The primary motive for merger is to enhance shareholder value. A straightforward measure of shareholder value performance is a company's share price. The surge in the share prices of the mega-merger companies occurred subsequent to the mergers. Chevron has done a bit better than other integrated majors and Texaco has about matched the performance of other majors overall. Research Insight, a service of Standard and Poor's Compustat.
Profitability is an important element of financial performance.
Here profitability is measured by return on equity, which is corporate net income divided by stockholders' equity. Research Insight, a service of Standard and Poor's Compustat. More striking than the differences in profitability are the differences in corporate growth, as measured by total assets. BP Amoco and Exxon grew more than 50 percent over the 1995-1999 period, with the mergers providing most of the boost to their growth. Chevron and Texaco grew slightly faster than other integrated majors, but not nearly as fast as the mega-merger companies.