Wednesday 8 June 2022

The Daily Money: Shell, BP make record profits as gas prices soar

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ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Wednesday, June 8

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Happy Wednesday, Daily Money readers – although it feels like it should at least be Thursday. Jayme Deerwester back with you.

Oil giants reporting record profits as energy prices soar worldwide

Profits for Exxon Mobil, Shell and more rose by billions during the first three months of this year, despite significant costs of exiting operations and/or investments in Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

Here's a look at the biggest oil companies' profits in the first quarter of 2022:

•	Shell: $9.1 billion, nearly tripling $3.2 billion in profits from the first quarter of 2020
•	BP: $6.2 billion, more than double its profits from the first quarter of 2020
•	Exxon: $5.5 billion, more than double its profits from the same period in 2020
•	Chevron: $6.3 billion, more than four times its first quarter 2020 profits

"Profit margins should be coming down," Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic policy research group, previously told USA TODAY. Instead, she noted, "they're actually growing."

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These companies' political donations don't match their LGBTQ support

Many companies are sending mixed messages – declaring their commitment to their LGBTQ employees and customers, especially during June, but donating money to politicians who actively oppose gay rights, trans medical care and more.

While companies are feeling increased pressure to publicly demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion, they also fear becoming the next Disney – being retaliated against by politicians if they speak out too much against specific anti-LGBTQ legislation.

As part of our Pride Month coverage, USA TODAY looked at the eight Fortune 10 companies that earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's "Best Places to Work" designation this year and found that seven of them donated to politicians in 2020 who have voted against LGBTQ interests, opposed marriage equality, sponsored anti-trans bills or opposed the federal anti-discrimination bill, the Equality Act.

Among them: Walmart, Amazon, CVS, United Healthcare and AT&T. Check out the full story to see which politicians they supported.