Seattle Times: 

Convenience-store owner David Malik earns about as much on a can of Coke as he does on a typical 10-gallon purchase of gas.

Malik’s gross profit on gasoline is roughly 3 cents a gallon after paying for supplies and credit-card fees, but he earns 30 cents on the soft drink.

And when trouble in a faraway oil-producing nation spikes energy prices, his profits here are squeezed even more.

“When oil-company profits go up, my profits go down,” said Malik, 51, who lives in Bellevue and owns seven gas stations in South King County under different major brands.

Even as his costs rise, he tries to keep a lid on gas prices so drivers will stop at his stores instead of the competition’s. Volume is the only way to make this slim-margin business profitable.

Brace yourself, here it comes:

For the average consumer, gas stations are the only visible face of an industry where record profits last year for global companies like Exxon Mobil have sparked countless complaints, government investigations and accusations of price-gouging. On Thursday, Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported some $10.26 billion in quarterly profits — lower than last year but still dwarfing giants in other industries.

Dwarfed in gross profits. Comparisons using gross numbers are almost false. My first house cost less than my last car — so what? The house was purchased with 1976 dollars and the Honda with 2000 dollars.

As if it’s anyone’s business, what are Big Oil’s net profit margins? George Will:

ExxonMobil, which has more than $50 billion of past profits invested in energy development, made 9.8 cents per dollar of sales, much less than the 21.2 cents made by a company selling another fluid that lubricates American life — Coca-Cola.