London, Feb 1, 2026, 20:33 GMT — Market closed
Shell shares enter the new week as oil traders digest OPEC+’s move to maintain current output levels through March. Markets reopen Monday, with Shell’s quarterly earnings set to drop later in the week.
The London-listed share finished Friday at 2,794 pence (£27.94), slipping 0.13% that day, per market data. With markets closed until Monday, focus turns to crude oil prices and how the company will interpret its cash flow.
Shell will release its fourth-quarter results and set its next interim dividend on Feb. 5. According to the company’s schedule, ordinary shares go ex-dividend on Feb. 19, while ADSs—depositary receipts representing those shares—follow on Feb. 20. The dividend payment is slated for March 30.
Shell is also leaning on its buyback strategy. The company has a $3.5 billion share repurchase program underway, cutting the share count as it cancels stock. It plans to wrap this up before releasing its Q4 results.
OPEC+ — the cartel including OPEC members plus allies like Russia — kept its output policy steady for March, amid rising US-Iran tensions. Brent crude closed near $70 a barrel on Friday, after hitting a six-month peak of $71.89 the day before. Jorge Leon from Rystad Energy noted, “The lack of forward guidance is significant.” Reuters
Shell revealed in a filing Friday that it repurchased 689,103 shares on the London Stock Exchange and 671,953 on Euronext Amsterdam, all earmarked for cancellation. The trades were handled by Merrill Lynch International, with a volume-weighted average price of £27.8407 in London and €32.1997 in Amsterdam.
Analysts are approaching the report with a narrow range of forecasts. A Vara Research survey, updated Jan. 28, pegged consensus adjusted earnings at $3.509 billion for the quarter and flagged a slight loss anticipated in the Chemicals & Products segment.
Shell has already flagged concerns about this segment. In its Jan. 8 quarterly update, the company noted that Chemicals & Products adjusted earnings were expected to fall below break-even in Q4. The indicated chemicals margin came in at $140 a tonne, with trading and optimisation costs “significantly lower” than in Q3. Shell
The oil backdrop cuts both ways. Should the Iran risk premium ease or demand concerns resurface, crude prices could plunge quickly—and energy stocks tend to tumble right after.
For Shell, along with BP and TotalEnergies, buyback and dividend guidance holds as much weight as headline profits. Quarterly trading results often fluctuate wildly, making them tough for investors to predict.
Investors are eyeing Shell’s Feb. 5 report, eager to hear management’s stance on shareholder payouts and if the uptick in oil prices late last month shifts their outlook.
