BP posts strongest profit in four years as war-fueled trading booms

BP ↘ 1.85% posted its strongest quarterly profit in more than four years on Tuesday, with underlying replacement cost profit reaching $5.73 billion in the second quarter of 2026 as its oil trading and refining businesses capitalized on volatile energy markets driven by the Iran war.bloomberg+1

The result represented a 78% increase from the $3.2 billion reported in the first quarter and more than doubled from $2.4 billion a year earlier, beating the $5.01 billion average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg by a wide margin.investing+2

Trading Division Delivers Bumper Returns

The customers and products division, which houses BP's oil-trading unit, reported quarterly earnings of $5.0 billion, up from $2.5 billion in the prior quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 2.07%. Brent crude averaged $103.9 per barrel during the quarter, compared with $81.1 in the first quarter, as Middle East conflict disrupted oil and gas supply.wsj+1

Operating cash flow surged to $10.9 billion, and the company reduced net debt by $3.1 billion to $22.3 billion. BP raised its dividend by 4% to 8.66 cents per ordinary share.investing+1

CEO Critical of Operational Performance

The strong financial results came despite a mixed operational picture. CEO Meg O'Neill, in her first full quarter leading the company, acknowledged that "performance in recent years has fallen short of expectations" and said BP is "not making the most of our potential."marketscreener+1

Upstream production fell 6% to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day due to scheduled maintenance, Middle East disruptions, and operational issues. Plant reliability declined to 92.4% from 95.7% in the prior quarter.dailybusinessgroup+1

Accelerated Asset Disposals

O'Neill outlined five strategic priorities to deliver "a step change in performance" and announced plans to market Archaea Energy, BP's US renewable natural gas business. The company also confirmed intentions to sell its North Sea operations, completed the sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, and announced the planned sale of Castrol.bloomberg+3

BP now expects to achieve its $14–18 billion net debt target in 2026, a year ahead of schedule, with divestment proceeds of $8–9 billion anticipated for the full year.marketscreener+1

"My job is to help make bp the best we can be," O'Neill said. "We have to get fit to grow."dailybusinessgroup