Shell (LSE:SHEL) reported adjusted earnings of $10.8bn for the third quarter, up from $9.8bn in the second quarter and more than double the $5.4bn posted in the same period a year earlier.
The London-listed energy major, which operates across integrated gas, upstream, marketing, chemicals and products, and renewables and energy solutions, said the gain reflected higher refining margins, stronger realised LNG prices and higher integrated gas volumes.
These were partly offset by weaker crude and oil products trading, higher well write-offs and lower realised liquids prices.
Free cash flow came in at $16.3bn for the quarter, down from $17.5bn in the second quarter but well above the $9.95bn generated a year earlier.
Net debt fell to $39.7bn at quarter-end from $41.8bn three months earlier, with gearing down to 16.6% from 18.7%, a reduction Shell attributed partly to the ARC Resources acquisition, which it said cut gearing by 0.8 percentage points.
Shell completed its acquisition of ARC Resources in September, following receipt of all required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, a deal first agreed in April that added roughly 370 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day across liquids and gas.
ARC shareholders received CAD 8.20 in cash plus 0.40247 Shell shares for each share held, giving the transaction an equity value of $14bn.
Shell also took a final investment decision in September on LNG Canada Phase 2, which will lift the project's production capacity from 14m tonnes per annum to 28m tonnes; Shell holds a 40% interest and expects nearly 6m tonnes of additional LNG, with commercial operations targeted for the early 2030s.
Total shareholder distributions for the quarter reached $5.3bn, comprising $3.2bn of share repurchases and $2.2bn of cash dividends, with the quarterly dividend held at $0.3906 per share.
Shell said it has now completed the $4.2bn of share buybacks announced alongside its second-quarter results, and it is launching a new $5bn buyback programme, expected to be completed by the fourth-quarter results announcement.
Elsewhere in portfolio moves, Shell agreed in July to sell its 35% non-operated interest in Cyprus Offshore Block 12, containing the Aphrodite gas field, for up to $720m, a deal expected to close in early 2027 subject to regulatory approval.
Read more about Shell
- 07/10/26Shell flags Rhine-driven refining hit as ARC deal lifts gas output outlook
- 30/07/26Shell earnings and cash flow lifted by higher prices, net debt falls
- 07/05/26Shell Q1 earnings eclipse expectations at $6.9bn, campaigners cry war 'windfall'
The company completed the sale of its Na Kika platform interests in the Gulf of America for roughly $840m in September, and signed an agreement to raise its stake in US convenience and fuel retailer Tri Star Energy from 33% to 100%, adding 320 wholly owned retail sites, expected to close by the end of the year.
In renewables, Shell's $1.8bn sale of the Sprng Energy group in India to Aditya Birla Renewables and its agreed sale of a roughly 0.5 GW European onshore renewables portfolio to TotalEnergies are both still expected to complete by the end of 2026.
Shell also signed agreements in September to acquire Hunlock Creek Generating, a 169 MW gas-fired plant in Pennsylvania, and to sell its interest in the 609 MW RISEC power plant serving New England for $715m, with both deals expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.