BP (BP) Q2 2026 Earnings: Big Beat but CEO Says It's Not Enough
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 4, 2026.
A 140% jump in net income still is not enough: new CEO Meg O'Neill says performance has not met shareholder expectations, cutting 700 jobs and guiding to $8 billion to $9 billion in divestment proceeds including roughly $6 billion from Castrol. Brent averaged $103.85 a barrel versus $67.88 a year ago, with refining margins of $29.60 per barrel.
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BP reported Q2 2026 earnings per share of $2.22, clearing the Wall Street estimate of $1.78 by about 25% and capping a quarter in which net income surged 140%. Revenue came in at $69.1 billion, roughly 15% above the $59.9 billion consensus. A favorable oil price environment did much of the heavy lifting: Brent crude averaged $103.85 a barrel during the quarter, compared with $67.88 a year ago, while refining margins ran at $29.60 per barrel.
Despite those headline numbers, incoming CEO Meg O'Neill was pointed in her assessment, saying the company's performance has not met shareholder expectations. To sharpen the balance sheet, BP is cutting 700 jobs and targeting $8 billion to $9 billion in divestment proceeds, with roughly $6 billion of that figure expected to come from a sale of its Castrol lubricants business. The moves signal that management views the current earnings strength as insufficient cover for the structural work still ahead.
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Looking at recent EPS history, BP has beaten estimates in five of the last eight quarters, though the margins of those beats were modest until Q1 2026, when reported EPS of $1.24 topped the $0.93 estimate by a wide margin. The Q2 2026 result extends that momentum, but the combination of a major divestiture program and a workforce reduction means the story investors will watch in coming quarters is less about the top-line commodity tailwind and more about whether asset sales close on schedule and at the targeted values.