bp plc (LON:BP) has announced first quarter 2026 results.
| Financial summary | First | Fourth | First | |
| quarter | quarter | quarter | ||
| $ million | 2026 | 2025 | 2025 | |
| Profit (loss) for the period attributable to bp shareholders | 3,842 | (3,422) | 687 | |
| Inventory holding (gains) losses*, net of tax | (3,180) | 666 | (118) | |
| Replacement cost (RC) profit (loss)* | 662 | (2,756) | 569 | |
| Net (favourable) adverse impact of adjusting items*, net of tax | 2,536 | 4,297 | 812 | |
| Underlying RC profit* | 3,198 | 1,541 | 1,381 | |
| Operating cash flow | 2,860 | 7,602 | 2,834 | |
| Capital expenditure | (3,290) | (4,168) | (3,623) | |
| Divestment and other proceeds(a) | 248 | 3,602 | 328 | |
| Net debt*(b) | 25,309 | 22,182 | 26,968 | |
| Underlying operating expenditure* | 5,369 | 5,639 | 5,304 | |
| Announced dividend per ordinary share (cents per share) | 8.320 | 8.320 | 8.000 | |
| Underlying RC profit per ordinary share* (cents) | 20.67 | 10.00 | 8.75 | |
| Underlying RC profit per ADS* (dollars) | 1.24 | 0.60 | 0.53 |
Highlights
• Strong upstream operations: 1Q 2026 upstream plant reliability improved to 95.7% (4Q25 95.4%); reported production broadly flat as higher production in the Gulf of America and strong performance in bpx Energy offset the impact of disruptions in the Middle East and a North Sea divestment at the end of 2025.
• Improved downstream reliability; focused on running assets safely to meet customer demand: refining availability improved to 96.3% (4Q25 96.0%) and above our target of 96% availability.
• Strong financial performance: 1Q 2026 underlying RC profit $3.2 billion; operating cash flow $2.9 billion after taking into account a $6.0 billion adjusted working capital* build(c) largely driven by the rising price environment in addition to the seasonal inventory builds.
• Continued strategic progress: announced agreement to sell Gelsenkirchen refinery. On transaction completion, our structural cost reduction* target will increase by $1 billion to $6.5-7.5 billion by 2027. Subject to market conditions, we now plan to reduce corporate hybrid bond financing by around $4.3 billion to approximately $9 billion by end 2027.
It’s a privilege and an honour to serve as bp’s CEO. I join at a time when our industry is operating in an environment of conflict and complexity, playing a vital role in keeping energy flowing.bp’s team has been working relentlessly to keep our assets producing safely, reliably and efficiently. We are working with customers and governments to get fuel where it’s needed, helping minimize disruption and the impact it can have on people’s lives.Overall, our business continues to run well. This was another quarter of strong operational and financial delivery, and we made further progress towards our 2027 targets. We had high plant reliability, high refining availability and increased production in the Gulf of America and at bpx Energy, our US onshore business – keeping production levels steady despite the ongoing disruption.We also made progress on sustainability, continuing to embed it in the way we work and building on the 37% reduction in operational emissions last year, compared to our 2019 baseline. We are committed to doing business the right way: providing secure, affordable energy – and doing it sustainably.bp is a great company, with highly skilled people and world-class assets. We are heading in the right direction, strengthening the balance sheet and continuing to accelerate delivery. Now, we have to capitalize on the opportunity that exists across our portfolio, simplifying how we work, unlocking growth and driving improved returns.That is how we will make bp a simpler, stronger, more valuable company.
Meg O’Neill, bp Chief executive officer
(a) Divestment proceeds are disposal proceeds as per the condensed group cash flow statement.
(b) See Note 9 for more information.
(c) Change in working capital adjusted for inventory holding gains, fair value accounting effects relating to subsidiaries and other adjusting items. See page 26.
