HSBC's Kim Fustier wrote that Shell's weak fourth quarter results update called into question its $3.5 billion quarterly buyback plan. She added that the British energy giant failed to take advantage of the oil market's volatility and the oil trading business is expected to perform far worse than the previous quarter. She added that this performance update also ended the trend of improving marketing profits, and the current guideline is that profits will decline year over year. Fustier wrote that while Shell may ignore weak quarterly results and rely on its balance sheet to support returns, sticking to unsustainable buybacks is not a winning strategy in the long run. Shell shares fell 2.35% to 2,593p.

HSBC's Kim Fustier wrote that Shell's weak fourth quarter results update called into question its $3.5 billion quarterly buyback plan. She added that the British energy giant failed to take advantage of the oil market's volatility and the oil trading business is expected to perform far worse than the previous quarter. She added that this performance update also ended the trend of improving marketing profits, and the current guideline is that profits will decline year over year. Fustier wrote that while Shell may ignore weak quarterly results and rely on its balance sheet to support returns, sticking to unsustainable buybacks is not a winning strategy in the long run. Shell shares fell 2.35% to 2,593p.