Originally posted by JaTo:
Originally posted by Pete D:
Originally posted by ODC:
Exxon's profit margins are slightly above 10%. That means they sold about 80bn worth of gasoline.

That's pretty low margins for any industry. For comparo's sake, Microsoft makes 30%-40% profit margins off it's software.



Comparing Microsoft with Exxon (or any petrol company) is absurd, they aren't in the same industry, have totally different cost structures and don't have similiar products just to start. Not to mention that the demand for gas is largely inelastic and that gas is a commodity....



Margins are margins and profit is profit; no, MS is not a commodity-based company, but for people screaming about the amount of money being made (a few pennies on the dollar) in gas sales vs. at least HALF of a dollar going to the bottom-line on SW, it again BEGS the question of people's perception on what "screwing" really is.

You are absolutely right; COST STRUCTURE does play a HUGE role in margins and therefore profits. What kills me is that these companies are building equipment to find oil (no mean feat in of itself) and once it's found, they build equipment that plows MILES through rock, mud and sand to suck up oil, pipe it or transport it sometimes thousands of miles away which after getting piped through refractionating towers and "crackers", then makes it's way through yet another form of transportation to the gas station where the consumer fills up.

It takes a s**tload of investment to do the above and the fact that it's still only $2-3/gallon amazes me.



MS sold 17 million copies of XP in the first 2 months after rollout. IRC we consumers buy 250 million gallons of gas a day. When's the next time you'll buy a new OS compared to your next fill up. Would you rather get 30% every 2 or 3 years or 8% every 3 days?

As far as supply manipulation goes Enron(with electricity)did it so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. He11, big oil could be helping to feed the uncertainty in the speculators!

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