The companies making billions from the Iran war in World Economy News 11/05/2026 As households across the globe count the costs of the US-Israel war in Iran, some companies have been counting bumper profits instead. The uncertainty sparked by the conflict, and Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, is driving up the cost of living and hitting the budgets of firms, families and governments. But while some have been pushed to the brink, others, whose core businesses are more profitable in a war or who benefit from volatile energy prices, have seen record earnings. Here are some of the sectors and companies making billions while the Middle East conflict continues. 1. Oil and gas The biggest economic impact of the war so far has been a surge in energy prices. Around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, but those shipments effectively ground to a halt at the end of February. The result has been a rollercoaster of price movements on energy markets, with some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies benefiting. The main beneficiaries have been European oil giants, who have trading arms so have been able to gain from sharp price movements boosting profits. BP’s profits more than doubled to $3.2bn (£2.4bn) for the first three months of the year, after what it called an “exceptional” performance in its trading division. Shell also beat analysts’ expectations when it reported a rise in first-quarter profits to $6.92bn. Another international giant, TotalEnergies, saw its profits jump by almost a third, to $5.4bn in the first quarter of 2026, driven by volatility in oil and energy markets. US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron saw their earnings fall compared with the same period last year, due to supply disruption from the Middle East, but both beat analysts’ forecasts and expect their profits to grow further as the year goes on, with the price of oil still significantly higher than when the war broke out. 2. Big banks Some of the biggest banks have also seen their profits boosted during the war in Iran. JP Morgan’s trading arm made a record $11.6bn of revenue in the first three months of 2026, helping the bank overall to its second biggest ever quarterly profit. Across the rest of the “Big Six” banks – which includes Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, as well as JP Morgan – profits all rose substantially in the first quarter of the year. Overall, the banks reported $47.7bn in profits for the first three months of 2026. “Heavy trading volumes have benefited investment banks, in particular Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs,” Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said. The major Wall Street lenders have been boosted by a surge in demand for trading, with investors rushing to drop riskier stocks and bonds and pile their cash into assets that are seen as safer. Trading volumes have also been lifted by investors seeking to capitalise on the volatility in financial markets. Streeter added: “The volatility unleashed by the war has led to a surge in trading, as some investors sold stocks on fears of escalation, while others bought the dip, helping to fuel a recovery rally.” 3. Defence One of the most immediate beneficiaries in any conflict is the defence sector, according to Emily Sawicz, senior analyst at RSM UK. “The conflict has reinforced gaps in air defence capability, accelerating investment in missile defence, counter drone systems an