Shell and Total post highest quarterly profit since 2022
SHEL•Shell and TotalEnergies reported sharply higher third-quarter profits, with net profit of $10.81 billion at Shell and adjusted net income of $9.1 billion at TotalEnergies. Shell raised its quarterly buyback to $5 billion, while TotalEnergies maintained plans for $2.5 billion in fourth-quarter repurchases and another $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2027.
1. Profits and buybacks rise
Shell and TotalEnergies reported sharply higher third-quarter profits, helped by war-driven energy prices and record refining margins. Shell raised its quarterly buyback to $5 billion from $3 billion. TotalEnergies reiterated plans to buy back $2.5 billion of shares in the fourth quarter and said it would repurchase another $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2027.
2. Record refining margins
Shell posted third-quarter net profit of $10.81 billion, above the $10.33 billion analyst estimate and almost double its year-earlier result. TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $9.1 billion, above an expected $8.3 billion and more than double the $4.0 billion it earned a year earlier. Refining margins reached $42 a barrel at Shell and $33.2 at TotalEnergies, nearly quadrupling from a year earlier.
3. Shell cash flow and outlook
Shell’s cash flow from operations, excluding working capital, rose to $21.7 billion from $12.24 billion a year earlier. Its oil and gas output fell 17% in the first nine months of 2026, while LNG liquefaction volumes rose 12%. Shell lowered its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $23 billion to $25 billion from $24 billion to $26 billion, and recorded an impairment of around $2 billion across its European biogas business.
