loads of oil co's reporting right now with eps not comparable to analysts estimates because of creative accounting. i've never seen an industry having to fudge eps #'s DOWN until now so as to not piss off the public. "10/25/2005 07:40 Oil firms seen soft-pedaling record profits - WSJ column According to the WSJ's "Heard on the Street" column, the world's 5 biggest oil co's are expected to collectively report record-breaking 3Q earnings of almost $28bn beginning this week. Don't expect to hear a lot of crowing. Energy co's are facing pressure for raking in banner profits while consumers are paying high gasoline prices and are soon expected to face high home-heating bills. The result is that many analysts believe the oil giants will soft-pedal their record earnings. In addition, co's could load up on special charges, such as repairs to hurricane-damaged infrastructure, and emphasize possible marketing losses. "They are not going to beat the drum b/c there is so much political pressure out there," says JP Morgan oil analyst Jennifer Rowland. "At the end of the day, they are going to have great numbers and the outlook for the 4Q and 1Q is stellar." JP Morgan has an investment-banking relationship with all 5 of the largest oil co's: Exxon (XOM), BP (BP), Royal Dutch Shell (RD), Total (TOT) and Chevron (CVX). "