Oil giant Shell's quarterly profit plummets to its lowest in nearly five years, as crude prices plummet. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Shell petrol station, located at 106 Old Brompton Road, London, England, United Kingdom, on December 25, 2025, reflects the company's financial struggles. British oil major Shell reported a disappointing $3.26 billion in adjusted earnings for the quarter, falling short of analyst expectations of $3.53 billion. This marks Shell's weakest quarterly result since the first three months of 2021, when adjusted earnings were $3.2 billion. For the full year 2025, Shell's adjusted earnings of $18.5 billion fell short of the previous year's $23.72 billion. Shell CEO Wael Sawan acknowledged the challenging market conditions, but the company announced a 4% dividend increase to $0.372 per share and a $3.5 billion share buyback program, marking 17 consecutive quarters of substantial buybacks. Net debt increased to $45.7 billion at the end of last year, with gearing at 20.7%. This financial turmoil comes as lower oil prices force European energy majors to make tough decisions, with Norway's Equinor leading the way by cutting share buybacks and investments in renewables. Britain's BP and France's TotalEnergies are expected to report fourth-quarter earnings next week, amidst a market environment that threatens the industry's shareholder payouts.
