Petrobras leads profit margin ranking among major oil companies in 2026

In the first half of 2026, Petrobras achieved the highest profit margin in a group of large international oil companies, surpassing giants such as Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco and the Americans ExxonMobil and Chevron.

The finding is in a study released this Wednesday (16) by the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP), which brings together unions representing more than 105 thousand workers in the oil industry.

The survey is coordinated by economist Cloviomar Cararine, from the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese), a research institution linked to the union movement.

The study compares financial results of major oil companies since 2020. It is the first time that Petrobras has reached the top of the profit margin ranking.

Margin x profit

Profit is how much money is left over for the company after costs, expenses and taxes have been deducted. The profit margin measures the company's efficiency by showing what proportion of revenue (total sales, such as fuels, crude oil and derivatives) actually turns into profit.

For example, if a company has a net margin of 15%, it means that, for every R$100 in sales, R$15 remains as net profit for the business after all costs, expenses and taxes have been paid.

In the Dieese ranking, Petrobras appears at the top, with a margin of 29.15% in the first half of 2026. During the period, the Brazilian state-owned company had a net profit of R$85.1 billion.

Check out the profit margin of the major oil companies monitored by Dieese:

Petrobras: 29.15%

Saudi Aramco: 25.48%

Chevron: 18.01%

ExxonMobil: 16.33%

BP (UK) 14.83%

Equinor (Norway) 12.84%

Shell (Anglo-Dutch): 9.94%

TotalEnergies (France): 9.44%

From 2020 to 2025, Saudi Aramco had the highest profit margin. In all these years, Petrobras was vice-leader, with the exception of 2024.

The source of the data is information released by the companies themselves. The researcher did not include Chinese companies, such as Sinopec and PetroChina, in the comparison.

TOP 3 in profit

The Dieese economist also compared the companies' profits. The results of the first half point to Petrobras as the third largest profit in the ranking in dollars.

Saudi Aramco: US$65.4 billion

ExxonMobil: US$18.7 billion

Petrobras: US$16.6 billion

Shell: US$15.5 billion

Chevron: US$14.3 billion

TotalEnergies: US$11.8 billion

BP: US$9.5 billion

Equinor: US$7.9 billion

ConocoPhillips (USA): US$6.1 billion

Factors for efficiency

For the economist, the unprecedented result reflects the “great operational efficiency of the company”.

The performance, he adds, was sustained by the increase in production, the rise in international oil prices (a reflection of the war in the Middle East), the reduction in general expenses and the fact that it is still an integrated company, which produces and refines oil.

Cloviomar Cararine believes that this combination allows Petrobras greater capacity to overcome crises than its international competitors.

In the second quarter of 2026, Petrobras' oil and natural gas production was the largest in history, reaching 3.34 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe, unit resulting from the conversion of natural gas into oil energy equivalent, which allows the two products to be added) per day.

Around 30% of what was produced was sold abroad (996 thousand barrels/day).

The company also reached an all-time record for refinery Utilization Factor (FUT), reaching 101.2%. The higher the FUT, the more refineries are being used.