London, February 8, 2026, 21:23 GMT — Market’s done for the day.
Shell (SHEL.L) edged up in London trading Friday, ending the session at 2,774.50 pence—about a 0.2% gain—on volume of nearly 8.1 million shares. CEO Wael Sawan told investors the company will halt new investments in Kazakhstan for now, citing drawn-out legal fights over soaring project costs. Kazakhstan is seeking arbitration over what it claims are $13 billion in disputed Kashagan costs and another $3.5 billion at Karachaganak. Sources speaking to Reuters put a possible Karachaganak arbitration award between $2 billion and $4 billion.
London’s weekend pause leaves Shell shares stranded between headline risk and the lure of cash returns. Headlines have been coming thick and fast; what happens when markets reopen Monday could easily outweigh today’s muted close.
Shell delivered fourth-quarter earnings of $3.3 billion this week, falling short of analyst estimates. Still, the company left its $3.5 billion quarterly buyback untouched and bumped its dividend up 4% to $0.372 a share. CFO Sinead Gorman described the payout range as “sacrosanct.” On the other side of the Atlantic, Exxon is sticking with a $20 billion buyback for this year, but Equinor is backing off on its own repurchases. Reuters
Governance headlines made an appearance too. Shell will switch auditors, selecting PricewaterhouseCoopers to take over from EY starting in 2027 after a formal tender. This shift comes amid regulatory attention to audit partner rotation — basically, how long a lead audit partner can oversee a listed company. Shell plans to amend its 2023 and 2024 annual reports in response, but says its financial statements themselves remain unchanged.
Oil moved higher Friday, with Brent closing at $68.05 a barrel, a 0.74% gain, as concerns lingered that U.S.-Iran negotiations hadn’t reduced the risk of tensions in the region. “It’s status quo nervousness over Iran,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Reuters
This audit snag isn’t some minor detail tucked away in board minutes. Back in December, Britain’s Financial Reporting Council announced it had begun investigating EY’s work on Shell’s 2024 financials. The trigger? Shell flagged a breach of partner rotation rules.
Investors eyeing Shell’s dividend have a couple of dates to watch. The ordinary shares go ex-dividend Feb. 19; anyone buying from then misses out on the next payout. Payment lands March 30. For U.S. ADSs, the ex-dividend date comes a day later, on Feb. 20.
The Kazakhstan disputes, though, are where things could really get unpredictable. Should the settlement come in higher than anticipated—or if fresh claims pop up—cash gets pinched, and the buyback conversation heats up fast, especially if crude prices take another dip.
Come Monday, traders have their eyes on oil, updates from both Washington and Tehran, and the latest out of Kazakhstan. The next set event for the stock in London? That lands on Feb. 19, when Shell goes ex-dividend.
