Shell profits slide but oil campaigners hit out at billions still being made by North Sea giant

Despite the downturn in earnings, campaigners have hit out at the billions still being made by the oil major and criticised its level of investment in renewable energy.

Shell said underlying earnings - which strip out some commodity-price adjustments and one-off charges - dropped 22 per cent to $18.53 billion (£13.6bn) for 2025 after a 40 per cent plunge quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of the year.

Adjusted profits for the fourth quarter fell to $3.26bn (£2.39bn) - lower than expected by most analysts and the lowest quarterly result for nearly five years.

Despite the profit fall, the FTSE 100 giant announced another $3.5bn of share buybacks to be completed in the first quarter of the year, on top of a dividend hike.

Chief executive Wael Sawan said: “2025 was a year of accelerated momentum, with strong operational and financial performance across Shell. In the fourth quarter, despite lower earnings in a softer macro (environment), cash delivery remained solid.”

The profits hit comes after the cost of crude dropped by 19 per cent in 2025 and for a record-breaking third year in a row, as there was more supply than needed in the world economy. The falls came in a year dominated by conflict, higher tariffs and rising supply from oil producers, with Brent crude dropping below $60 a barrel last month for the first time in almost five years.

Oil prices have since recovered a little, to just over $68 a barrel, and Shell’s chief financial officer, Sinead Gorman, said the group expected them to stabilise at between $65 and $70.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, which is owned by Aberdeen Group, said: “The final quarter was one which Shell will want to forget, although the numbers for the year as a whole were slightly more palatable. The volatility of the oil price inevitably had an effect as tepid demand and oversupply put a dampener on any price progress.

“Investing in Shell has always been a marathon rather than a sprint in displaying patience in equity investment, with the shares having risen by 120 per cent over the last five years for example.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of pressure group Uplift, said: “Shell’s profits, while taking a dip, are a reminder of why we urgently need to move away from oil and gas.

“Shell continues to make billions at a time when so many are still struggling with unaffordable energy bills, caused in the main by our dependence on volatile gas prices. Yet Shell is retreating from renewable energy, the very thing that will get us off this rollercoaster, and doubling down on oil and gas.”

Stop Rosebank campaigner Lauren MacDonald added: “Shell is still pocketing billions globally from fossil fuels, which is what is driving the extreme weather we’ve seen here in Scotland and around the world, heaping ever increasing costs onto the rest of us.”

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