NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 17:02 ET — Market closed
- Shell shares ended higher in the first U.S. trading session of 2026.
- The company disclosed another round of share repurchases for cancellation.
- Oil markets are focused on an OPEC+ meeting and supply worries.
Shell’s U.S.-listed shares (SHEL) rose $1.96, or 2.7%, to close at $75.44 on Friday, the first U.S. trading day of 2026. BP gained 3.2%, Exxon Mobil rose 1.9% and Chevron added 2.3%.
The move matters because integrated oil majors are beginning the year with investor attention still anchored on cash returns as crude prices grapple with oversupply worries.
For Shell, buybacks and dividends sit at the center of the equity story. Repurchases reduce the share count, which can lift per-share metrics when commodity prices are volatile.
Broader markets were choppy on Friday, with U.S. stocks finishing mixed as Treasury yields rose and investors looked ahead to a heavy run of economic data, Reuters reported.
Oil futures ended slightly lower, with Brent settling at $60.75 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate at $57.32, Reuters reported. “Oil prices are locked in this long-term trading range, and there’s a sense that the market is going to be well supplied,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group; OPEC+ is due to meet on Sunday and traders largely expect it to keep pausing output increases early in the year, Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said. Reuters
Shell said it bought back about 1.48 million ordinary shares on Jan. 2 across London and Amsterdam for cancellation, effectively retiring the stock. It reported a volume-weighted average price — an average that adjusts for trade size — of 27.6069 pounds in London and 31.7332 euros in Amsterdam.
The purchases form part of Shell’s $3.5 billion buyback programme announced on Oct. 30, 2025, and run by Merrill Lynch International under an arrangement that leaves trading decisions with the broker through Jan. 30, 2026, Shell said. Shell has said it intends to complete the programme before releasing its fourth-quarter results.
Shell said it will release its fourth-quarter results and interim dividend announcement for 2025 on Feb. 5 at 02:00 EST.
Shell’s interim dividend timetable shows the fourth-quarter 2025 dividend is scheduled to be announced on Feb. 5, with the ADS ex-dividend date on Feb. 20 and payment on March 30. For ordinary shares, the ex-dividend date is Feb. 19, the company said.
Before next session: The first read for Shell and its peers on Monday will be whether oil reacts to weekend OPEC+ headlines, setting the tone for the sector at the open.
Traders will also be watching U.S. rates and incoming economic data for clues on growth and interest-rate expectations, which can spill over into oil and energy equities.
Technically, Shell’s ADR remains near the top of its recent range. MarketWatch data show the stock’s 52-week range at $58.55 to $77.47, putting it within reach of the high after Friday’s rally.
For now, investors are weighing a simple mix: crude and gas prices for the macro backdrop, and the pace of buybacks and dividends for the company-specific support when markets reopen.
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