The war in Iran brings huge profits to oil companies. With the price of oil over $100 a barrel, news is good for oil giants, who saw their profits rise in the first quarter, though with significant deviations.
According to data collected by Bloomberg, The five largest oil companies had combined profits of $19.2 billionThe first quarter.
«Champions» the profits, however, are highlighted by European companies.
Profit increase by 453%
BP recorded profits of about $3.9 billion, making a significant increase compared to the previous year. The British giant's net profits amounted to $3,842 billion for the quarter, compared to $687 million a year earlier. This represents an increase of 453%
The French Total Energies had earnings of about $6.4 billion and is among the best performing companies. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the 3.9 billion it had in the first quarter of 2025.
The Spanish company Repsol It recorded net profits of 929m euros in the first quarter. This amount represents an increase of 154% compared to the 356 million euros announced a year earlier. The recent results of the Spanish company are still below the EUR 969 million created in the first quarter of 2024.
The Italian Eni It also had profits of around 1.3 billion euros. Unlike all these other European oil players, the Italian company has not seen a significant return to profitability in recent months. This is 7.6% lower than the result published a year earlier (1.4 billion euros).
Just to see if the giant Shell-which will publish its results on May 7th—also benefited from rising oil prices.
Losses on US giants
«The rise in oil prices, supply chain disturbances and a significantly more unstable market environment lead to higher profits in much of the industry in the first quarter of 2026», explain to «N o» market players.
Profitability shows, however, that European companies are able to significantly increase their profits in some cases, while American companies, despite high prices, benefit less.
The two largest American oil companies, the Exxon Mobil and Chevron, reported a drastic decline in their profits in the first quarter of 2026. Despite the sharp rise in oil prices as a result of the war in Iran, Exxon Mobil recorded a 45% reduction in net profits and Chevron 36%, compared to the same period last year.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told CNBC thatAbout 15% of the company's production is affected by the warO. Particularly critical is the fact that if the Strait of Ormuz – one of the most important shipping routes in the world – remains closed for the entire second quarter, production in the Middle East will decrease by 750,000 barrels a day. In addition, the yield of refineries will be reduced by 3%.
During the war, Exxon channeled about 13 million barrels of oil the markets it needed urgently. However, this action significantly affected quarterly results. The company's trading division used financial risk compensation measures to protect profits from these missions. Since the consignments were still on their way to their destinations, the revenue was not recognised in the quarter, resulting in the risk compensation measures having no participation. This resulted in a loss of about $4 billion, which Exxon describes as «timing phenomenon».
In addition, the company recorded a fee of $700 million from closed hedging transactions andIn the absence of compensation from natural traditions due to disturbances in the Middle East. Exxon points out that these effects are temporary and that compensations will create net profits in the next quarter after delivery of the product.
Woods also pointed out that after the opening of the Strait of Ormuz, it would take up to two months to fully restore oil flows. In addition, it takes about a month to reach the barrels sent from the Gulf to the customers of the companies
Chevron was less affected
Chevron CEO, Mike Wirth, stressed that his company was less affected by the war than its competitors. While Chevron has activities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel, these are less important compared to the company's main positions in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Nevertheless, Chevron was not immune to general adversities and reported a 36% profit reduction.
The war in Iran and its consequences for global energy markets show how strongly global oil supply depends from geopolitical developments in the Middle East. For consumers and investors, developments in large American oil companies are an important indicator of future price trends in energy markets.
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