HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: 84.96, -1.44, -1.66%) on Friday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — as the world’s largest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at year’s end.

Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, besting its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The previous record for annual profit was $39.5 billion, which Exxon Mobil reported for 2006.

Lee ASKS: What else do we have to learn of to place gasoline suppliers under the PUC?