevron Corp. New |
17.138 |
| Royal Dutch Shell Plc |
25.442 |
| ConocoPhillips |
25.442 |
| Total |
113.330 |
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