London, Feb 13, 2026, 08:03 GMT — Regular session
BP Plc shares eased in early London trade on Friday, extending the prior session’s drop as investors digested fresh broker caution. The stock was down 0.8% at 454.4 pence by 0803 GMT, after closing 3.1% lower on Thursday. (Investing)
The selling pressure matters because BP is trying to reset expectations on cash returns at a time when the oil price tailwind is weaker. The company said on Tuesday it would suspend its $750 million-a-quarter share buybacks (share repurchases), shift cash toward debt reduction, and took about $4 billion in charges on renewables and biogas assets; finance chief Kate Thomson told Reuters, “I really don’t like taking impairments.” (Reuters)
Crude has not helped. Brent was down 0.1% at $67.46 a barrel at 0448 GMT and was headed for a second straight weekly decline, with IG analyst Tony Sycamore pointing to “reducing the near-term geopolitical risk premium” as Iran-related fears eased and the IEA warned supply could exceed demand. (Reuters)
HSBC analyst Kim Fustier, in one of several downbeat notes this week, cut BP to “Reduce” and lowered his price target, saying the strategic shift may be right but the payoff is “years away.” He added that the buyback suspension leaves BP with the sector’s lowest distribution yield and few near-term catalysts for a re-rating. (TipRanks)
BP also pointed to portfolio moves, selling a 10% stake in its Shafag solar project in Azerbaijan to Hungary’s MVM Energetika. BP said it now owns 40.01% of the project and expects construction to complete in 2027, generating about 500 gigawatt hours per year. (London South East)
Across the sector, the debate is turning to how long the buyback boom can last if oil stays soft. TotalEnergies said it will halve first-quarter share buybacks to $750 million, and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said, “That way we can adjust upward if market conditions favour it,” while noting peers BP and Equinor have cut more sharply. (Reuters)
Income investors are also watching the dividend timetable. Hargreaves Lansdown data shows BP’s declared fourth-quarter dividend of 8.32 cents a share goes ex-dividend on Feb. 19 — meaning buyers on or after that date do not get the payout — with payment due on March 27. (Hargreaves Lansdown)
But the path back to richer cash returns could be messy. If crude prices fall further or refining margins cool, BP’s free cash flow shrinks and the timetable for restarting buybacks stretches, leaving the stock more exposed to any slip in execution on debt reduction and asset sales.
Next up, traders will look to BP’s first-quarter results for direction on cash generation, debt progress and any clearer steer on shareholder distributions; MarketScreener lists the earnings release for April 28. (MarketScreener)
