Petrobras closed the third quarter of 2026 with net income of R$39.8 billion (US$7.7 billion), 21.5% above the same period of 2025. The results were released on the evening of Tuesday, November 10, and the company's board approved, the same day, a distribution of R$15.3 billion in dividends and interest on equity (a Brazilian payout mechanism known as JCP, which is taxed differently from ordinary dividends).
Stripping out what the company calls exclusive events — items that do not recur from one quarter to the next — the figure rises to R$47.9 billion (US$9.3 billion). Adjusted EBITDA came in at R$85.8 billion, or R$94.5 billion excluding those items.
Operating cash flow reached R$61.8 billion (US$12 billion), 15% more than twelve months earlier. Investment totalled R$33 billion (US$6.4 billion) in the quarter, of which R$27.5 billion went to exploration and production — mostly platform construction and well tie-ins.
Debt falling
Net debt ended the quarter at US$57.8 billion, down 4.2% from the second quarter. Gross debt stood at US$70 billion, 1.2% lower over the same comparison.
Output above forecast
The production outlook for 2026 was revised upwards: from an average of 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent a day to a range of 3.3 million to 3.4 million. "Nossa projeção era encerrar o ano com produção média de 3,1 milhões de barris de óleo equivalente por dia" — our forecast was to end the year averaging 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent a day — said chief executive Magda Chambriard.
According to the company, 2026 brought three consecutive quarterly oil production records, and eleven platforms were cleared to operate safely above their original design capacity with no additional investment — which accounts for part of the jump without a matching cash outlay.
In refining, diesel output hit a quarterly record of 769,000 barrels a day, and total refined-product output reached 1.873 million barrels a day. Domestic fuel sales stood at 1.854 million barrels a day, the highest volume since the third quarter of 2021.
When the money reaches shareholders
The R$15.3 billion works out to R$1.18732774 per share, split into two equal instalments of R$0.59366387:
- February 22, 2027
- March 22, 2027
For shares traded on the B3, Brazil's stock exchange, the record date is December 21, 2026, and the shares trade ex-dividend from December 22. For the ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the record date is December 23, with payments on March 1 and March 29, 2027. The split between dividends and interest on equity will be announced by December 10, 2026.
With information from Agência Brasil and Eu Quero Investir.
