BP stock holds firm as profit and cash flow improve
Published on 08/13/2026 at 14:28 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Profit, cash and debt
BP plc stock is anchored by a second-quarter result that delivered $5.7 billion in underlying profit, up from $3.2 billion in the first quarter, while operating cash flow reached $10.9 billion and net debt fell to $22.3 billion.
Those figures came from BP's latest earnings call on August 4, and they frame the stock's main debate now: the business is still generating cash quickly enough to reward holders, but it is also still carrying a stretched balance sheet and a complex portfolio.
Dividend and portfolio moves
Management lifted the dividend per share by 4% and now expects financial obligations to fall to $39 billion to $41 billion by the end of 2026, which would put the company closer to its $14 billion to $18 billion net debt target.
The same update also raised full-year divestment proceeds guidance to $8 billion to $9 billion, helped by the July 31 sale of the Gelsenkirchen refinery and the planned Castrol transaction, which management still expects to contribute roughly $6 billion.
Upstream production fell 6% quarter over quarter to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, and refining throughput slipped 4% to around 1.5 million barrels a day, showing that the cash story is stronger than the operating volume trend.
Oil backdrop
The broader energy backdrop is also helping sentiment, with Brent futures at $87.32 a barrel at 9:35 a.m. GMT on August 13, 2026 and WTI at $81.65 in the same Reuters market update. BP's shares were quoted at $42.95 with a market cap of $112.42 billion and a 52-week range of $28.82 to $48.27 in the same-day market snapshot.
For BP, the key comparison is simple: a 78% jump in quarterly underlying profit outpaced the 6% drop in upstream output and the 4% decline in refining throughput.
Archaea sale plan
One concrete product and portfolio angle is Archaea Energy, the renewable natural gas business BP is preparing to sell after buying it for roughly $4.1 billion. The divestment fits the wider simplification push and gives the company another way to convert assets into cash.
BP plc stock last changed hands at $42.95 as of August 12, 2026, and the share price sits below the 52-week high of $48.27 but well above the 52-week low of $28.82.
Fact box
Company: BP plc
ISIN: GB0007980591
Ticker: BP
Exchange: NYSE
Price (as of August 12, 2026, 4:00 p.m. ET): $42.95 USD
Market cap: $112.42 billion (as of August 13, 2026)
Sector / Industry: Energy / Oil & Gas
Next earnings date: August 4, 2026
More on BP stock
BP's second-quarter update gives investors a cleaner way to judge the turnaround: $5.7 billion in underlying profit, $10.9 billion in operating cash flow and a $22.3 billion net debt figure are all moving in the right direction, while the asset-sale program is becoming more visible in the numbers.
