Exxon Mobil just released its 2Q 2012 earnings.
It doesn't disclose a detailed income statement until it files its 10Q with the SEC a bit later.
So, all that can be determined at this point in time is that it reported 2Q 2012 After-tax Net Income of $15,910 mil. However, that amount included huge Net Gains on Divestitures and Tax-Related Items, which totaled an increase in After-Tax Net Income of a massive $7.5 bil. Thus exclusive of these two huge items, what I call Exxon Mobil's Core Net Income was $8.4 bil in the 2Q 2012, which was a 21% decline from the $10.68 bil of After-tax Net Income generated in the 2Q 2011.
I like to focus on Core Pretax Income trends, because it excludes any changes in effective tax rate, which can be volatile, and are a function of financial engineering.
I'm not able to get a handle on Exxon Mobil's Core Pretax Income in the 2Q 2012, since it didn't break down the huge $7.5 bil huge pickup in earnings between how much was due to Pretax Income and how much was due to Income Tax Items.
But here is the quarterly trend in Exxon Mobil's Core Pretax Income from the start of 2011, shown as an increase or decrease over such Core Pretax Income in the prior year's quarter.
1Q 2011 vs 1Q 2010.....+57%
2Q 2011 vs 2Q 2010.....+46%
3Q 2011 vs 3Q 2010.....+45%
4Q 2011 vs 4Q 2010.....+11%
1Q 2012 vs 1Q 2011.....down 7%
And here is the quarterly trend in Exxon Mobil's Core After-tax Net Income from the start of 2011, shown as an increase or decrease over such After-tax Net Income in the prior year's quarter.
1Q 2011 vs 1Q 2010.....+66%
2Q 2011 vs 2Q 2010.....+41%
3Q 2011 vs 3Q 2010.....+41%
4Q 2011 vs 4Q 2010.......+2%
1Q 2012 vs 1Q 2011.....down 10%
2Q 2012 vs 2Q 2011.....down 21%
I think it's really good economic news to the improving, but still struggling, US economy, and also to the very struggling world economies, to see this marked downturn in Exxon Mobil's quarterly earnings, which is at least somewhat correlated with oil prices, and the resultant gas prices at the pump.
Certainly there are many factors here at play. But I would like to point out two of them.
First, I think that President Obama's actions, under the radar screen, to soften the excessive amount of oil speculation has played a key role in moderating oil prices, and also resulted in much lower gas prices at the pump.
And second, I think that some consumers in the US, and around the globe, have decided to avoid, as best they can, the very powerful Exxon Mobil at the gas pump. In the US, some citizens are just fed up with Exxon Mobil's dominance of the US Congress, and with the unwarranted massive annual tax subsidies bestowed on them by the US Congress, and thus took it in their own hands at the gas pump.
