The oil giant posted adjusted earnings of $6.92 billion for the first three months of the year, beating analyst expectations of $6.1 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus. A separate, company-provided analyst forecast had put Shell’s expected first-quarter profit at $6.36 billion.<\/p>\n
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $5.58 billion<\/a> over the same period a year ago and $3.26 billion<\/a> over the final three months of 2025. <\/p>\n “Shell delivered strong results enabled by our relentless focus on operational performance in a quarter marked by unprecedented disruption in global energy markets,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.<\/p>\n Shell cut the pace of its quarterly buyback to $3 billion, down from $3.5 billion, and announced a 5% increase in its dividend to $0.3906 per share.<\/p>\n The earnings come as energy supermajors experience a significant share price boost, with fossil fuel prices soaring since the U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran began on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n Ongoing and severe disruption through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz has resulted in what the International Energy Agency has described as the biggest energy security threat<\/a> in history. <\/p>\n Oil prices have climbed roughly 40% since the Iran war began, although both Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell sharply<\/a> in the previous session amid hopes of an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n Shell’s net debt came in at $52.6 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from $45.7 billion at the end of last year. <\/p>\n “Shell’s Q1 results are better than expectations, both market expectations and my own expectations,” Maurizio Carulli, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe<\/a>” on Thursday. <\/p>\n “Net debt is probably the only minor negative because it has increased from $45 [billion] to $46 billion at the end of the past year to $52.6 billion this quarter. This is, however, mainly because of the working capital effect, when you have rising oil prices, there is a negative effect in terms of the value of inventories,” he added. <\/p>\n ARC Resources deal<\/p>\n Last month, Shell announced<\/a> it had agreed to buy Canadian energy company ARC Resources in an output-boosting deal valued at $16.4 billion, including net debt and leases. <\/p>\n Shell CEO Wael Sawan described ARC Resources, which is focused on the Montney shale basin in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta as “a high-quality, low-cost and top quartile low carbon intensity producer” that would strengthen the firm’s resource base for decades.<\/p>\n Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Shell shares year-to-date.<\/p>\n Shares of Shell dipped 2.9% on Thursday morning. The London-listed stock has clocked gains of around 15% year-to-date, lagging the likes of BP<\/a>, TotalEnergies<\/a>, Exxon Mobil<\/a> and Chevron<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"hide](\"https:\/\/static-redesign.cnbcfm.com\/dist\/a54b41835a8b60db28c2.svg\")
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