London, May 18, 2026, 11:03 BST
Shell Plc climbed in London on Monday, beating the FTSE 100. Rising Gulf tensions sent crude up, bringing investors into big oil stocks.
Shell traded at about 3,247 pence on delayed quotes, 52.5p higher, up 1.64%. The FTSE 100 added 0.26%. Shell closed at 3,194.5p before and opened Monday at 3,214p. HL
Shell’s decision lands as Brent crude holds near $110.50 a barrel. Drone attacks in the Gulf and ongoing blockages at the Strait of Hormuz—responsible for almost a fifth of global oil and gas shipments—have kept traffic shut for most routes. Reuters
Shell stands to gain and lose from this. A jump in crude prices can bolster earnings from its upstream business, which covers oil and gas production, and give a boost to its trading segments during big price swings. On the other hand, this same move is raising bond yields and stoking inflation fears, which can weigh on equity prices.
“Markets are panicking” about Hormuz, Forvis Mazars chief economist George Lagarias told Reuters. But Lagarias said a broad equity selloff probably won’t happen unless the issue turns into a “credit event”—a break in lending or debt markets instead of just a price move. Reuters
Shell’s investor returns got fresh attention in the session. Earlier this month, the company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.9 billion, topping analyst calls. It raised its dividend 5% but trimmed its quarterly buyback to $3 billion from $3.5 billion. CFO Sinead Gorman said the dividend hike showed Shell’s confidence in long-term cash flow. Citi analyst Alastair Syme said the lower payouts should have come sooner. Reuters
Shell CEO Wael Sawan said the company delivered “strong results” for the quarter, even as energy markets saw disruptions. Shell reported $17.2 billion in cash flow from operations, before working capital, and pointed to an $11.2 billion working-capital outflow tied to commodity-price swings. Shell
Buybacks are still propping up the stock. Shell’s latest $3 billion repurchase program, which reduces share count and returns cash, is running for about three months under a London contract ending as late as July 24. Shell said the shares bought back will be cancelled. Shell
Shell’s most recent disclosed buyback had the company purchase 864,663 shares on the London Stock Exchange on May 14 at a volume-weighted average price of £31.44. Shell also picked up 300,000 shares on Chi-X and 132,633 on BATS. The volume-weighted average price is the average paid across trades, weighted by how many shares were in each deal. Shell Plc
European majors are seeing the trading edge. Reuters said Shell’s strong oil trading matched solid results at BP and TotalEnergies, which got a bigger bump from price swings than several U.S. competitors. That leaves the London-listed firms with a partial hedge for market turmoil, if not a perfect one. Reuters
The rally is on shaky ground. A fast drop in oil from diplomacy could erase Monday’s crude gains. Longer conflict means Shell could see less Middle East output, weaker LNG numbers, and less demand as high prices hit consumers and industry.
Shell has said its second-quarter volume guidance factors in the expected hit from the Middle East conflict. That keeps the focus on output and prices, with integrated gas—its LNG business—in the spotlight.
Shell shares stayed short of their March 31 high at 3,591.5p, TradingView data showed. The stock climbed 2.73% over the past week but has fallen 4.93% for the month. Monday’s rise looks more like a move on oil prices, buybacks, and index flows than any new news from the company. Tradingview
