BP Named The Fourth Most Profitable Company In The World

BP may be one of the most hated companies in the world, but it's also one of the most wildly profitable.

Fortune has released its most recent list of the world's most profitable companies and BP has placed fourth, pulling in a whopping $16.56 billion in profits in 2009. BP shares are heading toward their second straight weekly gain on news of progress on stopping the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the AP notes.

Gazprom, the Russian gas conglomerate, took the top spot on Fortune's list with 24.55 billion in profit. Exxon Mobil took the second spot ($19.28 billion), and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and China's Construction bank ranked third and fifth, respectively.

Barclays, the U.K.-based bank, ranked seventh, beating out financial services rival Goldman Sachs by six spots. Goldman, however, saw profits increase by 476 percent from 2008 to 2009, the highest year-to-year increase in the top 20.

As the AP reports, BP stock has gained about $20 billion in lost value in recent days, but is still down approximately 45 percent since the gulf oil spill began on April 20.

But, BP's 2009's profit are sure to be vastly different from this year's. Do you think BP will make it onto next year's list of the world's most profitable companies?

Quick Poll

Will BP Be Back On Next Year's List Of The World's Most Profitable Companies?

Yes, they still have an enormously profitable business.

No, the oil spill costs -- and subsequent legal actions -- will be too much.

It will only take a criminal prosecution to keep BP's profits down.

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

Check out Fortune's full list here.

Comments

[The last sane American]

08:37 PM on 07/26/2010

I was wondering if we would offer them the job of governing this outpost of the Empire again.

Our politicians allege that BP swung a deal with the Libyans, when our own Administration could not sway an ally, the Scottish government, to not release the Libyan criminal back to Libya.

[hacharacter]

09:58 PM on 07/20/2010

The Tea-baggers should really set their sites on British Petroleum. Don't you think?

[Babele]

10:10 AM on 07/12/2010

In houston....

"Package b.omb possibly targeted Texas oil executive, woman injured"

They won't disclose her name, or who the b.omb was intended for.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/294548

[LeeCalif]

06:03 PM on 07/11/2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell

" It is clear that BP has been blocking progressive legislation, both in the US and here. In Nigeria, they have been living above the law. They are now clearly a danger to the planet. The dangers of this happening again and again are high. They must be taken to the international court of justice."

[The last sane American]

08:40 PM on 07/26/2010

When will you understand that you have the power to bring BP and all Big Bad Oil to its knees?

Just stop buying gas. It is that simple

[maxfax]

05:16 PM on 07/11/2010

BP=Big Profits

[anticapitalist1983]

10:21 AM on 07/10/2010

The oil spill was no accident, just another example of socialized risk and privatized profits. This is the BEST article on the spill that I've read:
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=2010no-accident-bp
Every gulf coast resident should read this.

[Gilliam G]

05:41 PM on 07/09/2010

Speedy Drilling Greed
Damaged blowout seal
70,000 barrels a day
Time to get real
Drill Baby Drill

Hear full song with lyrics here:

http://gilsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/drill-baby-drill

[Allison Good]

01:01 PM on 07/09/2010

BP may be running ads everwhere, including in the local Times-Picayune daily in New Orleans, but Louisiana's financial state is less certain. Want the real scoop? Check out http://awgood.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/state-of-uncertainty-louisianas-p...

[Thomas Wargo]

12:24 PM on 07/09/2010

Poor little BP (and CEO Tony only has one yacht, too). Republicans (Rand Paul, Joe Barton, et al) think we taxpayers ought to pick up the tab for BP's CRIMINAL behavior. Remember this in November.

[Daly]

01:40 AM on 07/09/2010

Randcid and his friends the GOPB think that America is asking too much of BP and fear that they may not survive our harsh treatment of them.

[SolarArray]

01:04 AM on 07/09/2010

BP (Busted Pipe) will soon be history.

[xiaodashan]

01:32 AM on 07/09/2010

gazprom,exxon and BP...ha ha,they are not going anywhere,maybe they ll buy each other,this is resource war.whether BP remains in it s present form is highly debatable but what s better than a complete make over into a more responsible environmental corporate vanguard....yeah right!It will be broken up,re wrapped,or maybe the chinese government will step in and buy it s entrails,where nobody knows the BP logo.Not one government on the planet outside of the USA will turn their nose up at goddam oil,whether it s washed in blood or not.

[Low Prices are Good]

12:28 AM on 07/09/2010

thank god they make huge profits. Else tax payers would be responsible for the oil spill cleanup.

[maxfax]

05:18 PM on 07/11/2010

Not so quick sparky, they are posed to make taxpayers pay so they don't.

[Alexandra Mandelis]

12:17 AM on 07/09/2010

This doesn't look like a list I'd want my company on - sharing space with BP and Goldman. I'm sure environmental and tax agencies would find some interesting dirt on the others listed, too.

[Jim Shaffer]

11:45 PM on 07/08/2010

Their ambition for the true power ($$$) got them there. Short changing safety measures, using their power to control our government by financing many political careers, even to the point of achieving huge military contracts for fuel. They'll survive this crisis, So far I've seen very few signs of massive payouts from them. Surely they'll spend more on the upcoming elections. Long before they pay it all, the legal battles will begin. They're playing us all for fools, and I for one am sick of it.

[cambo]

10:31 PM on 07/08/2010

Something sickening about the fact that hayward sold 42% of his stock before the accident and J P Morgan and Goldman dumped a lot of theirs as well. Overtones of some technician knew they were in trouble and gave the warning just in time for them to dump at least a good percentage.

[2garen]

11:42 PM on 07/08/2010

this really needs to be investigated because there were emails that were written a month before the blow up that stated things were unstable on that platform.

[Jim Shaffer]

11:48 PM on 07/08/2010

I'll have to look that up... Wouldn't surprise me a bit.