Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

What it is

Petrobras finds, pumps, refines and sells oil and gas, mostly inside Brazil. More than 70% of Brazil’s production is currently in a deep-water area known as the pre-salt.

It is one of the world’s largest oil companies. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known as Petrobras, is a Brazilian majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.

Who owns it

The Brazilian government is the controlling owner, and by law it must stay that way. The Federal Government exercises its control by means of the ownership and possession of at least 50% plus 1 share of the Company’s voting capital.

Counting indirect holdings through state banks and the sovereign fund, the state’s grip is wider. The Brazilian government directly owns 54% of Petrobras’ common shares with voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank and Brazil’s Sovereign Wealth Fund each control 5%. The rest trades freely, held by Brazilian and foreign investors.

Who runs it

The chief executive is Magda Chambriard, a veteran engineer who once ran Brazil’s oil regulator. Chambriard’s appointment as CEO was considered at the same meeting as her appointment to Petrobras’ board of directors, which does not require convening a shareholders’ meeting.

The finance chief is Fernando Sabbi Melgarejo. Petrobras filings are signed by Fernando Sabbi Melgarejo, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer. The board’s chairman seat has turned over twice this year: Petrobras announced on April 6, 2026 that its board elected director Marcelo Weick Pogliese as Chairman, until the next General Meeting.

The money, in plain words

This is a very profitable company. It keeps about 22 cents of profit from every real of sales — a net margin of 22.1% (our calculation) — and earns roughly 26 reais a year for every 100 owners put in, a return on equity of 25.6%.

The shares look cheap against those profits, at about 5 times yearly earnings (price-to-earnings of 5.3). That low number is the market pricing in the political risk of state control.

Profit jumped sharply: net income rose from R$46.6bn (US$9.0bn) in 2024 to R$110.1bn (US$21.4bn) in 2025, even as sales fell — a sign the company squeezed more from each barrel. It carries real debt, about R$383.9bn (US$74.5bn) against R$35.6bn (US$6.9bn) of cash, so it is far from net cash.

For owners, the payout matters: the board proposed dividends, including interest on equity, of R$41.24bn (US$8.0 bn), equivalent to R$3.19936420 (US$0.62)per share for 2025. That is roughly US$8.0bn returned in one year, and at today’s price the dividend yield is 6.9%.

What it is doing now

The big move is drilling at the mouth of the Amazon, a region prized by the industry but fought by environmentalists. The company recently received long-awaited approval from Brazil’s environmental agency, Ibama, to begin exploratory drilling at the Foz do Amazonas basin.

The first well already hit trouble. On 4 January 2026, 18,000 litres of drilling fluid leaked from Block 59’s “Morpho” well into the ocean; Ibama fined Petrobras R$2.5 million (US$480,000) and ordered the company to pause drilling for one month.

Lower oil prices are forcing caution. Petrobras plans to distribute between US$45bn and US$50bn in ordinary dividends during 2026-2030, below the up-to-US$55bn in the previous plan.

What to watch

The whole industry’s future hinges on new discoveries. Production is expected to peak around 2030 and then decline unless Petrobras finds more large fields, and the CEO has warned about Brazil becoming a net importer in the 2030s.

Watch the oil price and the dividend together. So far Chambriard has moderated investor payouts and warned that low oil prices make extraordinary dividends unlikely.

This is news, not investment advice.