BP

Investing.com -- UK Chancellor John Healey is preparing a cautious first budget to maintain market confidence as the Iran war, higher borrowing costs, and government spending commitments squeeze Britain’s public finances, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Healey is expected to favor relatively modest measures in his Oct. 28 budget as Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government seeks to avoid unsettling investors or repeating the large tax increases introduced under former Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The chancellor has made fiscal discipline a priority and wants government spending announcements to identify how they will be funded. Britain’s fiscal position has weakened since Burnham took office. Healey inherited £23.6 billion ($31.9 billion) of headroom against the government’s borrowing rule, but higher debt-servicing costs and new spending commitments are estimated to have reduced that buffer by about £9 billion. Long-term government borrowing costs have remained relatively stable since Healey’s appointment. The yield on 30-year UK government debt has risen to around 5.79% from 5.75%. Potential revenue-raising measures under discussion include higher taxes on banks following strong recent profits. Treasury officials have also considered increasing taxes on windfall profits at fossil fuel companies after BP (NYSE:BP) more than doubled its profit between April and June amid elevated oil prices. Healey is separately examining whether Britain’s fiscal rules provide room for increased infrastructure borrowing, although officials are wary of triggering a negative reaction in bond markets. The government faces other major spending pressures, including welfare and defense. Plans to raise defense expenditure to 3.5% of gross domestic product are expected to be addressed in the government’s 2027 spending review rather than the October budget. Healey has yet to commit publicly to spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030, up from around 2.6% currently. Meeting that level would require at least another £10 billion. The budget will be Healey’s first major fiscal test since becoming chancellor and comes as Labour seeks to preserve its recent recovery in opinion polls. Related articles UK Chancellor Healey eyes cautious budget as fiscal pressures mount JPMorgan outlines ten strategic themes that could shape the outlook for 2026 Wolfe Research outlines eight risks that could spark stock declines in 2026

Get insights on thousands of stocks from the global community of over 7 million individual investors at Simply Wall St. BP stock has delivered a strong 138.7% return over the past 5 years, yet current valuation checks and recent news leave the shares looking closer to fairly priced than clearly cheap. Over 5 years BP has returned 138.7%, which puts current holders in a strong position and raises the bar for new investors assessing further upside. The return to Venezuela through the Loran Phase 2 offshore gas project can support long term cash flow expectations, while political and regulatory risk in markets like Venezuela remains a key swing factor for how much value investors ultimately see. BP scores 3 out of 6 on our valuation checks, which points to a mixed picture rather than a clear bargain or clear overvaluation. For investors, the key question is whether a stock that has already gained strongly and screens as roughly fairly valued still offers enough potential to justify the risks in its project portfolio. BP delivered 38.4% returns over the last year. See how this stacks up to the rest of the Oil and Gas industry. The P/E ratio is a useful starting point for BP because earnings still drive much of how investors look at large integrated oil and gas groups. BP currently trades at about 21.4x earnings, which is well above the Oil and Gas industry average of 13.4x and also above the wider peer group average of 10.2x. That premium suggests the market is willing to pay more for each pound of BP earnings than for many sector peers. The tailored fair P/E ratio for BP is 21.9x, which is very close to where the stock is now. This fair ratio reflects factors such as BP’s scale, risk profile and profitability relative to the sector. Despite the recent attention around BP’s return to Venezuela through the Loran Phase 2 gas project, the current P/E already lines up closely with what this framework implies as a reasonable level for the stock. On the P/E multiple, BP currently looks roughly fairly valued rather than clearly cheap or expensive. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives pick up where the earlier valuation puzzle for BP leaves off and explain which combinations of future growth, margins and earnings would need to hold for the stock to be worth meaningfully more or less than its current price. Each narrative ties a fair value estimate to a particular storyline about BP's possible catalysts and risks, so you can track over time which version of events appears to be unfolding on the Community page. One of the top community narratives on BP: 7% undervalued Read one of the top narratives on BP Do you think there's more to the story for BP? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! BP now looks priced about right on its current P/E, so the easy valuation case is no longer on the table. The stock hinges less on multiple expansion and more on whether BP can deliver the earnings and cash flows that keep justifying that premium to sector peers. The central debate is whether projects like the Venezuela gas exposure compensate for their political and regulatory risks, or whether those risks end up capping how much investors are willing to pay from here. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include BP.L. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer - Marguerite O’Neill Chief Financial Officer - Katherine Thomson Operator: Hello, everyone, and thank you for your interest in BP's Second Quarter 2026 Results. Today's video presentation features Meg ONeill, Chief Executive Officer; and Kate Thomson, Chief Financial Officer. The running order for today's prepared remarks is as follows: Meg will begin with her reflection since becoming CEO and the priorities she is setting for BP. Kate will then take you through our second quarter financial performance, and Meg will return to close with her perspective on the path ahead. Let me first draw your attention to our cautionary statement. In this video, we will make forward-looking statements that refer to our estimates, plans and expectations. Actual results and outcomes could differ materially due to the factors we note on this slide and in our U.K. and SEC filings. Please refer to our annual report, stock exchange announcement and SEC filings for more details. These documents are available on our website. And with that, over to you, Meg. Marguerite O’Neill: Thanks, Craig. Just a few weeks ago marked my 100th day as CEO of BP. This has coincided with one of the most volatile periods within global energy markets. When the conflict in the Middle East disrupted global oil and gas supply, the BP team responded, keeping energy flowing across the world safely, reliably and efficiently. I want to start with an update on safety. Over the past 4 months, I've seen a deep commitment to safety across BP. It comes first, always, but performance in the first half of the year has not been where it needs to be. Tragically, a Castrol colleague died following an incident at the Gemlik blending plant in Turkiye in April. Our thoughts remain with their family, friends and colleagues. An investigation is underway to understand what happened, and we will learn and apply those lessons to improve our business. On process safety, we saw an increase of events in the first half of 2026 when compared with the same period in 2025, including an increase in Tier 1 events. Nothing is more important than the safety of our people. Operational excellence is foundational to what we do, and this begins with consistent safe performance. Our safety goal remains to eliminate fatalities, life-changing injuries and Tier 1 process safety events across our operations. Turning to second quarter results. We demonstrated strong financial delivery and progress towards our 2027 targets. But there are also areas where performance has been below where it needs to be. On the headlines, upstream production was 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. This was 6% lower than the first quarter, driven by scheduled seasonal maintenance, predominantly in the Gulf of America, disruptions in the Middle East and some operational issues in the North Sea and Indonesia. This was partly offset by stronger performance at bpx. Refining throughput was around 1.5 million barrels per day. This was 4% lower than the first quarter due primarily to higher planned turnaround activity and lower refining availability. We delivered $5.7 billion of underlying profit, $2.5 billion higher than the first quarter and $10.9 billion of operating cash flow after a $1 billion working capital build. Financial obligations, including net debt, hybrids and Gulf of America settlement liabilities reduced by around $7 billion compared to the first quarter. Today, we have announced a 4% increase in the dividend per share. Before I hand over to Kate to go into our 2Q results in more detail, I would like to share my reflections of the business and our direction of travel. Alongside working with the leadership team to manage the business, I've spent significant time with BP's teams on the ground. I've also spoken with investors, business partners, governments and other key stakeholders. I came to BP because I believe this company can be extraordinary, and I've seen enough in 4 months to know that's true. When you combine great assets with great people who are ready to step up, you get a company with real potential. I believe our integrated model is a source of competitive advantage. The combination of upstream and downstream supported by trading gives BP an earnings and cash flow profile that is more resilient through the cycle with greater flexibility to capture value across markets. But our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations nor the expectations of our shareholders. We have not delivered consistently enough across our operations. We have written off too much shareholder value, and we face a challenge of liabilities and costs that means our resilience to a low price environment is insufficient, exacerbated by a portfolio that is too stretched and too complex. To achieve consistently strong performance, we have to challenge ourselves. We must hold up a mirror and be honest about what we see, be proud of our strengths and do the work to identify and address our weaknesses. We must deliver at pace with urgency and with deep accountability for the decisions we make. Going forward, every part of the company needs to earn its place, generating cash, improving returns and strengthening the whole. We need to improve the quality of our earnings and cash generation and unlock more value for shareholders. That is why I am setting 5 priorities to deliver a step change in performance and to grow shareholder value. The first priority is strengthening the balance sheet. We are making progress, but we are not where we need to be. Too much cash is currently being used to service liabilities. I want more of the value proposition to move back to equity holders through growth, distributions or both. As a starting point, that means reducing financial obligations relative to our scale to at least in line with our European competitors. A stronger balance sheet gives us more resilience, more flexibility and greater capacity to create value through the cycle. Second, we will simplify and focus the portfolio. As we high grade, we will do so based on value creation, not sentiment, not history and not legacy attachment. Some assets may have been important to BP in the past. That does not necessarily mean they are the right assets for BP's future. We are in action. We plan to market our U.S. renewable natural gas business, Archaea Energy, and we recently launched a process to market our North Sea business. I'll come back to talk more about portfolio shortly. Third, we will invest with discipline and drive capital efficiency. Every dollar of capital has to compete, and we need to get fit to grow. We need to compete in the weight class we are in, focusing capital on our best opportunities to maximize cash flow and returns. Our decision to exit Bay du Nord shows that discipline in action. Fourth, we need to run our assets safely, reliably and with greater cost efficiency. We have made progress on structural costs, but interventions to date have not delivered sufficient savings to the bottom line. That's what matters, and we have more to do. The opportunity is to use technology, simplification and organizational redesign to build a more competitive BP. Kate will talk more about costs shortly. Finally, we must tackle culture to enable faster, more effective decision-making and greater accountability for results. I want challenge to be welcomed, disagreement surfaced early and decisions to be rigorous, evidence-based and accountable. Reorganizing into upstream and downstream is an important first step on this journey. Portfolio optimization is central to building a simpler, stronger and higher value BP. The data on this slide gives an illustrative view of free cash flow and returns from our assets over the past 3 years. It does not capture the through-cycle value of every business or the additional value created through integration and trading for all assets. As with capital allocation, we consider a broader set of factors, including strategic alignment, optionality and sustainability. But it does show the value lens we are applying across BP. We have assets and businesses that generate attractive returns, material free cash flow and strategic value for the group. But we also have variability with some assets consuming capital, adding complexity or diluting returns without generating enough cash flow. We are taking an objective view asset by asset, business by business, looking at cash generation, returns, capital efficiency and strategic fit. Upstream is anchored by material positions, including in the U.S. and the Middle East, advantaged basins where we have scale, deep technical capability and strong relationships. I'm convinced that BP has the potential to be one of the best upstream businesses in the industry. Major projects sanctioned for start-up between 2028 and 2030 are progressing according to schedule, but sanctioning projects is not the proof point, delivery is. Executing these projects safely, on time and on budget is what investors expect from BP, and it is a core measure of how we will rebuild confidence. Downstream is a strategically important business, bringing scale, diversification and resilience to the group earnings and cash flow. Regional integrated value chains link refining, logistics, trading and customer channels to capture value across the system. During recent volatility, that helps secure supply and keep products flowing to customers. The model varies by market, but the principle is the same. The system is strongest when it works together. Cherry Point on the U.S. West Coast is a good example. Its coastal position gives access to global crude markets, feedstock flexibility, export capability and market optionality. Our customer channels, retail, aviation and B2B, provide stable offtake and a strong return on capital. But there are also areas to improve, including reducing total cash cost relative to gross margin and targeted performance programs in businesses like TravelCenters of America. We will continue to assess and divest assets that do not provide integrated value or dilute our margin profile as we have with the announced sale of Austria mobility & convenience and Gelsenkirchen refinery. Now, the point of optimization is not simply to reduce the number of assets. It is to focus capital on activities that can generate stronger cash flow, better returns and greater value through the cycle and taking action where they do not. Assets matter, but it's our portfolio, combined with a world-class trading organization that provides differentiated value for BP. Supply, trading and shipping connects the system, enabling us to source supply, manage disruption, access demand growth and direct molecules to the highest value markets. We have built deep capability across regions, products and markets over decades and now operate a trading business of significant scale. That scale and diversification matters. We are not dependent on any one region, asset or market condition to create value. Our track record is strong. Over the last 6 years, trading has delivered an average uplift of around 4 percentage points to BP's return on capital employed, of which at least 2 percentage points has come from the base global portfolio, which has demonstrated resilience through the cycle. The breadth of the portfolio gives us the ability to capture upside when market conditions present greater opportunities. We will continue to invest in technology across trading to maintain leadership, improve efficiency and grow, and our merchant strategy will continue to provide access to emerging markets. As we grow, we will maintain cost discipline, growing revenue while maintaining the cost base to improve margins. It is this combination of a high-quality upstream and downstream, supported by distinctive trading capability that makes a world-class global integrated oil and gas company, one that provides energy to our customers while creating value for our shareholders. We're clear on our plan and looking to accelerate delivery. Now let me hand over to Kate to talk in more detail on our second quarter results. Thanks, Kate. Katherine Thomson: Thank you, Meg. So now let me turn to our second quarter financial performance in more detail, starting with profit. Group underlying profit increased by 78% from the first quarter, helped by a broadly strong price environment and higher trading performance. Starting with segment earnings. In Gas and Low Carbon Energy, segment underlying operating profit increased by around $800 million, reflecting higher realizations, including the impact of price lags with gas marketing and trading broadly flat compared with the first quarter. In Oil Production and Operations, segment underlying operating profit increased by around $1.6 billion. This reflected higher liquids realizations, including the impact of price lags, production mix benefit and higher income from equity accounted entities. These positive factors were partly offset by higher exploration write-offs, mainly related to exiting Bay du Nord and lower production due to seasonal maintenance in the Gulf of America. In Customers and Products, segment underlying operating profit increased by around $1.8 billion. Within customers, profit benefited from seasonally higher volumes, higher fuel margins, a stronger Castrol performance and a slightly higher midstream contribution, partly offset by lower earnings from bioenergy. Within products, profit benefited from significantly stronger realized refining margins and a slightly higher oil trading contribution, partly offset by higher planned turnaround and maintenance activity as well as the impacts of the third-party event at Whiting in April. Other businesses and corporate charges were around $70 million higher than the previous quarter, primarily reflecting impacts of the Ventures divestments and one-off corporate items. Taking all these factors together, group underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax was $10.3 billion compared to $6.3 billion in the previous quarter. Below the operating segments, the underlying tax charge increased by around $1.5 billion, reflecting higher earnings in the quarter. Group underlying replacement cost profit was $5.7 billion. We recorded net adverse adjusting items of around $1.1 billion across the segment, including post-tax net impairments of around $800 million, primarily related to transition businesses in the Gas and Low Carbon Energy segment. After inventory holding losses of around $700 million, our second quarter IFRS profit was $3.9 billion. Moving from earnings to cash flow and the balance sheet. This quarter, stronger earnings converted into stronger cash generation, helping us to reduce financial obligations by around $7 billion. Now rather than follow the cash flow statement line by line, I want to walk through the quarter's sources and uses of cash, showing how cash generated by the business flowed through to net debt and financial obligations. Our total sources of cash in the quarter were $13.5 billion. Underlying cash generation was $12.9 billion. This compares with reported operating cash flow of $10.9 billion, which was after $1 billion of interest payments and around $1 billion build in working capital during the quarter. I'll come back to working capital shortly. We also received around $600 million of divestment proceeds during the quarter. On the uses of cash, the main outflows were CapEx of $3.1 billion, perpetual hybrid bonds of $3.1 billion, including the redemption of $2.9 billion and $1.3 billion of dividends paid. After these cash outflows, net debt reduced by around $3.1 billion, which brought the balance at the end of the quarter to $22.3 billion. I now want to spend a moment on working capital, given its importance to cash generation. During the second quarter, we reported a $1 billion build. This reflected the scheduled $1.1 billion Gulf of America settlement and around $200 million for decommissioning. As a reminder, these items are not expected to reverse because of their accounting treatment. Partly offsetting this, we saw a $700 million release for seasonal effects and pricing, taking our first half working capital build to $7 billion. Subject to the macro environment and prices, we expect $2 billion to $3 billion to unwind from here over the remainder of the year as we move through the peak demand period in customers and products. As I mentioned in the first quarter, the timing of the remaining unwind will depend on how the situation in the Middle East evolves. The expected unwind of working capital is one important source of cash in the second half, together with organic cash generation and the remaining contribution from divestment proceeds this year, including around $6 billion from the announced Castrol transaction, it supports our path to further reducing financial obligations. On the stated price assumptions, we expect to see financial obligations reducing to around $39 billion to $41 billion by the end of 2026. This would mean delivering our $14 billion to $18 billion net debt target ahead of plan, including our plan to repay $1 billion of perpetual hybrid securities in the third quarter. But I want to be clear that at that level, there would still be more to do. We will continue reducing financial obligations beyond 2026 with organic cash generation and further expected divestment proceeds. As Meg said earlier, cost efficiency is a management priority and a key to improving profitability. Since 2024, we've provided greater transparency by reconciling production and manufacturing expenses and distribution and administration expenses into 2 categories: variable costs and underlying operating expenditure. Let me say a few more words on both. Starting with variable costs, the largest components are transport and shipping, environmental and marketing and distribution. These costs are mainly linked to product movement, environmental compliance obligations and customer-facing activity within our ST&S and C&P businesses. The important point is that these costs should be assessed alongside the gross profit they help generate. We're focused on growing and optimizing gross profit, capturing revenue and margin opportunities while managing the variable costs associated with that activity. In the first half this year, variable costs increased year-on-year, but related gross profit increased by more. So we continue to manage these costs carefully with a focus on value creation. Underlying operating expenditure is different in that it represents the structural cost base of the company. Here, we are disappointed that underlying operating expenditure is not coming down quickly enough. Since the start of the program, we have delivered $3.5 billion of structural cost reductions, but the benefits are not yet sufficiently visible in earnings and cash flow. The actions taken so far have not been sufficient to overcome inflation, some acquired costs and the complexity of our cost base. We have identified further opportunities to optimize supply chain costs to simplify organizational structure and use technology to build a more competitive BP. In parallel, the portfolio review, Meg described, has identified businesses where divestment can simplify BP, improve margins and strengthen the quality of cash flows. Gelsenkirchen is a clear example, an asset with a higher cost intensity than the group average. Divestment also reflects our assessment of strategic fit through cycle earnings and integration value. Our announcement to market Archaea Energy is another example. Importantly, cost reduction is an output of these portfolio decisions and not the reason for them. Turning now to outlook and guidance. As we continue to enhance our disclosures, we are now adding production and throughput ranges to our forward-looking guidance. I won't read through all the details, but let me note some items by exception. We now see full year CapEx in the range of $13.5 billion to $14 billion, reflecting our decision to delay asset farm-downs to capture better value. We now expect full year divestment proceeds to be in the range of $8 billion to $9 billion. To reflect the completion of the sale of the Gelsenkirchen German refinery effective 31st July, we have updated our refining indicator margin. Finally, we have updated our full year underlying effective tax rate to be around 35% to 40%. More details can be found in our appendices and supplementary disclosures on bp.com. With that, let me hand back to Meg. Marguerite O’Neill: Thanks, Kate. I'm an operator at heart and pragmatic in decision-making. I'm committed to analytical rigor and an unemotional approach to the decisions to be made, including a full review of the portfolio and cost structure and a relentless focus on performance. As we work through this process, we will be transparent about what needs to be fixed and make the tough decisions to ensure we move at pace to unlock the value that is embedded in BP. I have deep conviction this company can and will be a world-class global integrated oil and gas company. I have confidence in BP's strengths and future potential, and I'm also honest about where we need to improve. We need to convert potential into stronger, more consistent performance. How we do that is to focus, perform and grow. BP has great assets, deep capabilities and people who know how to deliver. We will focus on the assets, businesses and markets where we have the strongest competitive positions and the clearest routes to value creation. That means simplifying the company, strengthening the balance sheet, high-grading the portfolio and allocating capital only where it can deliver competitive returns. Every part of BP has to earn its place. We need to perform more consistently safely, operationally and financially. Safety performance must improve. Costs must come down. Project delivery must be disciplined and accountability must be sharper. We need to get BP fit for the weight class we are in today so we can compete harder and generate more cash. BP has real growth potential, but growth must be earned through a track record of delivering consistent positive returns and cash flow. We need to demonstrate that we can deliver on that commitment and do so quickly and with greater intensity. As we build that track record, we build our capacity, confidence and credibility to invest further. Ultimately, the growth that matters most is shareholder value, growing value per share over the long-term. I and all of us at BP will ultimately be judged by the performance of the business. This is the role that I signed up for, and I'm excited for the challenge. In the first instance, that means delivering on the primary targets that we've laid out to the market. That's what my leadership team is focused on, and I'd like to acknowledge their discipline, accountability and commitment to delivery. I'm confident we're moving in the right direction. We've made progress so far this year and have momentum going into the second half with more to come. The task is to move with urgency, accelerate delivery and build a stronger, more focused, more competitive company, one that performs consistently and delivers stronger outcomes for our shareholders and all those who rely on us. Thank you for your interest in BP. Before you buy stock in BP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and BP wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $411,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,335,252!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 12, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends BP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. BP (BP) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

BP p.l.c. BP used its second-quarter 2026 call to frame a management reset under CEO Marguerite O'Neill, with balance-sheet repair, portfolio simplification and tighter execution placed ahead of growth. Management paired stronger earnings with direct acknowledgments of weak safety and operating consistency. CFO Katherine Thomson outlined a path to lower financial obligations and advance divestments. CEO Marguerite O'Neill set five priorities: strengthen the balance sheet, simplify the portfolio, invest with greater discipline, improve operational excellence and hardwire accountability into the organization. She said every business must justify its place through cash generation, returns and strategic value. The reorganization into upstream and downstream is intended to sharpen decisions and reduce complexity. Underlying replacement cost profit per ADS of $2.22 exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98, while revenues of $70.11 billion topped the $67.71 billion consensus mark. BP p.l.c. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BP p.l.c. Quote CFO Katherine Thomson said total financial obligations fell roughly $7 billion during the quarter. Net debt declined to $22.3 billion from $25.3 billion amid strong cash generation and a hybrid bond redemption. Operating cash flow reached $10.9 billion after a $1 billion working-capital build. Management expects $2 billion to $3 billion of first-half working capital to unwind during the rest of 2026, subject to prices and the Middle East environment. At stated price assumptions, CFO Thomson expects financial obligations of about $39 billion to $41 billion by year-end. That path would deliver BP's $14 billion to $18 billion net debt target ahead of plan, though further reduction would be required. CEO O'Neill described the review as an asset-by-asset assessment of cash generation, returns, capital efficiency and strategic fit. History or legacy attachment will not protect an underperforming business. BP plans to market Archaea Energy and has launched a process for its North Sea business. It also completed the Gelsenkirchen refinery sale, agreed to sell its Austrian retail operation and exited Bay du Nord. Management said divestments are meant to improve portfolio quality rather than simply shrink the company. Capital will be concentrated in businesses that can deliver stronger through-cycle cash flow and integrated value. Upstream production fell 6% sequentially to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Refining throughput declined 4% to about 1.5 million barrels per day because of maintenance, disruptions and operating issues. CEO O'Neill said first-half safety performance was below expectations, including more process-safety events and a fatal incident at Castrol's Gemlik blending plant in Turkiye. She placed safer, more reliable operations at the foundation of the reset. CFO Thomson said BP has delivered $3.5 billion of structural cost reductions, but the benefits are not showing up quickly enough in earnings and cash flow. Supply-chain efficiencies, organizational simplification and technology initiatives represent the company's next key areas of focus. Full-year capital spending is expected to be in the range of $13.5-$14 billion. CFO Thomson attributed the range to delayed asset farm-downs intended to capture better value. BP expects 2026 divestment proceeds of $8 billion to $9 billion. The remaining cash contribution includes about $6 billion from the announced Castrol transaction. Management also updated the full-year underlying effective tax rate to roughly 35% to 40%. Second-half debt reduction depends on organic cash generation, working-capital normalization and transaction execution. CEO O'Neill's closing message centered on focus, performance and growth, with delivery as the prerequisite. Project execution, cost reduction and sharper accountability are the proof points management tied to rebuilding credibility. The direction is toward a simpler integrated oil and gas company with a stronger balance sheet and more selective capital allocation. Management emphasized that its performance should be measured by consistent operational and financial execution rather than portfolio potential alone. BP carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating a neutral stance in the ranking system. Its Value Score of A, Growth Score of B and VGM Score of A are favorable, while the Momentum Score of C is more balanced. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Style Scores complement the Zacks Rank, with A and B grades stronger than lower grades. BP's combination highlights attractive value and broad style characteristics, but the Hold rank tempers the signal. The Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates following the results. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Equinor ASA EQNR shares have gained 22.2% in the past month, putting the rally’s durability at center stage. The advance has coincided with a sharp earnings rebound, higher production and stronger trading contributions. The operating recovery is meaningful, but expectations have also risen. A valuation above historical and sub-industry levels, together with lower 2027 consensus estimates, leaves less room for commodity, execution or cash-flow setbacks. Second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings reached $1.33 per share, up 107.8% from 64 cents a year earlier. Revenues increased 40% to $35.18 billion, while adjusted operating income rose 76% to $11.48 billion. The quarter was not flawless. Earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, although revenues edged past the consensus mark. Higher liquids and European gas prices, production growth and trading performance still provided broad support for the year-over-year improvement. Equity oil and gas production rose 3% to 2,165 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. Norwegian Continental Shelf output increased 4%, helped by new fields, new wells and better-than-planned performance from Johan Sverdrup. First-half production increased 6%, making Equinor’s roughly 3% full-year growth guidance more dependable. Planned third-quarter turnarounds and the temporary Johan Castberg outage remain offsets, but management retained its 2026 outlook. Marketing, Midstream & Processing generated $777 million in adjusted operating income, up from $337 million a year earlier and well above normal-quarter guidance of about $400 million. Crude trading, shipping optimization, refining and liquefied natural gas trading all contributed. Shell plc SHEL also cited broad operational strength across its businesses in second-quarter 2026. BP p.l.c. BP reported stronger refining and customer results, showing why integrated portfolios can supplement upstream earnings when market conditions shift. EQNR trades at 9.4X forward 12-month earnings, above its five-year median of 7.7X and the Zacks sub-industry’s 9.3X. The premium is modest against the peer group but wider against Equinor’s own trading history. That setup narrows the cushion if commodity prices weaken, trading results normalize or projects slip. The recent share-price move therefore places more weight on continued operating delivery rather than valuation expansion alone. The Zacks Consensus Estimate points to 2027 earnings of $3.75 per share, down from $4.93 in 2026. Consensus sales are projected to decline to $105.13 billion from $120.28 billion. Growth normalization could make safety, tax timing and project execution more influential. Serious incident frequency remained above the 2025 level, Norwegian tax installments can make quarterly cash conversion uneven and the larger project pipeline raises delivery demands. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The bottom line is balanced. Equinor’s earnings, production and trading results support the recent recovery, but valuation and lower 2027 estimates reduce the margin for disappointment after a 22.2% monthly gain. EQNR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Its Value Score of A, Growth Score of A, Momentum Score of B and VGM Score of A are favorable, but Style Scores complement the Zacks Rank rather than replace it. The combination supports holding interest more than chasing the rally without further estimate-revision confirmation. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Equinor ASA (EQNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

BP p.l.c. BP reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.22 per American Depositary share (ADS), up 146.7% from 90 cents per ADS a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98 per ADS by 12.1%. Total revenues and other income increased 47.1% to $70.11 billion from $47.68 billion a year earlier. The top line surpassed the consensus mark of $64.32 billion by 9%. The strong quarterly results were driven by higher refining margins, improved hydrocarbon price realizations and increased trading. Upstream production declined 4.3% to 2.201 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBoe/d). BP p.l.c. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BP p.l.c. Quote Underlying replacement-cost profit attributable to shareholders increased to $5.73 billion from $2.35 billion in the year-ago quarter. Underlying replacement-cost profit before interest and tax nearly doubled to $10.31 billion from $5.25 billion. Customers & Products was the main earnings driver. The segment’s underlying replacement-cost profit before interest and tax reached $4.95 billion, up from $1.53 billion a year earlier. The products business benefited from significantly higher realized refining margins, reduced turnaround activity and a stronger oil-trading contribution. Gas and Low Carbon Energy production declined 2.2% to 765 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboe/d). Its total hydrocarbon realization increased to $52.82 per barrel of oil equivalent from $40.84 per barrel of oil equivalent, supported by higher liquids and natural gas pricing. Oil Production and Operations output fell 5.4% to 1,436 Mboe/d. Total hydrocarbon realizations increased to $62.18 per barrel from $49.03 per barrel. Liquids realizations rose to $84.10 per barrel from $59.74 per barrel, while natural gas realizations declined to $2.16 per thousand cubic feet from $3.66 per thousand cubic feet. The segment’s underlying replacement-cost profit before interest and tax rose to $3.58 billion from $2.26 billion. Higher liquids realizations and increased income from equity-accounted entities more than offset lower production and higher exploration write-offs. BP’s average refining indicator margin increased sharply to $29.60 per barrel from $11.90 per barrel in the prior-year quarter. Refinery throughput rose 13.9% to 1,467 thousand barrels per day, despite declining from 1,527 thousand barrels per day in the preceding quarter. BP-operated refining availability was 94.7%, down from 96.4% a year ago. Total refined-product sales declined to 3.16 million barrels per day (MMBbl/d) from 3.20 MMBbl/d, although trading and supply volumes increased. The customers' business also delivered stronger results, aided by improved fuels and midstream performance and higher Castrol earnings. These positives were partly offset by lower fuels volumes and a reduced contribution from bioenergy. Operating cash flow increased 73.2% to $10.86 billion, despite a $1.02 billion adjusted working-capital build. Underlying cash generation totaled $12.89 billion during the quarter. Capital expenditure declined to $3.09 billion from $3.36 billion. BP also received $609 million in divestment and other proceeds, compared with $1.36 billion in the prior-year period. Net debt decreased to $22.25 billion at quarter-end from $26.04 billion a year earlier and $25.31 billion at the end of the first quarter. Total financial obligations and instruments, including net debt, hybrid capital, leases and Gulf of America settlement liabilities, declined by $6.9 billion sequentially. BP increased its quarterly dividend by 4% to 8.660 cents per ordinary share. The company expects ADS holders to receive 51.96 cents per ADS. For the third quarter of 2026, BP projects upstream production to be in the range of 2.1-2.25 MMBoe/d. The outlook incorporates continued Middle East disruptions, lower ownership in Latin America and a potential weather impact of about 40 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the Gulf of America. BP expects full-year reported upstream production to be between 2.18 MMBoe/d and 2.27 MMBoe/d. Products throughput is forecast in the range of 1.36-1.41 MMBbl/d. The company raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $13.5-$14 billion from the prior $13-$13.5 billion range. Divestment and other proceeds are expected to be between $8 billion and $9 billion, including approximately $6 billion from the planned Castrol transaction. BP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are PBF Energy Inc. PBF, HF Sinclair Corporation DINO and Cactus, Inc. WHD. PBF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while DINO and WHD carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each, at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here. PBF reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $6.22 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.05 per share. As of June 30, 2026, PBF had total debt of $1.75 billion, and cash and cash equivalents of $894.1 million. HF Sinclair reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $5.31 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.39 per share. As of June 30, 2026, DINO had total debt of $2.77 billion, and cash and cash equivalents of $2.26 billion. Cactus reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents per share. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report PBF Energy Inc. (PBF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cactus, Inc. (WHD) : Free Stock Analysis Report HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Last Friday, ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation XOM announced second-quarter 2026 earnings that missed expectations owing to the conflicts in the Middle East that hurt oil and gas production. However, non-Middle East upstream production achieved its strongest levels in more than two decades. Thus, it is clear that despite the earnings shortfall, ExxonMobil’s core businesses continue to show considerable strength. Also, considering the solid crude pricing environment, the integrated energy giant’s overall business outlook remains solid. Before assessing whether the stock is worth buying, let's first take a closer look at its second-quarter results. ExxonMobil reported earnings per share of $3.52 (excluding identified items), which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.68. The bottom line, however, increased from the year-ago level of $1.64. Total quarterly revenues of $116.01 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $95.8 billion. The top line improved from the year-ago figure of $81.51 billion. For more details, read our article: XOM Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates Despite Record Production Growth. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Chevron Corporation CVX and BP plc BP are two other prominent integrated energy companies. Both CVX and BP have already posted results. West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) crude is trading at more than the $75-per-barrel mark. The high price is being backed by ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) in its latest short-term energy outlook projected WTI at $76.26 per barrel this year, higher than $65.40 last year. A highly favorable pricing environment for the commodity is likely to continue supporting ExxonMobil's exploration and production activities, which derive the majority of its earnings. The company has a massive footprint in the Permian, the most prolific oil and gas play in the United States, and offshore Guyana. In the Permian, the integrated giant has been employing new drilling techniques and artificial intelligence to boost and optimize production volumes at lower cost structures. In Guyana, XOM has made several oil and gas discoveries, further highlighting its solid production outlook. Robust production from both assets has been aiding its top and bottom lines. In both resources, the breakeven costs are low. Investors should also keep in mind that XOM has a strong balance sheet, on which it could rely during an unfavorable business environment. The debt-to-capitalization of ExxonMobil is significantly lower than the industry’s composite stocks. Coming to the integrated energy giant’s dividend commitment story, over the past 43 years, ExxonMobil has been rewarding shareholders with annual dividend hikes at an average rate of 5.8%. The positive developments are getting reflected in the price chart. In the past year, XOM has jumped 44.6%, outpacing the industry’s 41.1% growth. BP and CVX, two other integrated players in the same space, have gained 31.7% and 26.2%, respectively. Price Chart Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Coming to the valuation story, XOM is trading at a premium. On a relative basis, the stock is trading at an 8.67x trailing 12-month Enterprise Value to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EV/EBITDA), which is a premium compared with the broader industry average of 6.73x. BP and CVX are trading at 3.28x and 7.58x, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research To conclude, despite the solid business outlook, it wouldn’t be wise to bet on XOM right away, given the stock’s overvaluation. Those who have already invested may hold the stock. Currently, XOM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 04, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. BP PLC (NYSE:BP) delivered a strong second quarter with underlying profit of $5.7 billion, up 78% from the first quarter, and operating cash flow of $10.9 billion. The company reduced financial obligations by around $7 billion in the quarter, bringing net debt down to $22.3 billion and on track to meet its $14-18 billion net debt target ahead of plan. BP PLC (NYSE:BP) announced a 4% increase in the dividend per share, reflecting confidence in its cash generation and commitment to shareholder returns. The integrated model, supported by a world-class trading organization, delivered an average uplift of around 4 percentage points to return on capital employed over the last six years, demonstrating resilience and value creation. Management is taking decisive action to simplify and high-grade the portfolio, including plans to market Archaea Energy and the North Sea business, and exiting Badenoord, to focus on higher-return assets. The company is making progress on structural cost reductions, having delivered $3.5 billion in savings since the start of the program, with further opportunities identified in supply chain and organizational simplification. BP PLC (NYSE:BP) reported a tragic fatality at its Castrol blending plant in Turkiye, and an increase in process safety events, including Tier 1 events, in the first half of 2026. Upstream production fell 6% quarter-over-quarter to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, impacted by seasonal maintenance, Middle East disruptions, and operational issues in the North Sea and Indonesia. Underlying operating expenditure is not declining fast enough, with benefits from cost reductions not yet sufficiently visible in earnings and cash flow due to inflation and complexity. The company recorded net adverse adjusting items of around $1.1 billion, including post-tax impairments of approximately $800 million, primarily related to transition businesses. Working capital built by $1 billion in the quarter, with a first-half build of $7 billion, and the timing of the unwind remains uncertain depending on the Middle East situation. BP PLC (NYSE:BP) acknowledged that past performance has not met expectations, with too much shareholder value written off and a portfolio that is too stretched and complex, leading to insufficient resilience in low-price environments. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with BP. Is BP fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: What are the five priorities CEO Meg O'Neill is setting to deliver a step change in performance and grow shareholder value?A: Meg O'Neill, CEO, outlined five priorities: 1) Strengthening the balance sheet by reducing financial obligations to at least in line with European competitors; 2) Simplifying and focusing the portfolio, including marketing Archaea Energy and the North Sea business; 3) Investing with discipline and driving capital efficiency, exemplified by the exit from Baidu Nord; 4) Running assets safely, reliably, and with greater cost efficiency; and 5) Tackling culture to enable faster, more effective decision-making and greater accountability. Q: How did BP's second quarter 2026 financial performance compare to the first quarter, and what were the key drivers?A: Kate Thomson, CFO, reported group underlying profit increased by 78% to $5.7 billion, driven by a broadly strong price environment and higher trading performance. Operating cash flow was $10.9 billion after a $1 billion working capital build. Financial obligations reduced by around $7 billion. Segment profits rose across the board, with customers and products up $1.8 billion, oil production and operations up $1.6 billion, and gas and low carbon energy up $800 million. Q: What is the company's updated outlook for financial obligations and net debt by the end of 2026?A: Kate Thomson stated that on stated price assumptions, BP expects financial obligations to reduce to around $39-41 billion by the end of 2026. This would deliver the $14-18 billion net debt target ahead of plan, including repaying $1 billion of perpetual hybrid securities in Q3. However, she emphasized there would still be more to do beyond 2026 with organic cash generation and further divestment proceeds. Q: What is BP's strategy regarding its portfolio, and what specific assets are being divested or reviewed?A: Meg O'Neill explained that portfolio optimization is central to building a simpler, stronger, higher-value BP. The company is taking an objective, asset-by-asset view based on cash generation, returns, capital efficiency, and strategic fit. They plan to market Archaea Energy (US renewable natural gas) and the North Sea business, and have announced the sale of Austrian Mobility and Convenience and the Gelsenkirchen Refinery. The goal is to focus capital on activities that generate stronger cash flow and better returns. Q: How is BP addressing its cost structure, and what progress has been made on structural cost reductions?A: Kate Thomson acknowledged disappointment that underlying operating expenditure is not coming down quickly enough. Since the start of the program, BP has delivered $3.5 billion of structural cost reductions, but benefits are not yet sufficiently visible in earnings and cash flow due to inflation, acquired costs, and complexity. Further opportunities have been identified in supply chain optimization, organizational simplification, and technology use. Cost reduction is an output of portfolio decisions, not the reason for them. Q: What is the company's updated guidance for capital expenditure and divestment proceeds for the full year 2026?A: Kate Thomson provided updated guidance: full-year CapEx is now expected to be in the range of $13.5 billion to $14 billion, reflecting a decision to delay asset farmdowns to capture better value. Full-year divestment proceeds are now expected to be in the range of $8 to $9 billion, including around $6 billion from the announced cash roll transaction. Q: How does BP view the role of trading in its integrated model, and what has been its historical contribution?A: Meg O'Neill highlighted that supply trading and shipping connects the system, enabling BP to source supply, manage disruption, and direct molecules to the highest value markets. Over the last six years, trading has delivered an average uplift of around four percentage points to BP's return on capital employed, with at least two percentage points from the base global portfolio demonstrating resilience through the cycle. The company will continue to invest in technology to maintain leadership. Q: What were the main factors impacting upstream production and refining throughput in the second quarter?A: Meg O'Neill reported upstream production was 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, 6% lower than Q1, driven by scheduled seasonal maintenance in the Gulf of America, disruptions in the Middle East, and operational issues in the North Sea and Indonesia, partly offset by stronger BPX performance. Refining throughput was around 1.5 million barrels per day, 4% lower due to higher planned turnaround activity and lower refining availability. Q: What is BP's perspective on safety performance and operational excellence?A: Meg O'Neill emphasized that safety comes first, always, but acknowledged performance in the first half has not been where it needs to be. A Castrol colleague died following an incident at the Gimlick blending plant in Turkiye in April, and there was an increase in process safety events, including Tier 1 events. The safety goal remains to eliminate fatalities, life-changing injuries, and Tier 1 process safety events across operations. Q: How does BP plan to manage working capital in the second half of 2026?A: Kate Thomson explained that the Q2 working capital build of $1 billion reflected a scheduled $1.1 billion Gulf of America settlement and $200 million for decommissioning, partly offset by a $700 million release. Subject to the macro environment, BP expects $2-3 billion to unwind from here over the remainder of the year as they move through the peak demand period in customers and products. The timing of the remaining unwind will depend on how the Middle East situation evolves. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Tuesday, August 4th, 2026Another busy day with pre-market futures way up this morning — it’s days like these where you pat yourself on the back for not having taken all of August off. Following triple-digit gains on the major indexes yesterday, we’re up another +559 points on the Dow, +221 on the Nasdaq and +6 on the S&P 500. Spot oil prices dial back further — $77 per barrel (/bbl) on WTI and $81/bbl on Brent crude — on renewed hope that a deal between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Investors do not afford themselves any “Lucy and the football” cynicism; one of these days, a peace agreement might actually stick — and everyone betting this way will have a big head start. Bond yields cooled a couple basis points from a day ago: +4.66% on the 10-year, +4.21% on the 2-year. The U.S. Trade Balance for June came in at a deficit of -$73.3 billion, slightly worse than the -$72.9 billion projected, but a nice improvement month over month — -$77.6 billion reported for May, and well off the all-time low -$133 billion back in March of 2025. Both Imports and Exports lightened their loads compared to the prior month. Caterpillar CAT shares are up +11.3% at this hour, giving a big boost to the blue-chip Dow index. Earnings of $8.17 per share amounted to a +30.72% earnings beat, as the company continues to benefit from the physical data center buildout trend. The stock is still a ways from the late-June all-time highs above $1000 per share, but a strong showing this morning, nevertheless.McDonald’s MCD outperformed bottom-line estimates in its Q2 this morning by 6 cents to $3.38 per share. Revenues came in slightly below expectations, however, with overall same-store sales coming in-line overall, with some weakness in U.S. sales. Shares are up slightly, but still down double-digits, year to date.BP’s BP Q2 showed a solid bottom-line beat, with earnings of $2.22 per share versus $1.98 forecast, for a +12% earnings surprise. The oil & gas supermajor plans to sell off its North Sea business, and shares are selling off a bit: -1.4% at this hour, but still up more than +25% year to date.Archer Daniels Midland ADM added to its strong 2026 performance with a +29.6% earnings beat: $1.84 per share versus $1.42 in the Zacks consensus. Revenues came in a tad light, but biofuels showed promise. Shares are up +2.6% this morning, adding to its +35% gains year to date.On the other side, Spotify SPOT disappointed with a -7.34% earnings surprise this morning — $3.03 per share versus $3.27 projected — and shares are down -6.2% in early market trading. This takes down the stock further from its -16% losses since the start of the year.After the closing bell this afternoon, we expect earnings results from chip giant AMD AMD, biopharma major Amgen AMGN and travel platform Booking.com BKNG, among many others. We continue with the busiest week of Q2 earnings season even as many of the marquee names have already reported. The first of the “Jobs Week” data hits the tape after the opening bell today, with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for June. Estimates have rolled back slightly to 7.4 million from 7.6 million job openings reported a month ago. Job Quits remain subdued, keeping with the “low hire/low fire” labor market.Factory Orders for June are expected to come in positive again, to +0.3%, after posting a negative -1.3% for May, which was the first down month of 2026. A big drop in non-defense aircraft orders skewed the numbers a bit a month ago. That said, if the headline number disappoints and comes in negative again, it will be the first time we’ve seen back-to-back negative prints since last summer.Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report McDonald's Corporation (MCD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Spotify Technology (SPOT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

BP reported second-quarter net profit of $3.91 billion on Tuesday, more than double the $1.62 billion it posted in the same period last year, as the U.S.-Iran war drove oil and gas prices sharply higher. A core profit measure that strips out certain items came in at $5.7 billion for the April-to-June period, the company said. Analyst expectations for that figure stood at $5 billion, according to CNBC. Total revenue climbed 47% to $70 billion compared with a year earlier. The results reflect conditions that have upended global energy markets. Fighting between Washington and Tehran has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that handles around a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas. Together, the five major Western oil companies — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies — earned close to $47 billion in combined net profit during the quarter, according to Euronews. BP chief executive Meg O'Neill, who has led the company since April, said in a statement that the quarter occurred during "one of the most disrupted periods in the global energy market." "We are not making the most of our potential," O'Neill added. "Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders." O'Neill addressed President Donald Trump's criticism of oil companies over high fuel prices. "I understand the pressure that the ordinary household feels when they pull into the service station to fill up and see the prices," O'Neill told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." "The reality is we produce a global commodity and the prices for the product we sell hangs off that global commodity price." Trump on Monday called out Exxon Mobil and Chevron for making "too much money" off higher fuel prices. The company reported quarterly operating cash flow of $10.9 billion, while net debt dropped to $22.25 billion by quarter's end, compared with $25.3 billion three months earlier, the company said. BP raised its quarterly dividend by 4% to 8.66 cents per ordinary share. Oil prices posted their biggest monthly gain since March in July, with Brent crude rising roughly 20% as the conflict escalated and disruptions spread across key shipping routes. The International Energy Agency has forecast that global supply will fall by 3.9 million barrels per day in 2026, with the war estimated to have blocked more than 14 million barrels per day of Middle East output. BP announced Tuesday that it is moving to divest Archaea Energy, a U.S. biogas unit it purchased for $4.1 billion in 2022. The company also said it had completed the sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany and plans to sell its North Sea business. BP stock climbed 0.8% on Tuesday.