Shell Q1 profit surges 19% to $5.69B on Iran war energy price spike

LONDON (Reuters) - Shell reported a 19% rise in first-quarter net profit to $5.69 billion on Thursday, driven by soaring oil and gas prices after the Iran war disrupted global energy markets, while announcing a $3 billion share buyback and a 5% dividend increase.

Profit after tax for the January-March period rose to $5.69 billion from $4.78 billion in the first quarter of 2025, the London-listed company said in an earnings statement. Adjusted earnings came in at $6.92 billion, above analysts' expectations of $6.36 billion, and up from $5.58 billion in the same period a year earlier and $3.26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"Shell delivered strong results enabled by our relentless focus on operational performance in a quarter marked by unprecedented disruption in global energy markets," CEO Wael Sawan said.

The Iran war began on Feb. 28, 2026. Oil prices rose from around $72 a barrel before the conflict to more than $100 a barrel in March, with Brent crude peaking above $120 a barrel during the quarter. The conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries about 20% of global oil and LNG supplies, roiling markets.

Shell's LNG production at the Ras Laffan hub in northern Qatar has been shut down since early March due to the conflict, and its Pearl GTL site in Qatar has been damaged by attacks. "Since the start of the conflict, commodity prices and refining margins have been highly volatile," Shell said in its earnings release.

Shell announced a $16.4 billion acquisition of Canadian company ARC Resources, which Sawan said would "deliver value for decades to come." The company will repurchase $3 billion of its shares, down from $3.5 billion in the previous quarter, and increased its dividend by 5% to $0.3906 per share. Shell's net debt rose to $52.6 billion at end-Q1 from $45.7 billion at end-2025.

Shell's share price dropped 2.3% on London's FTSE 100 index amid easing oil prices on hopes of a ceasefire. Rivals also reported strong results: BP posted Q1 net earnings of $3.8 billion, and TotalEnergies reported a 51% jump in Q1 profit to $5.8 billion.

"Fossil fuel giants are pocketing monstrous profits while drivers are being squeezed at the petrol pump and households are set to pay higher energy bills," said Danny Gross, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth. "The answer is clear: strengthen the windfall tax on these indefensible profits and break our dependence on fossil fuels by powering our economy with homegrown renewables."