Earnings
Equinor's third-quarter operating income more than doubles on a $20 European gas price, and it lifts 2026 output growth to about 4%
Norway's state-controlled energy group cut its net debt ratio to 3.8% and starts the final $1.125 billion tranche of its 2026 buyback on Thursday.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Equinor reported net operating income of $11.95 billion for the third quarter, up from $5.27 billion a year earlier, as higher European gas prices drove results, the Norwegian company said on Wednesday. Adjusted operating income was $12.35 billion and adjusted net income $2.86 billion, or $1.20 a share. Net income came to $2.54 billion.
The company realised an average European gas price of $20.0 per mmBtu in the quarter, up from $15.8 in the second quarter, and a liquids price of $92.3 a barrel. Production rose 2% from a year earlier to 2,166 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day, and Equinor raised its 2026 oil and gas production growth guidance to about 4% from 3%. Chief executive Anders Opedal also pointed to record results at the Mongstad refinery.
Cash flow from operations after tax was $8.14 billion, and the adjusted net debt to capital employed ratio fell to 3.8% from 10.4% at the end of the second quarter. Equinor declared a third-quarter dividend of $0.39 a share and said a fourth and final buyback tranche of up to $1.125 billion will run from October 29 to no later than February 1, completing a 2026 programme of up to $3 billion.
For energy investors, the quarter shows how far Europe's gas squeeze has moved Equinor's numbers: in early October the company's own trading update noted that LNG flows out of the Strait of Hormuz remained very limited and global stocks were depleted ahead of winter. With net debt now close to zero, the question for shareholders is whether the board will lift distributions for 2027 when it sets its next capital-return plan, and how exposed results are to any easing in European gas prices if Gulf supply recovers.