industry earnings

ExxonMobil's earnings, although high in absolute terms, need to be viewed in the context of the scale of our industry, as well as the huge investment requirements.

• In 2007, the oil and gas industry earned, on average, about 8.3 cents per dollar of sales — near the Dow Jones Industrial Average for major industries of 7.8 cents per dollar of sales.
• In a commodities business, earnings rise and fall in cycles. We are currently in an "up" cycle, influencing our current profitability.
• About 75 percent of ExxonMobil’s earnings come from outside the U.S.
• Over the past five years, oil and gas production has generated over two-thirds of ExxonMobil's earnings.