SHEL vs UGP: How Shell plc and Ultrapar Participacoes Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. SHEL and UGP share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined SHEL and UGP exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Shell plc is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world, operating across the entire hydrocarbon value chain and into lower-carbon energy. Its business is organized into segments that include Integrated Gas (including its world-leading liquefied natural gas, or LNG, business), Upstream (oil and gas exploration and production), Marketing (fuels retail, lubricants, and related products), Chemicals and Products (refining and petrochemicals), and Renewables and Energy Solutions (power, hydrogen, and lower-carbon offerings). SHEL trades on the New York Stock Exchange as an American Depositary Receipt, with each ADR representing two Shell ordinary shares.

Full SHEL guide

Ultrapar Participacoes was founded in 1937 and runs four businesses. Ipiranga, the largest by revenue, distributes gasoline, diesel and ethanol to roughly ~6,000 branded service stations across Brazil, with the AmPm convenience format and the Km de Vantagens loyalty program attached to it. Ultragaz bottles and delivers liquefied petroleum gas to households and industrial customers. Ultracargo operates specialized liquid bulk storage terminals at ports including Santos, Suape, Itaqui and Aratu. Hidrovias do Brasil, where Ultrapar took control in May 2025 and began consolidating results from that date, moves grain and iron ore on the Northern Corridor and the Paraguay and Parana river system. The group is deliberately narrower than it was: Oxiteno, the specialty chemicals arm, went to Indorama in 2022, and the Extrafarma drugstore chain was sold to Pague Menos the same year.

Full UGP guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• SHEL drivers: LNG and Integrated Gas leadership; Shareholder returns: dividend and buybacks.
• UGP drivers: Ipiranga margin per litre, not volume; Ultragaz as the steady cash line.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: As an integrated energy major, Shell's earnings rise and fall with oil, gas, and LNG prices and with refining and chemical margins, so a downturn in commodity prices or global demand can compress profits and pressure cash returns. For UGP, brazilian fuel distribution competes against a persistent informal segment that evades ICMS fuel taxes and undercuts compliant distributors on price, so enforcement policy is a direct input to Ipiranga's margin rather than a background issue.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick SHEL if you believe its drivers more; UGP if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the SHEL and UGP guides.

SHEL. These figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Because each SHEL ADR represents two Shell ordinary shares, per-ADR dividend and earnings figures are roughly double the per-ordinary-share numbers you may see quoted from London or the Netherlands, so make sure you are comparing like for like. As with any integrated energy company, earnings and multiples move with the commodity cycle, so a given quarter's results reflect prevailing oil, gas, and margin conditions rather than a fixed run-rate.

UGP. The two ratios that matter most here are EV/EBITDA of ~6.8x and net debt to EBITDA of ~1.5x, because a distributor with ~2% EBITDA margins is valued on cash conversion and balance-sheet room rather than on revenue. Reported net income more than doubled to ~R$914 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is why the forward multiple sits well below the trailing one. Second quarter 2026 results were scheduled for August 12, 2026 with a call the following morning, and analysts going in were modelling about ~$0.27 per ADR on roughly ~$8.2 billion of quarterly revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): SHEL shows q1 2026 eps ~$2.44, above the analyst consensus of about $2.14, q1 2026 revenue ~$70 billion for the quarter, dividend Progressive quarterly dividend; the ADR receives roughly double the per-ordinary-share amount (each ADR is two ordinary shares), payout ratio Roughly half of earnings historically, leaving room for buybacks; UGP shows revenue (ttm) ~$27.9 billion, ebitda (ttm) ~$1.43 billion, net income (ttm) ~$574 million, market capitalization ~$6.6 billion at ~$6.12 per ADR.

SHEL and UGP are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined SHEL and UGP exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.