Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Why does ExxonMobil's balance sheet show more liabilities than assets?
Exxon Mobil is one of the most profitable corporations in the world.  Their annual earnings are typically in the $10s of billions of dollars.  They have revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year.  They also return $10+ billion dollars to their stockholders each year in dividends and stock purchases.  That's with $300bn market capitalization - meaning they return 3% of their total market cap each year to their shareholders, aside from any movement in the stock itself. On the other hand, their total current liabilities are around $175bn.  That's what, six months' revenue?  Who'd you rather lend to, Exxon, or ... anyone else?  AAPL and GOOG maybe better risks, but not by much.  Almost every other company on the planet is a more dangerous risk. Judging them solely by Assets is silly - they don't exactly sit on the oil they extract.  They take it out of the ground and sell it to people.