Behind the extraordinary profit growth: the gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz, feeding the invisible money printing machine of oil and gas giants.

In the first quarter of 2026, the global oil market was severely disrupted by the Iran conflict, unexpectedly shining a spotlight on the trading departments of oil and gas super giants that had long been hidden behind the scenes. BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US), Shell (SHEL.US), and Total (TTE.US) all delivered results in the first quarter that far exceeded market expectations, with the key driver behind this round of performance growth being their large-scale and sophisticated oil and gas trading desks. Total recorded a first-quarter net profit of $5.4 billion, a significant 29% increase compared to the same period last year. The company's CEO, Patrick Pouyann, specifically stated that the crude oil and refined oil trading activities performed well in March; Shell's first-quarter adjusted profit reached $6.92 billion, a significant increase from the $5.58 billion in the same period last year, with CFO Sinead Gorman attributing this to the "significant increase in trading and optimization contributions"; BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR's performance was even more impressive, with a first-quarter net profit of $3.2 billion, more than double compared to the same period in 2025, and describing trading contributions as "extraordinary." According to analysts' estimates, in the first quarter, the trading departments of just three European giants earned an additional profit of $3.3 billion to $4.75 billion compared to the previous quarter (fourth quarter of 2025). This contribution size has reached the level of company-level profits, playing a key role in overall performance in the first quarter. Physical advantages build a moat: European and American oil giants step out of the "valuation gap" The outstanding performance of European oil giants in the trading business is superficially attributed to the extreme price fluctuations caused by the Iran conflict, but the more fundamental structural factor behind it is the long-standing strategic divide between them and their American counterparts - Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM.US) and Chevron Corporation (CVX.US). Maurizio Carulli, stock research analyst at Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, pointed out that Total, Shell, and BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR have been particularly successful in establishing large trading teams covering crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas. These trading departments are not just financial speculation platforms, but closely rely on the hydrocarbons produced by the giants themselves, and can achieve global physical allocation through owned or leased ships, terminals. Carulli emphasized: "This is a 'real and long-term business', not financial speculation." Allen Good, stock research director at Morningstar, further explained that the large trading organizations make the gap between European integrated oil companies and their American counterparts even...