Oil major Shell launches $3.5 billion share buyback after first-quarter profit beat

British oil giant Shell on Friday reported a sharp fall in first-quarter profit, following a period of weaker crude prices. Shell reported adjusted earnings of $5.58 billion for the first three months of the year, beating analyst expectations of $5.09 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus. A separate company-provided analyst forecast had expected Shell’s first-quarter profit to come in at $4.96 billion.