Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and TotalEnergies generated a combined $48 billion in second-quarter profit and nearly $90 billion in cash, an all-time high that surpassed levels seen after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The surge was driven by higher fossil fuel prices during hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, but it has also sharpened criticism from environmental campaigners and U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused Exxon and Chevron of making "too much money" as fuel prices rose. The industry has not responded with a major spending surge. Clark Williams-Derry, energy finance analyst at IEEFA, said capital spending, dividends and buybacks stayed broadly stable, while the five supermajors increased cash reserves by a little over $17 billion from the prior quarter and also paid down debt. That has shifted focus to how oil majors are balancing shareholder payouts, stronger balance sheets and future investment. Company executives said they are concentrating on operational performance, trading and optimization during the Middle East conflict. BP CEO Meg O'Neill said the company was pushing reliability in upstream production and refining, while adjusting refinery runs to maximize supplies of products such as jet fuel and diesel. Shell CEO Wael Sawan said volatility is "the new normal" and that higher commodity prices provided a strong tailwind for results. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said supermajors are already deploying profits across mergers and acquisitions, maintenance capex (capital expenditure), new projects, debt reduction, dividends and share buybacks, though priorities differ by company. He said BP is in "debt reduction mode," while Shell has been more acquisitive, including a deal in Canada. At the same time, he said oil majors remain cautious on investment in new oil and gas fields, reflecting concern that the current windfall may not last and that further taxation or political pressure could follow. That backdrop is feeding a broader policy debate over windfall taxes (one-off levies on extraordinary profits). Campaigners want higher taxes on energy companies to fund climate-resilient infrastructure such as fire and flood defenses. Portugal approved a windfall tax last week on extraordinary profits earned by oil and refining companies in 2026. The American Petroleum Institute, a U.S. oil lobby group, said the sector should be judged over decades rather than quarters and argued that taxing excess profits would undermine long-term investment, supply and energy security.