Why Hasn't TotalEnergies Boosted Its Dividend Like BP and Shell?
Oil and natural gas are commodities prone to dramatic price shifts, like the one that has happened over the past couple of years. That leads to big profit swings at companies like European integrated energy giants BP (NYSE: BP), Shell (NYSE: SHEL), and TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE). Of this trio, TotalEnergies stands out for its dividend performance. Here's what you need to know as you watch this energy giant's peers hike dividends aggressively.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, countries around the world effectively shut their economies down. That resulted in a severe decline in demand for oil and natural gas. Since these energy sources are commodities, the price fell to historic lows and took the prices of energy companies with them.
The energy industry's largest players, the integrated energy giants, reacted in very different ways. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) chose to stick with their core drilling model while using their balance sheets to sustain dividends and capital spending amid low energy prices. That's basically the approach they have taken for years.
Source Fool.com