BP’s first earnings report since the war began in late February arrived as U.S. gasoline prices climbed again, reaching their highest level since 2022 and adding pressure on travelers and businesses that rely on fuel. The timing highlighted a split that’s becoming familiar during the Iran conflict: energy prices have surged globally, while oil companies are posting sharp gains.
BP said it earned $3.84 billion, or $1.47 per share, for the first three months of the year. That compared with $687 million, or 26 cents per share, for the same period last year, according to the company’s report.
The oil company also reported “underlying replacement cost profit” of $3.2 billion, a measure meant to track more closely with net income reported by U.S. companies. BP’s results were also shaped by its role in energy trading, which the article described as giving it an advantage as crude and refined products shifted amid the conflict.
The article linked the earnings jump to conditions around the Strait of Hormuz, describing the near-closure off the coast of Iran as a flashpoint in the war and a driver of economic pain. It said about 20% of the world’s oil passes through the strait on a typical day, and that passage has been choked off since the war began.
The price impact was visible in global benchmarks. The article said the day before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Brent crude cost about $73 a barrel, and it was trading for more than $104 Tuesday. In the same report, an analyst said BP’s integrated supply chain was positioned to monetize “crude and refined products dislocations.”
James West, managing director and head of Energy and Power Research at Melius, wrote that the “Middle East conflict created significant crude and refined products dislocations that BP’s integrated supply chain was positioned to monetize.” The article also reported that BP called the performance of its trading desk “exceptional.”
In the U.S., the surge in gasoline prices intensified attention on how quickly energy costs feed into everyday budgets and inflation pressures. AAA reported that the average price of gasoline hit $4.18 on Tuesday, the highest level since 2022 and more than $1 higher than a month earlier.
The article also said the war in Iran had been going on for about a month when gasoline cost less than $4 per gallon in that earlier comparison. It described the latest inflation effects as tied to the “largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades,” citing data from the U.S. Department of Labor as showing inflation rose sharply last month.
Beyond households, the report said the price shock is disrupting business activity, especially for sectors sensitive to jet fuel costs. It said airlines worldwide have begun canceling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up ticket prices.
BP’s results drew quick online backlash, the article said, with criticism aimed at profit levels rising alongside wartime price pressure. Clémence Dubois, global campaigns director at 350.org, wrote that “Families are being pushed to the brink by spiraling energy bills, while fossil fuel companies turn a war into a windfall,” adding, “This is not just unjust, it’s unacceptable.”
Simon Francis, coordinator with the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, wrote that “These astronomical profits are a startling reminder that when conflict drives up the price of oil and gas, energy companies profit and households pay.” The article reported that BP shares rose more than 1% Tuesday, close to a 52-week high, and that other major oil producers’ shares rose as well.
In addition to previewing what oil-market conditions might mean for the rest of the sector’s earnings cycle, BP’s report came as the first of the oil majors to post financial performance since the war began. The article said that after BP, other big drillers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips were expected to report later this week.