BP suspends share buybacks to prioritize balance sheet strengthening

The Tip Desk · March 6, 2026 · 2 min read

The energy company reported a full-year underlying replacement cost profit of $7.485 billion for 2025

BP Plc (BP) has suspended its share buyback program to allocate excess cash toward optimizing financing costs and strengthening its balance sheet. The decision followed the company's fourth quarter 2025 results announcement. In 2025, BP executed $4.5 billion in share buybacks, a decrease from the $7.1 billion repurchased in 2024.

For the full year 2025, the energy company reported an underlying replacement cost (RC) profit of $7.485 billion, compared with $8.915 billion in 2024. Profit attributable to BP shareholders for the year was $55 million, down from $381 million in 2024. The company's adjusted EBITDA for 2025 was $37.615 billion, compared with $38.012 billion in 2024.

Net debt decreased by $0.8 billion from the 2024 year-end position to end 2025 at $22.2 billion,. Finance debt also fell by $1.6 billion from the end of 2024 to $58.0 billion. Despite these decreases, gearing increased to 23.1% from 22.7% at the end of 2024, and the finance debt ratio rose to 43.9% from 43.2%.

Operational performance in 2025 saw reported production fall 11.6% compared to 2024. The company attributed this decline primarily to base decline and divestments in Egypt and Trinidad during the fourth quarter of 2024, though these were partly offset by major project start-ups,. Upstream unit production costs rose to $6.28 per boe from $6.17 per boe in 2024.

BP increased its quarterly dividend from 8.000 to 8.320 cents per ordinary share in the second quarter of 2025. Total dividends distributed to shareholders in 2025 amounted to $5.1 billion, up from $5.0 billion in 2024.

Looking forward, BP expects the dividend to increase by at least 4% per ordinary share annually, subject to board discretion. The company reiterates its primary target of reducing net debt to between $14 billion and $18 billion by the end of 2027. Additionally, BP expects divestment and other proceeds to reach $9 billion to $10 billion in 2026, which includes approximately $6 billion from the announced Castrol transaction.