BP Profit Jumps 25%, but Investors are Concerned
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 7/29/2008

BP was the first of many oil companies to report their earnings this week. BP made their announcement early this morning, and throughout the week investors will also hear from Exxon Mobil (XOM: Charts, News, Offers), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B: Charts, News, Offers), and Chevron. As investors have continued to hear the news of the increasing price of crude oil barrels, and seeing that reflected in pump prices at the gas stations, they may subconsciously be wondering how this affects oil companies as well. It is easy to make the assumption as you pull into a BP branded gas station that the price increase is going directly into BP's pockets. And although it has benefited the company to some degree, there are many other factors that have influenced BP's latest earnings. More >

BP Profit Drops Along with Falling Energy Prices
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 2/6/2007

The vicious cycle of rising and falling energy prices and their effect on the global economy has found its latest victim in BP. The London-based oil company released reports today announcing their fourth quarter earnings and the outlook is disappointing to say the least. Though the energy sector has struggled with turbulent oil prices over the past months, BP's plight may be motivated by other factors as well. Will BP stock rise with energy prices or are their problems more deeply entrenched? More >

Feds: BP Got Away with $36bn in 2004 Propane Scheme
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 6/29/2006

After months of haranguing by Congress that there should be an investigation into price-fixing by oil companies, and after an open Senate testimony in which oil company CEOs were asked to justify their record profits stacked up over recent quarters, the feds are finally starting to point some fingers. British Petroleum Plc, self-anointed Beyond Petroleum, has been accused by US federal regulators of buying up supplies of Propane on the open market in 2004 and stock piling the fuel to turn a profit when demand increased. Now typically, scandals like this would vanish into the night after a diplomatic settlement and many pronouncements of increased safeguards. But details in this case, including one trader's guilty plea on conspiracy charges, suggest that the multibillion dollar company could be headed for serious trouble. More >

Hurricanes cut BP profit by estimated $700 million   10/4/2005