Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) engages in the exploration, production, transportation, and sale of crude oil and natural gas. The company is a component of the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials and the Dividend Aristocrats indexes. Exxon Mobil has been consistently increasing its dividends for 28 years in a row.
Over the past decade this has delivered an annual average total return of 8% to its shareholders.
At the same time company has managed to deliver a 6.40% average annual increase in its EPS since 2000. The forecasts for the foreseeable future are for a 45% increase in the EPS in 2010 to $5.80/share, followed by an increase in EPS to a $7.27 by 2011. The sheer scale of the company gives it huge economies of scale. Its productivity is further boosted by the efficiency of developing new projects in Quatar, Norway and US. Exxon Mobil does business on over 200 countries and derives only 30% of its revenues from the US. The company has over 130 projects worldwide whose goal is to increase reserves of oil and natural gas.