Shell reports lower profit but continues share buybacks

Shell reported a 28% drop in net profit for the first quarter of 2025. At the same time, it maintained the pace of its share buybacks despite falling oil prices and lower refining margins than last year, when the company’s profit fell by 16%.

Shell reported adjusted earnings of 5.58 billion dollars for the first three months of the year. For the same period last year, Shell reported adjusted earnings of 7.73 billion USD. Reuters and CNBC report.

The company’s profit exceeded the expectations of analysts at the London Stock Exchange, who had forecast earnings of around 5.1 billion dollars. Shell also beat the forecasts of its own analysts, who expected the company’s first-quarter profit to reach 4.96 billion USD.

The company continues to maintain the pace of its share buyback programme at around 3.5 billion dollars per quarter. This is the 14th consecutive quarter in which buybacks have reached that level.

“The main opportunity at the moment is the ability to buy back shares. If the share price falls, it is better to allocate capital and buy back even more shares,” Chief Financial Officer Sinead Gorman said on a call.

Shell’s approach contrasts with that of competitor BP, which has reduced buybacks this year to strengthen its balance sheet. Shell’s debt-to-equity ratio is 18.7%, lower than BP’s, which stands at 25, 7 %.

The company previously said it would increase the share of free cash flow generated by its core activities that is paid out as dividends. This also includes increasing shareholder value by buying back its own shares.

In addition, the company plans to cut spending to 20 to 22 billion dollars a year between 2025 and 2028.