As households around the world count the cost of the United States and Israel’s war against Iran, some companies are counting their windfall profits.
The uncertainty generated by the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran are driving up the cost of living and hitting the budgets of companies, families and governments.
However, while some have been pushed to the brink, others, whose transactions are more profitable during a war or benefit from volatile energy prices, have seen record revenues.
These with some of the sectors and companies that are making billions while the conflict in the Middle East continues.
1. Oil and gasoline
The biggest economic impact of the war so far has been an increase in energy prices. About a fifth of the world’s oil and gasoline is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, but those shipments have effectively come to a grinding halt since late February.
The result has been a frenetic up and down of the energy market, to the benefit of some of the largest hydrocarbon companies in the world.
The main beneficiaries have been the European oil giants, which have divisions of trading [dedicadas a la compra y venta fisica del petróleo, pero también a operaciones en los mercados financieros y de futuros, entre otras cosas]so they have been able to benefit from the sudden movements by increasing their profits.
BP (British Petroleum) more than doubled its revenue for the first quarter of the year to $3.2 billion, following what it called “exceptional” performance from its oil division. trading.
The multinational Shell also exceeded analyst expectations when it reported an increase in its income in the first half to reach US$6.92 billion.
Another huge international company, TotalEnergies, saw its revenue jump by almost a third to $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven by volatility in the crude oil and energy markets.
For their part, US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron saw their profits fall compared to the same period last year, due to the disruption in supplies from the Middle East, but both companies beat analyst forecasts and expect their revenues to grow further as the year goes on, with the price of crude oil still significantly higher than when the war began.
2. The big banks
Some of the largest banks have also seen increased profits during the war in Iran.
JP Morgan’s securities division posted record inflows of $11.6 billion in the first three months of 2026, helping the bank achieve the second-largest quarterly profit in its history.
In all the banks that are part of the so-called “Big Six” in the US – which include Monetary Institution of The United States, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, as well as JP Morgan – income rose substantially in the first quarter of the year.
In total, banks reported $47.7 billion in profits in the first three months of 2026.
“Large trading volumes have benefited investment banks, particularly Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs,” said Susannah Streeter, head of investment strategy at Wealth Membership.
Wall Avenue’s biggest lenders have been boosted by a surge in trading demand, with investors rushing to dump riskier stocks and bonds and put their money into assets they consider safer. Transaction volumes have also risen as investors seek to capitalize on volatility in financial markets.
Streeter added: “The volatility unleashed by the war has generated a boom in trading, as some investors sold stocks fearing an escalation (of the war), while others bought on the dip, helping fuel a recovery trend.”
3. Defense
One of the most immediate beneficiaries in any conflict is the defense sector, according to Emily Sawicz, senior analyst at the British consulting firm RSM UK.
“The conflict has reinforced gaps in air defense capability, accelerated investment in missile defence, counter-drone systems and military equipment across Europe and the US,” he told the BBC.
In addition to highlighting the importance of defense firms, the war creates the need for governments to replenish their weapons arsenal, driving demand.
BAE Programs, which makes products including components for the F35 fighter jets, said in a trading update on Thursday that it expects growth in sales and profits this year.
It said growing “security threats” around the world were increasing defense spending by governments, which in turn has created a “background of support” for the company.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, three of the world’s largest defense contractors, have each reported record backlogs at the end of the first quarter of 2026.
But shares of defense firms, which have risen sharply in recent years, have fallen since mid-March on fears that the sector is overvalued.
4. Renewables
The conflict has also highlighted the need for diversification away from dependence on fossil fuels, Streeter said.
This has “supercharged interest in the renewable sector,” even in the United States, he said, where the Trump administration has popularized the slogan “drill, minute one, drill,” encouraging greater consumption of fossil fuels.
Streeter said the war has led to investment in renewables being seen as increasingly important for stability and resilience against stock market shocks.
One firm that has gotten a boost is Florida-based NextEra Vitality, which has seen a 17% surge so far this year as investors rally around its mission.
Danish wind energy giants Vestas and Orsted also reported rising profits, highlighting how the fallout from the war in Iran is also boosting renewable energy companies.
In the UK, Octopus Vitality recently confirmed to the BBC that the war had caused a “huge shock” to sales of solar panels and aerothermal heat pumps, with sales of the former rising by 50% since the end of February.
Rising gasoline prices also boosted demand for electric vehicles, much to the benefit of manufacturers in China.
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