London, May 6, 2026, 20:02 BST
Shell shares slid again Wednesday after Erste Group downgraded the oil giant to “hold” from “buy.” The bank flagged concerns about the staying power of Shell’s current profits, with that call landing just a day ahead of first-quarter earnings. Shell’s New York shares were trading at $86.80 in the afternoon, off $2.91, or roughly 3.2%. BP, Exxon Mobil, and TotalEnergies were also in the red. Investing
The clock’s ticking for Shell. With its May 7 update due, the company faces a sharp question: can it squeeze enough out of turbulent oil trading to make up for softer gas production, ongoing issues in Qatar, and a big swing in working capital—money locked away in inventories and outstanding payments? Shell has already warned that first-quarter “increased uncertainty,” driven by the Middle East conflict, is weighing on its outlook. Shell
Erste’s Hans Engel flagged that Shell’s revenue and earnings are getting a boost from pricier energy, but doesn’t see that holding. He expects profit to slip next year. Engel also noted Shell continues to trade at a price-to-earnings discount to U.S. rivals—a reminder the P/E ratio stacks up a stock’s share price against its earnings per share.
Shell shares were unsettled in Europe. By Wednesday evening in Germany, the company’s Amsterdam listing hovered close to 38.34 euros—down about 5% across the past month, though still up for the year.
Shell is still grappling with Qatar. The company flagged that repairs on train two at its Pearl GTL plant—a facility that converts natural gas to fuels—might stretch out for around a year. QatarEnergy, for its part, halted output at all LNG sites and has declared force majeure.
Last week, Chief Executive Wael Sawan flagged ongoing tightness in supply-demand balances that may persist for months. Speaking to Bloomberg TV, he pointed out that around 900 million barrels went unproduced in recent months, with inventories filling the gap instead. That’s left the market sitting at “relatively low levels” and, in some cases, prompted “demand curtailment.” Investing
Shell is looking to tackle long-term growth through acquisitions, agreeing to take over Canadian producer ARC Resources in a deal valuing ARC at roughly $13.6 billion in equity, or about $16.4 billion enterprise-wide. The acquisition brings Montney gas assets and close to 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves (proved and probable). “ARC strengthens our resource base for decades to come,” CEO Sawan said. Shell
This week, the company took steps to expand in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. INEOS Energy and Shell Offshore plan to invest together around Shell’s Appomattox platform, with INEOS picking up a 21% working stake. Early-stage drilling will center on Fort Sumter, the Sisco well, and another exploration target, all eyed for development by 2030. INEOS Energy CEO David Bucknall said the joint approach lets them “move quickly, control costs and unlock new production.” INEOS
The read-across isn’t clear. Last week, Reuters noted Shell pointed to a strong first-quarter showing in its trading division. Over at TotalEnergies, a 29% jump in net profit from a year earlier—driven by trading—stood out. Still, valuation questions keep surfacing when you set Europe’s oil names against U.S. majors like Exxon and Chevron.
The risk swings both ways. Should crude and LNG prices slide as Middle East tensions calm, Shell could see its trading buffer erode just as persistent outages and force majeure clauses — those contract provisions for extraordinary delays — continue to drag on gas supply. QatarEnergy has pushed its force majeure on LNG shipments to Italy’s Edison into early July, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Everything circles back to shareholder returns. Shell rolled out a $3.5 billion buyback in February, aiming to wrap it up ahead of Q1 earnings—divided evenly between London and Netherlands contracts, each capped at $1.75 billion. Now, investors are pressing for clarity on the next tranche, with Qatar repairs, the ARC deal, and new drilling demands all pulling at the same pot of cash.
