TotalEnergies Cashes In on Refining Boom, Stock Gains

TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) stock rose more than 1% in Thursday’s premarket trading after the French energy giant reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2026 earnings, driven by stronger refining margins and higher natural gas prices.

TotalEnergies reported adjusted earnings of $4.03 per share, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $3.92.

Revenue of $66.819 billion missed expectations of $79.190 billion.

Adjusted net income reached $9.1 billion, while cash flow totaled $12.3 billion. Both increased sharply from the previous quarter, supported by stronger refining margins and higher gas prices.

Production Growth and Expansion Plans

Hydrocarbon production rose 3% quarter over quarter to 2.474 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. However, production declined 1% year over year.

New project ramp-ups added 4% to production, while improved plant availability contributed another 2%. Natural field declines and the Middle East conflict partially offset those gains.

Excluding the conflict’s impact, production would have increased more than 4% year over year.

TotalEnergies also advanced investment decisions on four projects across Cyprus, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.

The company aims to increase annual production by more than 3% through 2030.

Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns

TotalEnergies reduced its gearing ratio by 4 percentage points from the previous quarter to 9.1%.

Free cash flow after dividend payments exceeded $6 billion, strengthening the company’s balance sheet.

Net investments totaled $3.3 billion during the quarter, down 5% sequentially. Investments reached $11.2 billion for the first nine months of 2026.

The company maintained its third interim dividend at 90 euro cents per share, up 5.9% from 2025.

Its board also authorized $2.5 billion in share buybacks for cancellation in each of the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

The plan supports TotalEnergies’ goal of returning 40% of cash flow to shareholders.

Refining and LNG Drive Earnings

TotalEnergies’ downstream business delivered record adjusted net operating income of $4.1 billion, up 77% from the previous quarter.

Cash flow reached $4.6 billion as refining throughput increased approximately 10%, allowing the company to benefit from elevated global refining margins.

The integrated LNG segment reported adjusted net operating income of $1.9 billion, up from $807 million in the previous quarter.

Higher LNG prices and stronger trading activity supported results.

Exploration and production generated $3.2 billion in adjusted net operating income, down 2% sequentially.

Meanwhile, integrated power earnings rose 13% to $602 million, supported by higher electricity production.

Fourth-Quarter Outlook

TotalEnergies expects oil prices to exceed $100 per barrel and LNG prices to surpass $14 per million British thermal units in the fourth quarter.

The company forecasts production growth above 3%, excluding disruptions from the Middle East conflict. Refining throughput is expected to remain stable.

TotalEnergies maintained its full-year net investment forecast of approximately $15 billion.

TTE Stock Price Activity: TotalEnergies shares were up 1.53% at $94.30 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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