ExxonMobil closed the books on a strong performance in 2013 with our year-end earnings announcement yesterday. The corporation earned $32.6 billion for our shareholders on total revenues of $438 billion – or earnings of 7.4 cents for every dollar of revenue.

There’s a lot of information in our 14-page news release, but I thought I would pull out some of the highlights:

$62.6 billion – That’s ExxonMobil’s direct contribution to the U.S. economy in 2013 in terms of taxes, capital and operating expenditures, and returns to shareholders. ExxonMobil’s direct contribution to the U.S. economy was seven times higher than our U.S. earnings, which were $9.1 billion for 2013. Our indirect contributions are vast, supporting American competitiveness, manufacturing, and improved standards of living.

$42.5 billion – That’s how much ExxonMobil invested in 2013 to find and produce new supplies of oil and natural gas around the globe. About a quarter of that was invested in the United States, which helps explains why an organization like the Progressive Policy Institute would applaud ExxonMobil as a top corporate “Investment Hero” for capital spending that spurs job and economic growth.

$9.8 billion – This is ExxonMobil’s U.S. tax expense for 2013, a figure exceeding our U.S. earnings of $9.1 billion. That’s approximately $817 million for federal, state, and local governments each month. I’ll break it down further. That’s a U.S. tax expense of nearly $27 million every single day of 2013, and it’s why a recent analysis identified ExxonMobil as the top corporate taxpayer in the United States.

35 percent – ExxonMobil’s effective U.S. tax rate in 2013.

5.5 cents – That’s how much ExxonMobil earned in 2013 for every gallon of gasoline and other products we refined, shipped, and sold in the United States. Compare that to 40 to 60 cents per gallon collected by the federal, state, and local governments in gasoline taxes.

I highlight these numbers because our corporation’s and our industry’s earnings are so often the topic of discussion, usually in the context of tax and energy policy at the federal and state levels.

In too many instances, the policy debates and political commentary that mention oil industry finances and taxes get the facts wrong, often wildly so.

If our country is going to have productive discussions about the choices our elected officials make, then everyone needs to be armed with the facts and cognizant of the extraordinary achievements and contributions of our company and industry.