The U.S. recovery slowed in the third quarter as the Delta variant surged.

Mr. Loeb said pursuing a strategy like the one he suggested might lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and increased shareholder returns, “a win for all stakeholders.”

Third Point’s move recalled the successful battle waged this spring by another activist hedge fund, Engine No. 1, to install three directors on the board of Exxon Mobil with the goal of pushing it to reduce its carbon footprint.

Shell’s chief financial officer, Jessica Uhl, said on a call with reporters Thursday that the company did not have much information about Third Point’s intentions beyond the investor letter.

“We have had some very preliminary discussions with Third Point over the last year, not particularly specific,” she said. She added that Shell would “respond appropriately” after finding out more.

Ms. Uhl conceded that “we haven’t done a good enough job” in explaining Shell’s strategy for shifting to cleaner energy, which involves using the cash from oil and gas to fund new greener businesses.

Shell executives argue that as a large, well-capitalized organization with more than a century of experience delivering various forms of energy, Shell is well-placed to make multibillion-dollar investments in areas like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen that will be needed in the shift to cleaner energy.

“A very significant part of this energy transition is going to be funded by the legacy businesses that we still have,” said Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive on the call. “If you want to exclude us from it, I don’t think it will go as fast as it would otherwise go,” he added.

Shell has also been under pressure to shed fossil fuel investments after a Dutch court ordered the company in May to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 compared with 2019 levels. Shell is appealing the ruling. The company said Thursday that it would reduce emissions from operations by 50 percent by 2030, regardless of whether it won the appeal. Shell recently sold its interests in the Permian region, the prime shale drilling area in the United States, for $9.5 billion.

Shell may resist the idea of a breakup, but pressure from Third Point or others is likely to have an impact, analysts say. Most of the big European oil companies are investing in clean energy like wind and solar, as well as related businesses like electric vehicle charging, but are not being given credit by the markets for doing so, they say.

Analysts at Bernstein, a research firm, wrote that they did not think a “a full split” at Shell was imminent, but that the nudge from Third Point will “get management back on the front foot triggering their next shareholder-friendly step.”

In other words, Mr. van Beurden and his colleagues, who have laid out one of the more detailed strategies for shifting to lower carbon businesses among the large oil companies, may be prompted to do more.

Some energy companies are already making changes to appeal to investors. Eni, the Italian oil and gas company, said earlier this month that it planned to offer a separate stock market listing for its lower-carbon businesses — renewable energy, retail electric power, and natural gas — to be completed next year. The idea is to “provide investors with greater visibility of the value of the unit,” the company said.

In May the International Energy Agency said investment in new oil and gas facilities must stop in order for the world to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Mr. van Beurden has said he is still willing to invest in what he considers the right oil and gas projects.

For instance, Shell is going ahead with an offshore drilling plan in the Gulf of Mexico and is a part-owner in a planned development of an offshore oil field west of the Shetland Islands, called Cambo, that has drawn protests.

On Thursday Mr. van Beurden suggested that the current shortfalls of natural gas in Europe and resulting record prices that have led to some factory closures were an illustration of what would happen if investments in fossil fuels are slashed before enough is done to reduce demand.

“If you just squeeze off supply and hope that demand will follow, this is what it feels like,” he said.

News of the Third Point’s interest came as Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, reported $4.1 billion in adjusted earnings for the third quarter of this year, a substantial increase over the $955 million reported in the period a year earlier, thanks mainly to higher oil and gas prices. The earnings came in below analysts’ expectations.

Emily Flitter and Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/28/business/news-business-stock-market