Shell Pilipinas Corp. delivered the kind of first-quarter profit jump investors typically cheer. Net income more than doubled to ₱1.62 billion in the three months ended March 2026 from ₱743.6 million a year earlier, as revenue climbed and the company booked gains from a sharp rise in oil prices. Look closer, though, and the quarter tells a more complicated story. The Philippine fuel retailer’s headline earnings were boosted by inventory holding gains and commodity hedging gains after the Middle East crisis sent oil prices sharply higher in March. But the same price surge also exposed a weaker underlying business: core earnings plunged 87.6% to ₱107.8 million from ₱871.4 million a year earlier, as fuel marketing margins were squeezed by price-lag losses. That divergence — strong reported profit, weak recurring profit — makes Shell Pilipinas’ first-quarter results a study in how oil-market volatility can flatter earnings while pressuring the day-to-day economics of selling fue...