BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US) Q3 profit soars to an 18-year high: refining business becomes a "money printer," CEO's reforms meet a strong tailwind

Benefiting from surging refining margins, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US) quarterly profit jumped to the highest level in 18 years, providing a strong tailwind for CEO Meg O'Neill's reforms at the British energy giant. BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR said in a statement on Friday that third-quarter adjusted net profit was US$8.46 billion, up from US$2.21 billion a year earlier and far exceeding market expectations of US$7.3 billion. More than half of the profit came from the segment including refining and trading operations. The company's net debt fell sharply. Refining business contributed more than half of profit, net debt fell more than expected This is O'Neill's second full quarter at the helm of BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR. As the first externally appointed CEO of BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR, O'Neill has made operating performance a priority. She is currently cutting costs, selling assets, paying down debt, and preparing to announce the company's long-term strategy in December. The company said its oil and gas trading businesses both performed strongly. The refining margin indicator soared to US$46.70 per barrel in the quarter from US$29.60 per barrel in the previous quarter. The customer and products segment, which includes oil trading and refining operations, posted a profit of US$4.8 billion in the quarter, compared with full-year 2025 profit of US$5.3 billion for the segment. Net debt fell sharply to US$13.87 billion from US$22.3 billion three months earlier, exceeding the company's original target by a full year ahead of schedule. Refining business becomes a "money printer," but BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR chooses to prioritize repairing its balance sheet The results come as European oil majors benefit from abundant cash flow generated by the refining boom. Wars involving Iran and Russia have disrupted refineries and trade routes, squeezing global capacity to convert crude oil into diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, giving excess profits to refineries still in operation. Competitors have announced large-scale shareholder returns: Shell said on Thursday it would raise its quarterly share buyback from US$3 billion to US$5 billion; TotalEnergies committed to repurchasing up to US$2.5 billion this quarter; Repsol and Eni also increased their buyback sizes. In contrast, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR suspended share buybacks earlier this year to prioritize debt repayment and balance sheet improvement. In this earnings report, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR did not announce a new buyback plan. O'Neill said: "This is truly a brilliant quarter for the refining business. The refineries we operate at BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR have very strong margins, overall performance is also very strong, and we successfully captured the opportunities presented by the market." O'Neill is currently focused on cutting costs, selling assets and reducing debt, and plans to announce the long-term strategy in December. The market is watching whether the new CEO can find a new growth path for BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR while repairing the balance sheet.