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Shell and TotalEnergies nearly double quarterly earnings as refining margins climb

Shell and TotalEnergies nearly doubled their third-quarter 2026 profits, reporting their strongest quarterly results since 2022 as refining margins rose sharply. Shell reported adjusted earnings of $10.81 billion and raised its quarterly share buyback to $5 billion, while TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $9.1 billion.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 3 of 5 outletsHow it's made

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5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 2 · R 1 · 2 unrated
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Photo: Reading Tom from Reading, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Shell and TotalEnergies reported their strongest quarterly results since 2022, with profits nearly doubling in the third quarter of 2026 (per mercopress.com).
  • Shell reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $10.81 billion, compared with $5.43 billion a year earlier; the result exceeded the $10.33 billion analyst estimate cited in the reports (per mercopress.com, tekedia.com).
  • TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $9.1 billion, compared with $4 billion a year earlier and above an $8.3 billion forecast (per mercopress.com).
  • The reports linked the profit growth to higher refining margins; en.mercopress.com said they were almost four times their year-earlier level, while finance.biggo.com described them as reaching a record amid the Middle East war (per mercopress.com, tekedia.com, biggo.com).
  • Shell increased its quarterly share buyback from $3 billion to $5 billion (per mercopress.com, tekedia.com).
  • Shell confirmed a $2.5 billion buyback for the fourth quarter and indicated another $2.5 billion buyback for the first quarter of 2027 (per mercopress.com, tekedia.com).
  • TotalEnergies maintained a planned $2.5 billion share buyback for the fourth quarter and announced another $2.5 billion for the first quarter of 2027 (per tekedia.com, mercopress.com).
  • Patrick Pouyanné said a nearly 10% rise in refining throughput, together with strong oil trading, helped TotalEnergies capture historically high refining margins in Europe and globally (per tekedia.com, mercopress.com).

The brief

Shell and TotalEnergies nearly doubled their third-quarter profits, posting their strongest quarterly results since 2022 as refining margins climbed. The companies’ reports were published on Thursday. The coverage ties the earnings increase chiefly to stronger refining conditions, while Tekedia also points to higher energy prices and describes the margins as near-record.

Mercopress says margins were almost four times their year-earlier level; BigGo Finance’s headline characterizes them as record-high. Shell reported adjusted earnings of $10.81 billion for July through September, compared with $5.43 billion in the same period a year earlier. That figure exceeded the $10.33 billion average analyst estimate cited by Tekedia and Mercopress.

Tekedia also reported Shell’s third-quarter net profit as $10.81 billion. The two outlets use different labels for the result, but give the same amount. TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $9.1 billion, up from $4 billion a year earlier and above the $8.3 billion forecast cited by Mercopress.

Tekedia said the company planned to maintain a $2.5 billion share repurchase for the fourth quarter and announced another $2.5 billion for the first quarter of 2027. Mercopress likewise reported the later buyback plan, describing it as a further purchase of the same size. Shell raised its quarterly buyback to $5 billion from $3 billion.

It confirmed a $2.5 billion repurchase for the fourth quarter and indicated another $2.5 billion for the first quarter of 2027. The company also lowered its 2026 capital-spending forecast to a range of $23 billion to $25 billion.

These decisions set out both a larger near-term payout and a lower planned investment range, though the reports do not explain how the spending change relates to particular projects. Tekedia attributed TotalEnergies’ strong refining performance to a nearly 10% increase in refining throughput alongside strong oil trading.

It reported that Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said those factors helped the company capture historically high refining margins in Europe and globally.

The account also connects the companies’ results to disruptions to production and infrastructure from the war in the Middle East, but supplies no figures for the disruptions or their individual effect on either company’s earnings.

The framing varies in emphasis: Mercopress foregrounds refining margins near four times their year-earlier level and reports Shell’s reduced spending forecast, while Tekedia highlights energy prices, operational disruptions and shareholder payouts.

BigGo Finance’s headline attributes record refining margins to the Middle East war; Oil & Gas 360’s headline emphasizes the strongest profits since 2022 and surging margins. The reported figures establish strong results and larger planned payouts, but do not provide a comparable breakdown of the two companies’ earnings by business segment.

Why it matters

  • Shell shareholders are set to receive a larger quarterly buyback: Shell raised it from $3 billion to $5 billion and outlined additional $2.5 billion repurchases for the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2027.
  • Shell’s planned investment range is lower: it forecast 2026 capital spending of $23 billion to $25 billion, alongside the increased buyback.
  • TotalEnergies shareholders also have planned repurchases of $2.5 billion in both the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2027.
  • For refining workers and communities in Europe and elsewhere, the reported near-fourfold increase in margins signals unusually strong refining economics, while the coverage gives no figures for the operational disruptions it also describes.

What to watch next

  • Whether Shell carries out the confirmed $2.5 billion fourth-quarter buyback.
  • Whether TotalEnergies completes its planned $2.5 billion fourth-quarter share repurchase.
  • Whether Shell’s 2026 capital spending remains within its stated $23 billion to $25 billion forecast range.
  • Whether Shell and TotalEnergies proceed with the announced $2.5 billion buybacks for the first quarter of 2027.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 2 Center · 1 Right · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 60% · Asia 20% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

2 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 3 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 3 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 2 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • Mercopress emphasizes refining margins nearly four times their year-earlier level and Shell’s lower capital-spending forecast; Tekedia foregrounds energy prices, production and infrastructure disruptions, and shareholder payouts.
  • BigGo Finance’s headline calls the margins record-setting and links them to the Middle East war; Oil & Gas 360’s headline stresses the companies’ strongest profits since 2022 and surging margins.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Patrick Pouyanné said increased refining throughput and strong oil trading helped TotalEnergies capture historically high refining margins in Europe and globally.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources provide no figures for the scale of production or infrastructure disruptions, or for their company-specific effects on earnings.
  • The sources do not identify affected populations or quantify any civilian or other human impact.
  • The sources do not provide a comparable breakdown of Shell’s and TotalEnergies’ earnings by business segment.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Compagnie française des pétroles, later renamed TotalEnergies, was founded.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Shell completed its acquisition of BG Group.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. In 2022, Shell and TotalEnergies reported exceptionally strong annual earnings as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted energy markets and widened refining margins.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. The European Union’s ban on seaborne Russian crude imports took effect, as the G7, EU and Australia imposed a price cap on Russian oil.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. A separate earlier change in energy markets began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian power plants, air defenses and military infrastructure.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

In 2022, Shell and TotalEnergies reported exceptionally strong annual earnings as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted energy markets and widened refining margins. A separate earlier change in energy markets began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian power plants, air defenses and military infrastructure.

The resulting war was ongoing before the third quarter of 2026.

Original sources

5 articles from 5 outlets

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