Energy

Big Oil Profits Reached Record High Levels in 2022

Published

7 months ago

April 26, 2023

Vipul Sharma

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Freny Fernandes

This visual highlights the five big oil companies that doubled their individual profits and earned a combined profit of over $200 billion in 2022.

Big Oil Profits Reached Record High Levels in 2022

Last year was a great year for oil companies.

Global crude oil prices had already escalated as global economies began recovering, and demand increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shot these prices further up as fossil fuel trade fell under the microscope.

In this graphic, Vipul Sharma of Mastermind Investor uses accumulated earnings data from Energy Monitor to highlight the five companies that made a cumulative profit of over $200 billion in 2022.

The Five Big Oil Winners

Within the span of one year, the five Big Oil companies ⁠— ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies ⁠— more than doubled their profits.

Company	Profit 2021	Profit 2022
ExxonMobil	$23B	$59.1B
Shell	$19.3B	$39.9B
Chevron	$15.6B	$36.5B
TotalEnergies	$18.1B	$36.2B
BP	$12.8B	$27.7B

Securing a total profit of $59.2 billion, U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil recorded the highest total of the lot. In 2021, the company’s profits were $23 billion or less than half of 2022’s haul.

It was joined by Chevron, whose profits rose by over 134% to $36.5 billion, and Shell, whose profit of $39.9 billion was the highest in the company’s 115-year history.

Where Will This Money Go?

One of the main focuses of the COP27 conference in Egypt last year was the global attempt to phase down fossil fuels and move to clean energy.

So far, these massive profits have largely gone to stock buybacks and reinvesting in shareholders. With lower oil prices so far in 2023, how will Big Oil react and spend moving forward?

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Energy

Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023

Today, electric vehicle sales make up 18% of global vehicle sales. Here are the leading models by sales as of August 2023.

Published

9 hours ago

December 1, 2023

Marcus Lu

The Highest Electric Vehicle Sales, by Model

Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.

As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.

This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.

The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)

Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:

Model	Country	Vehicles Sold (Jan-Aug 2023)
Tesla Model Y	🇺🇸 U.S.	772,364
Tesla Model 3	🇺🇸 U.S.	364,403
BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus	🇨🇳 China	265,688
BYD Dolphin	🇨🇳 China	222,825
GAC Aion S	🇨🇳 China	160,693
Wuling HongGuang Mini EV	🇨🇳 China	153,399
GAC Aion Y	🇨🇳 China	136,619
VW ID.4	🇩🇪 Germany	120,154
BYD Seagull	🇨🇳 China	95,202

As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)

But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.

Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.

Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.