What is BP's current business performance like?

• BP has been rated a 'Strong Buy', driven by robust earnings growth, operating leverage, and accelerated deleveraging amid high oil and refining margins. • Q2 results showed revenue up 29.2% year-on-year and net profit surging 193%, with stable operating expenses and strong cash flow supporting rapid debt reduction. • Refining margins and crack spreads are at unprecedented highs, bolstering BP’s profitability; strict cost control and high cash conversion margins ensure resilience even amid falling oil prices. • BP completed its net debt reduction target one year ahead of schedule and—despite price declines—is now positioned to pursue potential share buybacks while maintaining dividend payouts. Investment Rationale Covering energy markets over the past nine months or so has truly been a delight. Given the extraordinary shifts we’ve witnessed, this period has indeed been exceptional. At the start of the year, concerns centered on U.S. intervention in Venezuela triggering an oil supply surplus. Yet those worries quickly evaporated—and just months later, the situation flipped entirely: oil prices soared above $120 per barrel, and supply shortages emerged. Throughout all this, major energy companies performed exceptionally well—but in my view, BP stood out most impressively. Compared to the same period last year, BP’s first-half revenue rose 29.2%, while net profit surged an astonishing 193%. The key driver behind this massive earnings expansion was relatively stable operating expenses—highlighting the enormous upside potential embedded in energy stocks under such favorable market conditions. Distribution and administrative expenses remain largely unaffected by fluctuations in oil and gas prices. Although BP regularly purchases commodities to supplement production shortfalls—naturally increasing procurement volumes—this increase pales in comparison to the scale of its profit growth. Currently, the spotlight is on refining margins—not just oil prices. BP possesses substantial internal leverage opportunities, and my genuine view of the global refining market is that a supply deficit will persist. This implies the current high-profit environment will endure. For BP, this means continued deleveraging—and ultimately, I believe, a resumption of share buybacks. Given its profitability, the scale of those buybacks could be substantial. So I won’t settle for an initial 'Buy' rating—I need a more optimistic assessment: in my view, BP is a 'Strong Buy'. What has recently happened at BP? However, in February this year, BP’s stock plunged sharply after the company suspended share buybacks to focus instead on reducing balance-sheet debt. Yet in this regard, the company has performed exceptionally well. Net debt currently stands at $22.2 billion, down from $26.0 billion in Q2 2025. Part of this decline stems from increased cash balances. Actual financed debt has fallen from $60.3 billion in Q2 2025 to $58.3 billion today. Financing costs totaled $2.35 billion in H1 2026 and $4.7 billion for the full year. Considering financed debt, this translates to a financing cost of just 8%—remarkable given BP’s massive scale and market stature. Its long-term credit rating is 'A', so I believe investors need not worry.

She started from a position of disadvantage.

BP’s Meg O’Neill | Breaking Barriers with Resolve In April 2026, Meg O’Neill became CEO of BP—the first outsider to lead the company in its over-100-year history and the first woman to helm any of the world’s top five international oil majors. Her very first act? She removed the top-floor access restriction on the company elevator—allowing all employees to reach the executive management floor. This small detail reveals her deep aversion to privilege. MIT O’Neill’s father was an engineer at Bell Labs. Around their dinner table, conversations typically revolved around technology, problems, and solutions—her father sparking her early interest in mathematics and science. After high school, she enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning dual bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and ocean engineering, plus a master’s degree in ocean systems management. During a year as an exchange student in Finland, she developed a strong fascination with the petroleum industry. For the first 23 years of her career, O’Neill worked at ExxonMobil—the energy giant—starting with offshore field modeling in Houston, then rotating across Indonesia, Canada, and Norway, steadily rising to senior leadership roles and even serving as an advisor to the CEO.

BP Must Make Better Use of Shareholder Capital, CEO O’Neill Says

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BP CEO Meg O'Neill emphasized improving shareholder capital stewardship by prioritizing legacy oil and gas assets over renewables. Investors await balance-sheet repairs and potential share buybacks as geopolitical tensions drive up energy prices.

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BP Must Make Better Use of Shareholder Capital, CEO O’Neill Says

BP Must Make Better Use of Shareholder Capital, CEO O’Neill Says

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