Shell (NYSE: SHEL) is launching another $3.5-billion buyback, keeping the pace of its share repurchases, after posting consensus-beating earnings for the first quarter.
Shell reported on Friday adjusted earnings of $5.58 billion for the first quarter of 2025, down by 28% from a year earlier, but higher than the analyst consensus estimate of $5.1 billion.
“Our strong performance and resilient balance sheet give us the confidence to commence another $3.5 billion of buybacks for the next three months, consistent with the strategic direction we set out at our Capital Markets Day in March,” chief executive Wael Sawan said in a statement.
The new share buyback program for the next three months will mark the 14th consecutive quarter of at least $3 billion in buybacks at the UK-based supermajor.
Total shareholder distributions paid over the last four quarters were 45% of cash flow from operations (CFFO), consistent with the target of 40 – 50% of CFFO through the cycle announced in March.
Following the earnings beat and the announcement of the new share buyback, Shell’s shares in London jumped by 3.7% in early trade.
The market has been watching closely the announcements of shareholder distributions from Big Oil as oil prices slide and uncertainties about economies and oil demand rise.
As oil prices fell in the first quarter from a year earlier and plunged at the start of the second quarter amid heightened oil market and economic uncertainties, analysts are closely watching the biggest international oil and gas firms for signs of weakened balance sheets and possible downward tweaks to shareholder payouts.
Spain’s Repsol, Italy’s Eni, Norway’s Equinor, and France’s TotalEnergies have all confirmed their shareholder distributions policies as they reported Q1 earnings in the past week.
UK’s BP, however, reduced by $1 billion its quarterly share buyback program after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings, significantly lower cash flow, and rising net debt for the first quarter.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- Republicans Eye Boom in Oil and Gas Leases
- Oil Rebounds But Set for Another Weekly Loss
- Trump Administration Challenges State Climate Laws in Court
