By Brian Swint

Shell, the London-based oil-and-gas company, delivered better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter even though crude prices were falling. The stock rose.

It also maintained its $3.5 billion level of quarterly share buybacks. That's a contrast to crosstown rival BP, which scaled back its program by more than half earlier this week. U.S. peers Exxon and Chevron report earnings later today.

Shell's results show it's still possible to perform well even with oil prices languishing at around $60 a barrel amid worries about trade wars and recession. In March, CEO Wael Sawan pledged to increase output, with a focus on its profitable liquid natural gas operations, where demand is growing.

First-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $5.6 billion, better than consensus forecasts and up from $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter. It was still well below the $7.7 billion seen a year ago.

Adjusted earnings were 92 cents a share, beating in the 82 cents median estimate on FactSet.

London-traded shares rose 3.4% in early trading Its American depositary receipts added 3.7 before the market opened. The stock is still down more than 10% over the past 12 months.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

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May 02, 2025 04:56 ET (08:56 GMT)

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