Oil giant Shell misses fourth-quarter profit estimates as crude prices slide

British oil major Shell on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit amid lower crude prices.

Shell posted adjusted earnings of $3.26 billion for the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $3.53 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus. A separate, company-provided analyst forecast had put Shell's expected fourth-quarter profit at $3.51 billion.

The London-headquartered firm reported profit of $3.66 billion over the same period last year and $5.4 billion in the July-September period.

For the full-year 2025, Shell posted weaker-than-expected adjusted earnings of $18.5 billion, compared to annual profit of $23.72 billion a year earlier.

The results come as lower oil prices force European energy majors to confront some tough choices.

A challenging market environment, along with expectations for a particularly weak earnings season, had been expected to put the industry's shareholder payouts at risk.

Norway's Equinor was the first mover in this sense. The state-backed energy company announced hefty cuts to share buybacks on Wednesday after posting a 22% drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Equinor said it would reduce share buybacks to $1.5 billion this year, down from $5 billion last year, while also trimming investments in its renewables and low-emission energy projects.

Britain's BP and France's TotalEnergies are both scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings next week.

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