Shell Beats Earnings Estimates, Sets $4 Billion Buyback

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Shares of oil giant Shell rose in London trading after the company reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations and announced a new, $4 billion buyback.

Shares were rising 3%.

Shell

(SHEL) said that earnings in the first three months of the year were $9.7 billion. That’s slightly lower than the fourth quarter, but substantially higher than the FactSet consensus of $8 billion. It also said it will complete a $4 billion buyback program over the coming three months.

Oil majors such as Shell,

BP

BP

(BP),

Exxon Mobil

(XOM), and

Chevron

Chevron

(CVX) all made record profits in 2022 as oil prices spiked on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Oil prices have since fallen back, which means earnings are unlikely to be quite as high this year even if they’re still good by historical standards.

“Shell delivered strong results and robust operational performance against a backdrop of ongoing volatility,” CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.

Oil prices are now more than 30% lower than this time a year ago. On Thursday, prices for Brent crude were up 1.2% at $72.18 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose 0.8% to $69.14.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com