Shell achieves $10.8 billion in net profits and increases its share buyback program

The British energy company Shell announced, on Thursday, achieving higher-than-expected net profits of $10.81 billion in the third quarter, which is its highest quarterly profit since 2022. It also raised the value of its share buyback program, supported by improved refining margins and higher liquefied natural gas prices.

The US-Israeli war on Iran, which has been ongoing for 9 months, caused disruption in global energy supplies and rising prices, which helped Shell achieve a record level of margins for refining crude oil and converting it into refined products, such as diesel.

The profits of the company's business sectors were generally higher than expectations. The integrated gas sector achieved profits of $3.04 billion, compared to expectations of $2.93 billion, while the exploration and production sector recorded profits of $3.19 billion, compared to an expected $3.10 billion, according to Reuters.

The average estimate of analysts for adjusted profits, according to a survey conducted by the company, was $10.33 billion. This is nearly double the company's profits recorded a year ago, amounting to $5.43 billion.

Shell recorded a record level of refining margins of $42 per barrel, compared to $11.6 per barrel a year ago and $24 in the previous quarter.

The company also raised the value of its quarterly stock repurchase program to $5 billion, from $3 billion previously.

Copper prices fell slightly on Thursday, but remained near their highest levels in two weeks, supported by tight actual supplies in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal, while expectations of a further US interest rate hike limited gains.

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.36 percent to $14,425 per ton by 07:00 GMT, after hitting its highest level in two weeks at $14,517 on Wednesday. The benchmark index in London also recorded its highest closing in two weeks at $14,477.50 per ton on the same day.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most traded copper contract fell by 0.42 percent to close at 109,380 yuan ($16,408.64) per ton, according to Reuters.

Supplies remained tight in China, reflected by the sharp rise in copper price premiums. Yangshan's copper premium, an indicator of Chinese consumer demand for imports, had jumped to $205 a ton as of Wednesday, its highest level in more than a decade.

The domestic price premium also recovered from a rapid decline following inventory rebuilds ahead of the National Day holiday, rising to 1,085 yuan per ton as of Wednesday.

Weekly inventory data released by the Shanghai Futures Exchange showed inventories monitored by the exchange fell by more than 26 percent last week, after rising for two consecutive weeks.

However, the prospect of another US interest rate hike remained a potential pressure on copper prices, despite tight physical supplies in China.

The US Federal Reserve had left the benchmark interest rate unchanged, in a vote of 10 votes to two, as two members of the Council preferred to raise the interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Although the central bank raised its estimates of US economic growth, it maintained its concerns about inflation continuing at high levels, while markets continued to price in the possibility of implementing another increase in interest rates during December.

In other metal markets on the London Stock Exchange, aluminum fell by 0.18 percent, zinc fell by 0.10 percent, while lead rose by 0.37 percent, nickel rose by 0.54 percent, and tin fell by 0.33 percent.

On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, aluminum fell by 0.88 percent, lead fell by 1.10 percent, tin by 1.56 percent, while zinc rose by 0.04 percent, and nickel rose by 0.19 percent.

The French company Total Energies recorded a sharp rise in its profits during the third quarter of 2026, exceeding analysts’ expectations, supported by the record performance of the refining and chemicals sector, in light of the rise in oil prices and the tightening of supplies of petroleum products globally against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The company announced on Thursday that its adjusted net income reached $9.1 billion during the period from July to September, an increase of 127 percent compared to about $4 billion in the same period last year. The results were higher than the average expectations of 12 analysts surveyed by the London Stock Exchange Group, amounting to $8.3 billion.

The refining and chemicals sector achieved record results, as its net income doubled to $3.6 billion, benefiting from the scarcity of global supplies of petroleum products following the outbreak of the war with Iran, and the resulting rise in refining margins to historic levels.

The company's CEO, Patrick Pouyannet, said that increasing refining volumes by about 10 percent enabled Total Energies to take full advantage of the historically high refining margins in Europe and global markets, adding that oil trading activities recorded a strong performance similar to the levels it achieved during the previous two quarters.

The improvement extended to the liquefied natural gas sector, whose income rose to $1.9 billion, supported by an increase in average gas prices of about 20 percent, in addition to the strong performance of LNG and gas trading activities in an emerging market.

Regarding shareholder returns, the company confirmed its plans to repurchase shares worth $2.5 billion during the fourth quarter of 2026, and announced its intention to purchase additional shares of the same value during the first quarter of 2027, at the upper limit of the indicative range that it specified last month.

The results reflect energy companies benefiting from higher refining margins and tight supplies, at a time when geopolitical tensions continue to impact oil, gas and refined products markets.