The Shell gas logo is displayed at a gas station on April 27, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
British powerhouse A shell on Thursday reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit as the Iran war sent energy prices soaring.
The oil giant posted adjusted earnings of $6.92 billion in the first three months of the year, beating analyst expectations of $6.1 billion, according to a consensus compiled by LSEG. Another analyst forecast provided by the company put Shell’s expected first-quarter profit at $6.36 billion.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $5.58 billion in the same period last year and $3.26 billion in the final three months of 2025.
“Shell delivered strong results thanks to our relentless focus on performance in a quarter marked by unprecedented disruption in global markets,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.
Shell slowed its quarterly purchases to $3 billion, down from $3.5 billion, and announced a 5% increase in its dividend to $0.3906 per share.
The earnings come as the energy supermajors get a boost in share prices, as fuel prices have risen since the US-led and Israeli-led war against Iran began in Feb. 28.
The ongoing and serious disruptions in the critical Strait of Hormuz have led to what the International Energy Agency has described as the biggest energy security threat in history.
Oil prices have risen nearly 40 percent since the start of the Iran war, although both Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate futures fell sharply in the previous session amid hopes of an end to the conflict.
Shell’s total debt reached $52.6 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from $45.7 billion at the end of last year.
“Shell’s Q1 results are better than I expected, both the market’s expectations and my own expectations,” Maurizio Carulli, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday.
“Total debt is probably the only negative because it’s up from $45 [billion] to $46 billion at the end of last year to $52.6 billion this quarter. This, however, is due to the effect of working capital, when oil prices increase, it has a negative impact in terms of inventories,” he added.
ARC Resources Agreement
Last month, Shell announced it had agreed to buy Canadian energy company ARC Resources in a production development deal worth $16.4 billion, including net debt and leases.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan described ARC Resources, which focuses on the Montney shale basin in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta as “a high-quality, low-cost and high-quartile low carbon intensity producer” that could strengthen the firm’s resource base for decades.
Shell shares year to date.
Shell shares were down 2.9% on Thursday morning. The London-listed stock has made gains of around 15% year to date, lagging behind the likes of BP, Absolute Power, Exxon Mobil again Chevron.
