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BP said Tuesday it has paused its share buyback programme and posted fourth quarter earnings broadly in line with market expectations, as weaker crude prices pressured cash flow and prompted a renewed focus on balance sheet resilience.
For the final three months of 2025, the London listed energy group reported underlying replacement cost profit, a measure comparable to net income, of $1.54 billion, reflecting softer upstream margins and lower realised oil prices during the period.
On a full year basis, BP's net profit for 2025 came in at $7.49 billion, missing analyst forecasts and marking a notable decline from nearly $8.9 billion recorded in 2024, according to the company's earnings statement.
The board decided to suspend further share repurchases and redirect available surplus funds toward reducing debt and strengthening financial flexibility. BP had already completed $750 million of buybacks, announced alongside its third quarter results in November.
Despite the cautious capital stance, BP maintained its dividend, declaring a payout of 8.320 cents per common share for the fourth quarter, signalling confidence in its underlying cash generation.
Interim chief executive Carol Howle described 2025 as a year of solid operational delivery and strategic momentum, while acknowledging ongoing challenges facing the group and the wider energy sector.
"We delivered strong underlying performance and continued progress against our priorities of growing cash flow, improving returns, lowering costs and reinforcing the balance sheet," Howle said, adding that management remained focused on accelerating execution.
BP shares fell sharply following the announcement, sliding 6.4% in early trading, as investors reacted to the buyback suspension and the impact of lower commodity prices on profitability.
The results come at a difficult time for European oil and gas companies, which have been grappling with volatile markets, rising costs and increased scrutiny from shareholders over capital discipline.
Oil prices suffered their steepest annual decline since the coronavirus pandemic last year, partly driven by concerns over global oversupply and uneven demand growth, putting pressure on energy producers' earnings and limiting their capacity to sustain generous shareholder returns.
