Shell revealed a $3.5bn stock repurchase and increased its dividend, even with a declining oil price impacting the oil giant's earnings.
The FTSE 100 firm revealed the decision — which came after a $3.5bn repurchase in the last quarter — together with results for the last quarter of 2025, and a commitment to increase its dividend by 4 percent.
It reported adjusted earnings of $3.3bn for the last quarter of 2025 and $18.5bn for the entire year, which was a bit below analysts’ forecasts of $3.5bn for the quarter and $18.8bn for the year.
This contrasts with adjusted earnings of $3.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $23.7 billion for the entire year.
Stocks dropped roughly 2 percent during early trading in London. Crude oil prices declined by 20 percent last year and are anticipated to drop further in the initial half of this year.
Shell’s decision occurs even though analysts anticipate that Europe’s largest oil firms will collectively cut billions in shareholder distributions when they announce earnings in the upcoming weeks, as they safeguard their finances due to decreased oil prices. Shell’s choice to continue its buybacks follows rival European oil company Equinor announcing on Wednesday that it will cut its buybacks from $5bn in 2025 to $1.5bn this year — a more significant reduction than analysts anticipated.
Wael Sawan, the CEO of Shell, stated that this marked the 17th straight quarter in which the firm had repurchased no less than $3 billion of its shares. He characterized 2025 as a year of “increased momentum” featuring “robust operational and financial results”.
Net debt increased from $41.2bn in Q3 to $45.7bn in Q4, suggesting that Shell is prepared to fund shareholder payouts through borrowing. The majority of Shell’s adjusted earnings for the quarter, amounting to $1.7bn, originated from its liquefied natural gas sector, with its oil and gas production sector contributing $1.6bn.
Oil and gas output increased from 934,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter to 948,000 barrels in the fourth quarter. Since assuming leadership in January 2023, Sawan has directed the company towards oil and gas production, moving away from renewables.
Shell's stock price has increased by approximately 20 percent since that time. The firm is engaging with shareholders regarding increasing Sawan’s possible compensation by a minimum of £4.6mn annually, resulting in a possible overall pay package, inclusive of shares, bonuses, and salary, exceeding £19mn. His overall compensation was £8.62 million in 2024.