Lates News

Due to the impact of falling crude oil prices, weak performance in oil trading business, and continued losses in the chemical business, Europe's largest oil company Shell announced on Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit failed to meet market expectations. According to the financial report, Shell's adjusted net profit in the fourth quarter was $3.26 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 11% and lower than the analyst's average expectation of $3.51 billion. Despite the profit decline, Shell still maintained its $3.5 billion stock buyback plan every quarter. CEO Wael Sawan is facing increasingly tough challenges as he tries to narrow the valuation gap with American competitors ExxonMobil and Chevron by cutting costs and divesting inefficient assets. However, this goal has become more difficult this year. Recent strong performance of its American competitors' stock prices, supported by robust production in low-cost oil fields such as Guyana, the Permian Basin, and Kazakhstan, has caused Shell's stock price to shift from being the best performer among the top five oil giants globally last year to the worst performer so far in 2026.