2 dollars and 3 cents a share?

Can you stand one more short post on the rising price of gasoline?

Fitting right into the posts from the last two days, we have yesterday’s report that Exxon-Mobil’s profits were up 17% in the first quarter:

HOUSTON (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday that record crude prices helped its first-quarter profit climb 17 percent to $10.9 billion — the second-biggest U.S. quarterly corporate profit ever.

The New York Times report notes why, but adds that the success wasn’t enough for Wall Street because it was short of the estimates:

Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday that its first-quarter net income rose 17 percent, boosted by surging oil prices.

But even as it posted the second-most profitable quarter in its history, Exxon’s earnings managed to disappoint investors because of a drop in oil production. Shares were down more than 3 percent Thursday after the company missed earnings estimates by a dime a share.

All the big oil companies — BP/Amoco, Shell, ConocoPhillips — reported huge profits. The mind boggles.

And in an editorial, the Times weighs in on the gas-tax issue, saying pretty much the same thing that’s been said here and elsewhere.