Shell beats profit expectations, Total hits forecast despite falling prices

British oil giant Shell's profit for the last quarter was above market expectations, while its competitor - French TotalEnergies - reported profits in line with forecasts. At the same time, the performance of both players declined year-on-year. Growth in production and higher refining margins helped to compensate for the fall in hydrocarbon prices, Bloomberg writes.

Shell's adjusted net income for the third quarter fell 10% year-on-year to $5.43 billion, compared to the market consensus of $4.74 billion. Hydrocarbon production reached 2.82 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. This compares to 2.8 million in the third quarter of 2024 and 2.68 million in the second quarter of 2025. The company also said it would maintain the pace of its share buyback program at $3.5 billion per quarter. As Reuters notes, this is the 16th consecutive quarter in which Shell will spend at least $3 billion on buybacks.

TotalEnergies generated $3.98 billion in adjusted net income in July-September, which was in line with the consensus forecast. Production for the quarter averaged 2.51 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, beating last year's figure. "The company's strong financial results are underpinned by hydrocarbon production growth of more than 4% year-on-year and improved performance in the downstream segment," Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne was quoted as saying in a Total press release.

On October 29, Norwegian state-owned oil and gas company Equinor (formerly Statoil) reported a larger-than-expected drop in third-quarter profit. On October 31, American oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron are to present their quarterly results. On November 4, British BP will disclose its earnings data.

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